Spring Writing Bootcamp Check-In #11

MY MAY GOALS:

1. Dinner: Quinoa & lime-marinated chicken bowl!
   Green Smoothie: Bee Gorgeous!Bikini Boot Camp Day #1:
   Because I evidently can't get enough of bootcamps, I decided to join For The Glow's Bikini Boot Camp this year. But instead of motivation for writing, this one's for my health - which in turn, makes for better writing, right? RIGHT! 
   It's six weeks of turning my diet around (I love kale!), getting a little exercise (burpees anyone?), being motivated by others, tracking it on Pinterest!, and overall, just doing good for this 'ole body of mine. I started eating clean(er) (I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but I am opting for gluten free around 95% of the time) and following the recipes a week ago to acclimate -- and aside from some of the ingredients being a little on the expensive side, I love everything I make (green smoothies, egg & kale breakfast scrambles, hummus = YUM!) and I definitely feel full and happy! 
   So be prepared for some great recipes / photos over the next 6 weeks -- after all, I've got my 20 year H.S. reunion in August and this girl plans on going with a lot less me! 
2. New WIP NOTG writing goal: 
   Minimum of 10,000 words for the month.
   UPDATE: I'm at 5,103 words so far, a little over half way done for the month! 
3. Continue to read / finish CP's MS!
   UPDATE: I finished and sent over notes on the last MS I was reading and now I'm waiting on TWO other CP's to send over manuscripts they said they'd be sending over. Eh-em. I'm waiting. Yep, still here. *cough*
   I'll sing it again in case you missed it last week: Red rover, red rover, send your manuscripts on over!
4. Host / participate in a Word Sprint or two! 
5. Cheer on the AWESOME that is Team Rainier!
   UPDATE: Did you all see Elizabeth Brigg's exciting cover reveal for her NA Contemporary MORE THAN MUSIC? Yes, that's it over there - but make sure to check it out here and enter to win some great prizes!
6. Read 5 books minimum. 
   UPDATE: One book down (Heidi's MS) and 4 more to go! 

SOOOO BOOTCAMPERS, WHAT DO YOU  HAVE UP YOUR SLEEVE FOR MAY?

Spring Writing Bootcamp Check-In #10

It's the first YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp check in for May and yes, I'm a day late - but only because I was tagged by the ever awesome Kathryn Holmes to participate in the My Writing Process blog hop that's been going around -- and my post went up yesterday. You can read it here -- or, yanno, just scroll down one more on my blog. 

Everyone is saying this and I have to agree: I can't believe it's already May. We've covered two months already in our Spring Writing Bootcamp and so much has been accomplished by all! But...we've got one more month to go, so batten down those hatches, man the torpedoes, and hang on to your boot straps! Because we pirates have LOTS in store for you! 

MY MAY GOALS:

1. My birthday is coming up this Thursday, so my goal for the first day of May is to just ENJOY THE DAY!
   UPDATE: My birthday was wonderful! Born and raised in Seattle, I've never been to the top of the Space Needle...but my husband changed that on my birthday! AND! it was sunny and 85 degrees!
2. New WIP NOTG writing goal:
   Minimum of 10,000 words for the month.
3. Continue to read / finish CP's MS!
   UPDATE: I finished my second read through on one of my CP's newest manuscripts last night and am compiling the notes to email her today - be on the lookout, Heidi!
   Also, I'm waiting on TWO other CP's to send over manuscripts they said they'd be sending over. Eh-em. I'm waiting. Yep, still here. *cough*
   Red rover, red rover, send your manuscripts on over!
4. Host / participate in a Word Sprint or two! 
5. Same goal as April: Cheer on the awesome that is Team Rainier!
6. Read 5 books minimum. 
   UPDATE: One book down (Heidi's MS) and 4 more to go! 

Soooo Bootcampers, what do you  have up your sleeve for May?

November = NaNo Madness!!!

Over at the YA Buccaneers we're celebrating November and all that is NaNo Madness! 

For those of you that aren't quite sure what NaNoWriMo is, here's a quick intro directly from their website:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel. Here’s a little more about how it all works.

If you've never done NaNo before and are still thinking about signing up, it's not too late!!! NaNo is an awesome writing adventure during the entire month of November and whether you do or don't complete the 50,000 words, you'll still meet some amazing writers, get encouragement to write, and have a chance to celebrate with other writers all month long! It's quite an incredible forum to be a part of and one I highly recommend.

I won't be doing NaNoWriMo this year, but instead, have banded with a few writer friends to do what we like to call NaNoReviseMo, since I have some revisions to tackle on my current MS, WTWF. But I for sure will still be bouncing in and out of the NaNo forums to see how everyone's doing!

However, to help encourage everyone to write, the YA Buccaneers will be increasing the number of Word Sprints for the entire month of November, starting this week! 

Come join us on Twitter for three days of Sprints this week and get your NaNo groove on! No matter if you're drafting or revising -- all you need to do is write, write, WRITE! 

The Time: 

Tuesday, November 5th (today!), at 7pm EST (4pm PST) - hosted by yours truly!

Wednesday, November 6th, at 8pm EST (5pm PST)

Thursday, November 7th, at 8pm EST (5pm PST) 

The Place:  

Join in the fun on Twitter using our handle, @YABuccaneers, and the hashtag #YABWordSprint. Don't forget to tweet your word count at the end of the hour and sign up for this month's giveaway using the Rafflecopter form on the YA Buccaneers site! Please see the YA Buccaneers site for all details and giveaway rules.

In addition to Word Sprints, the Buccaneers will have several other fun events during the month of November, so make sure to stop on by if you're needing a little incentive to write!

Are you tackling NaNoWriMo or NaNoReviseMo this month? If so, best of luck -- drop your NaNo handle in the comments below so I can make sure to cheer you on!

What's Up Wednesday: 10.16.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

Wow, it's been for-ever since I've posted a WuW post!!!! But I have good reason for being on hiatus, I promise!

WHAT I'M READING:

I recently used an Amazon GC to buy several book series I've been waiting to read, until all of the books were released -- and a couple of weeks ago, they all came in the mail:

All three titles in Melina Marchetta's FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK series (reading now)
All three titles in Kerstin Gier's RUBY RED series (CANNOT wait to read this one!)
All three titles in Rae Carson's THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS series

Plus ALL OUR YESTERDAYS, NOT A DROP TO DRINK, and so many others (including ALLEGIANT coming in the mail next week!)...you can say I have plenty to read for the rest of 2013! 

WHAT I'M WRITING:

I finished all of my revisions for WTWF in August and actively started to query in September. And I have to say, I'm thrilled to see the responses I've received! More on that to come soon!

I've also been working on my outline for my new WIP that I'll be writing for NaNo next month -- and I'm super excited about this one!

Oh! If you're in need of some inspiration to write - join the YA Buccaneers Word Sprint! Two rounds, one hosted tonight from 6-7pm PST, and one tomorrow night from 4-5pm PST on Twitter! #YABWordSprint

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW:

Our beautiful summer here in Seattle...and the gorgeous fall we've been having.

I so didn't want summer to come to an end. We really lucked out here in Seattle...and had one of the best summers EV-VER (and I had the good fortune of having the time off to enjoy it!) -- I'm already missing the sunny skies and warmer temperatures. And not looking forward to the months ahead of dreary, rainy weather.

At least while it was still nice out, my husband and I did manage to run in two races:

The Zombie 5k - Run For Your Lives

And The Color Run in Portland, OR.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO:

My husband and I went down to Mazatlan, Mexico last week, for 8 full days, to celebrate our 8th Anniversary!

While the weather was gorgeous, I managed to spend an entire 24 hours in my room, sick as a dog...we're still not sure if it was something I ate (or drank) or if it was from the Mexican OTC Aleve I took, thanks to a severely strained calf muscle issue. Either way, it wasn't pleasant...but at least it was in the middle of our vacation, so we still had time to enjoy the pool!

But now we're back and it's cold (although it is sunny, so there's that!)...and I'm already missing the palm trees and pool. Oh well. We'll see the sunny weather again next June!

Other than that, this fall has managed to be a tad crazy with a few other fun things that I'll share at a later date. Let's just say that when it rains...it pours. And I'll take it.

SO, WHAT'S NEW FOR YOU TODAY?