Year of Consistency – Week 5

This week’s check-in is a little late, but I’m determined to stay accountable, so here we go!

Writing: Ugh, I let the Doubt Monsters get the better of me last week. In case anyone’s wondering if the paralyzing fear goes away or gets easier after you get published – um, nope. Sorry. I was so worried about whether or not my new YA project is working I found it hard to do anything else! But then I got some reassurance and some notes – all little, totally manageable things – from Agent Jim on Thursday and did them over the weekend and sent them back to him yesterday. So, now I’m back at the Neurotic Waiting Stage – though I am attempting to be way less neurotic. This week’s goal is to do a crit for a friend and to start working in earnest on the MG project I feel like I’ve been talking about forever, but haven’t actually started writing.

​Reading: Last week I read Robin Talley’s debut, LIES WE TELL OURSELVES. It doesn’t come out until Sept 30, but you should add this to your Goodreads to-read shelf now because it’s amazing! Robin’s one of my CPs, but even though I had read an earlier draft, I was truly blown away by the final version. It’s about a black girl, Sarah, who’s one of ten students integrating a white school in 1959 Virginia, and she falls in love with the white daughter of the town’s newspaper editor. The characterization is amazing. It’s told in dual points of view, and Sarah is braver than I can even fathom, and Linda has an incredible arc herself; she starts off parroting her father’s racist ideals and gradually – thanks in large part to Sarah – learns to start thinking for herself. Even though I’d read a previous draft, I was so worried about these girls, I was holding my breath. I can’t recommend it enough! I also started reading EVERY DAY by David Levithan. I’m about halfway through and really enjoying how it makes me think about gender.

​Business/Promo: Lots of emails trying to figure out upcoming events in March, April, and May! And even though I haaaate videos because I get all self-conscious about how high my voice sounds, I did a brief video saying hi to my Brazilian readers for my publisher there. I also did a fifty-page crit and a ten-page crit for MCS and both recipients were so happy with them, they’ve hired me to do full manuscript critiques! I am super-excited, because both of these mss are SO GOOD I can’t wait to read more!

Health: I walked four times last week for a total of about three hours. And I stuck with my diet even though it was hard and I wanted to comfort-eat All the Things.

​Cooking: Soup Project Week 7 was a white bean and pasta soup served with bread and fontina (sort of a pasta e fagioli). It was super yummy, definitely a 4.5/5 from both of us! The recipe made tons, so between that and the lentil-vegetable soup from the previous week, we ate lots of soup last week!

Social/Other:​ Last week I did my usual Tuesday night dinner date with my BFF and then went out with some other YA authors to see the VAMPIRE ACADEMY movie. The VA series is one of my all time YA favorites, and the movie was so good! I’ve seen some other YA adaptations that shall remain nameless that I thought were just…not good at all, but this one is fun and funny and awesome. The actress who plays Rose nails it. It has a lot of snarky humor, but there are also cool action and magic scenes and some swoony romance and a fantastic best friendship at the heart of it. I really hope they get to make more, because while Movie Rose & Dmitri have great chemistry, I want to see Adrian! Also, while I missed the Opening Ceremonies for the movie, I’ve been watching the Olympics lots with the Playwright! I was super into the Slopestyle and Half Pipe events – the snowboarders seem like they’re having so much fun! – and of course the ice skating and ice dancing.

What about you? How’s your February shaping up so far?