Happy Sunday!

(Man, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to say that.)

Well, it took all month, but it’s finally warming up where I live. I’ve been wearing shorts and t-shirts for the first time since 2019 began.

And let’s hope that May's weather is perfect.



Life has been crazy this April, honestly. School has decided to pack quite a wallop. It seems that every class I’m taking has assigned a long research paper due in the next two weeks. (So if I disappear off the face of the blogosphere, you know why.)

And then allergies and a cold hit me like a truck, and I was down for about a week and a half. (Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but still - I have rough allergies.)

Easter weekend was pretty great! We visited with grandparents and got lots of chocolate. I’m trying to ration it, but . . . not much luck. XD

Honestly, Easter’s my favorite time of the year. Let me tell you, it feels great to be able to sing "Alleluia!" in Church again. :) (But, you know, also because of the chocolate.)

I also saw my friend that I haven’t seen in months, and we both threw a surprise birthday party for my other friend. It was pretty great. :)

Big Hero 6. I began listening to the soundtrack before I rewatched the movie, and I fell in love with both again. (Apparently there’s a TV show???? I’m not watching it though. I feel like they’ve dumbed it down, and besides, they haven’t brought Tadashi back yet. XD #HeIsAlive)

The Silver Eye. It was my six-month anniversary of discovering it, so I plunged into a complete reread! And I love it SO MUCH. Guys, seriously, if you haven’t read it, you NEED TO. The artwork is gorgeous and the storyline is phenomenal. (And Apen is amazing, of course.)

The Illuminae Files. I think I read Illuminae last month (?), but I read the last two this month and I really like this series! If it didn’t have so much content, I would love it even more, but I do my best to skim some of the *cough* suggestive parts. I pretty much kept reading because in book 2 we met Nik and Ella and THEY ARE THE LITERAL BEST.

The Magisterium. Another reread of the series, since I never finished the last two books. (There’s some content that I’m not very comfortable with.) The first three are great! The last two . . . well, I haven’t read the fifth yet, but the fourth is very uncomfortable for me.

Marvel. I WATCHED ENDGAME YESTERDAY. (So if I don’t respond to your comments, sorry, I’m sleeping since I got to bed super late. XD) But I’ve watched other Marvel movies this month, like Guardians of the Galaxy and the Winter Soldier. I would go on, but as I’m posting about Marvel relatively soon, I’ll stop talking. ;)

Wicked. Faith raved about this musical so much, I decided to listen to it. #noregrets. Do I agree with all the messages? No. Do I particularly like all the characters? No.

But do I think the music is extremely catchy and fun and relatable for the most part? HECK YES I DO.

If anyone has musical recs, tell me in the comments! I’m always looking for more musicals to jam to. ;)

So, Camp NaNoWriMo is in its final throes. I set a goal for 1,500 minutes.

And to be honest, I really don’t think I can hit that goal. As mentioned, Easter and school got really crazy, and my time has to be spent on more important things right now.

But I’ve still made great progress on my WIPs! I finished the first draft of the Silver Sword (still excited about that, but to be honest, I’m not as excited as I thought I would be). And I made good progress on edits for Inhumans #1 and rough drafting #2. (I’m pitching the Inhumans at RM, and I STILL haven’t come up with a name. *terror*)

This month I participated in the Shared WIP Tag: Goals edition! So here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4!

Meanwhile, around the blogosphere. . . .

(Some of these links might lead to the comment sections of the post. Sorry about that. XD)
Rosalie did a fabulous post about why she’s still writing that was just awesome.

Kathryn posted some amazing things this month, but two of my particular favorite were this short story and this poem.

Emily showed us all her bullet journal and I AM IN LOVE OKAY.

Melody wrote about pantsing and used BIG HERO 6 GIFS. This post was perfect timing and I still smile thinking about that.

And in honor of Endgame, Faith wrote a GORGEOUS post about Tony Stark. Even though I’m unapologetically #TeamCap, I really loved it!

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Well, guys, May is upon us! I’m ready for the school year to be over - are you?

Next week a Marvel Party post will be going up. So brace yourselves, because I’m drafting it now and it’s SO LONG. XD

Have a great May, guys!

-Nicole <3

Happy Friday!

Well, we’re in the endgame right now, both in the sense that the Shared WIP Tag is in its last entry, and because ENDGAME IS NOW OUT!!

(I’m seeing it tomorrow, and I’m not ready. NO SPOILERS.)

Anyways, let’s get to the tag!


Oh, goodness. That escalated quickly, didn’t it? ;)

Um. I feel like all of these answers will be the same, but we’ll go for it anyways!

It would probably be to get traditionally published. As of right now, I think that’s the route I’m going to take. We’ll see what happens, though.

New York Times Bestselling Author, who wrote the next LOTR.

Hey, I can dream, right?

Um. *cough* I’ve literally listed one goal so far. Whoops.

A lifetime goal that scares me the most . . . Oh wait a second, that cuts into my Super Secret Project. *Information has been CLASSIFIED*

(You’ll find out one day! I promise!)

For getting published . . . um, write. A lot. And then query and edit and all that good fun stuff.

Another goal would be to figure out my vocation, so I need to pray a lot and ask for some advice.

And a final one . . . to get to Heaven. You know. Kind of the goal of life. ;) And for that, I need to really deepen my relationship with God.

No one said it would be easy.

Well, I mean, when I was six, one of my goals was to be an astronaut.

Then I realized that I hated flying, heights, and any sort of risky behavior, and that idea went away. ;)

As for writing . . . I thought that the first draft of my books would be AMAZING and PERFECT and would be publication-worthy.

*cough* Long story short: NO.

Well, I want to be a full-time writer (with maybe doing some other stuff on the side), so I guess, always having some story in the works. By this point my brain is wired for that.

WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THIS? YOU FORCE ME TO PICK ONE????? *grumbles*

Fine. Fine, I’ll pick one.

I have never mentioned this series before on this blog. But it’s an idea I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I won’t give away any details because I’m afraid of criticism because it’s not even close to a point where I can talk about it. It’s honestly a wreck. But I love the characters so much, and at one point I’ll have to actually write a decent draft of it.

Realistically?

The future looks very bleak. XD

I’ll have graduated from college, working some kind of publishing job, and ruing the fact that I don’t have enough time to write but I HAVE to work this job because I need money.

Sorry, did that turn dark? ;)

Um. *clears throat*

I’d really like to be published as soon as I can - hopefully one or two years after college, if all goes well. I’ll be able to make a living off of writing, and begin to do some other stuff on the side, just for fun.

Will it happen? Probably not.

But will I try? Yes.

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Well, this wraps up the Shared WIP Tag for this Camp NaNo! And as always, here are the other participants:

Ceci
Catherine
Faith
Sarah
Ariel

In two days, I’ll be posting my April wrap-up post, and then I’ve got a fun post planned for next week Sunday! (Hint: it may or may not involve Endgame. ;) )

-Nicole <3

Happy Friday! To be more specific, happy Good Friday!

And since I won't be posting this Sunday, Happy Easter to you as well!

Of course, just because it's Holy Week doesn't mean that the Shared WIP Tag will stop. ;)

(Yes, we can all agree that my intros are awful. Let's just get on with the show, shall we?)



I assume we're talking about my writing goals for this year. In that case:

• Go to Realm Makers! yes, this is a writing goal, shhhh
• Secret Project that I Cannot Tell You About
• Finish draft 1 of the Silver Sword
• Edit the Inhumans #1
• Write draft 1 of the Inhumans #2
• Win NaNoWriMo/Camp NaNo

Realm Makers!

Well, either that or writing the first draft of the Inhumans #2 because there are some scenes in there that I just *rubs hands* cannot WAIT for. in other words I torture my favorite character. it's going to be great.

Editing the Inhumans #1.

Have I mentioned how much I hate editing? I have recently discovered that this year, and I so wish that I could be one of those editing DRAGONS who just plow through tons of edits with ease.
Originally, I thought I had, but then I realized that I'm going to make a lot of headway on most of them this Camp NaNo . . . so ask me again in June. Either I'll answer "Yes!" with confidence, or I'll just run around screaming.

I don't????? I literally just wing it 99.999% of the time. (The 0.001% is when I actually do NaNo with the goals in mind - so this month.)

*cough* Well, my mom's reading this post, so now she knows! XD Maybe she can comment down below and tell me what she thinks???

But seriously, I don't talk about writing that much offline. Only one person outside of my immediate family even knows I have a blog, and as for goals, well, nobody knows of them either.

I hope to! Except, you know, I'm going to have a ton of stuff to do during that time of year, so we'll see how timing works out. I didn't think I could do it last year, and look where we are now . . .

As for what I'm writing . . . yeah, I won't figure that out until halfway through October. XD

Well, I would talk about the Secret Project, but that's classified information. I hope to write a post about it eventually, though, so you won't be in the dark for long. But yes, it's something I've never done before, so I'm pretty much going into it blind.

And RM is definitely out of my comfort zone - talking to people, making new acquaintances, talking about my books . . . *gulp* #mildsocialanxiety

Pretty well, I think!

I completed the first draft of the Silver Sword last Tuesday! *confetti* And I've started on the edits for Inhumans #1 and the first draft of #2. I know I won't completely finish either this Camp NaNo, but hopefully I'll make some good progress!

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Well, that was fun! If you want to see what the other participants are planning for this year, check out their blogs below:

Ceci
Catherine
Faith
Sarah
Ariel

Next week will be the last week of The Shared WIP Tag, where we cover Lifetime Goals! Make sure to check in next Friday for that.

Good luck for all my NaNoers! You got this!

-Nicole <3

Happy Friday, friend!

Well, it's warming up around where I live, so I can finally start wearing t-shirts! (Did I ever stop wearing them? No, not really. Shhhh.)

You know what else is warming up?

The Shared WIP Tag! We're in full swing now, and this week's topic is Other April Projects.

(prepare for lots of sarcasm)



Um. *cough* None?

I mean, besides the numerous projects and papers for school, none, I think.

I'm also going to begin learning a THIRTY-SIX PAGE PIANO PIECE that's just a mashup of fandom songs - some of which I've never heard. It's 22 minutes long.

So, of course, I'm going to do it! ;)

Um. What else is there to say? The song is 22 minutes long and has songs from Marvel, Doctor Who (I think? I'm honestly not sure), Sherlock, Harry Potter . . . you get the idea. XD

The school papers, honestly. Because, you know, they have a due date.

Nope. I'm planning on fully winging it allll. Not the best idea, I know, but I'm tired and getting over allergies, so give me a break.

The Camp NaNo ones, I suppose? But if we're not counting that, the piano song. No one wants to do homework.

Well, I actually need to write some of the papers. I need to begin practicing the piano piece. And I need to NOT STRESS OUT.

(because we all know the last one is TOTALLY going to happen)


I won't, for two reasons:
- I would bore you with my papers.
- I don't want your ears to bleed with the clashing sound of my fingers sight-reading new sheet music. It's not a fun experience.

I don't like writing school papers, so . . . that's nonexistent, I suppose?

But as for the piano piece - I suppose finally mastering a small section and hearing the soundtrack play out exactly as it was intended to sound. It's amazing.

See above questions.

The papers, yes - again, due dates, and I don't really want to fail school, thank you. XD The piano, though, no. I have plenty of time to figure that one out. (I'm waiting to tell my music teacher what I'm trying to learn and just see her go "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???")

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Phew! Well, that's all for this part of the Shared WIP Tag! In case you missed any of the other posts, here are links to the participants' websites:

Ceci
Catherine
Faith
Sarah
Ariel

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and I will talk to you next Friday (or in the comments section!).

-Nicole <3

Happy Friday!

So, I don’t know if you’ve heard this or not, but there’s a little something that’s going on right now called “Camp NaNoWriMo.” And obviously, because I need more things to cram into my already-busy life, I’m participating. XD

Just like with last NaNo, I’m teaming up with some other excellent bloggers (who will be linked below) to bring you the Shared WIP Tag: Goals Edition!

This is going to be fun!

The topic for today is our Camp NaNo project. Or, in my case, projects . . .


This April, I’m working on finishing the first draft of the Silver Sword (because guess who’s procrastinating. XD)

But I’m also writing the first draft for The Inhumans #2 and rewriting/editing The Inhumans #1.

Do I have too much on my plate? Yeah, probably. But I’m just going to work on whichever one I feel like for each day.

So far, I’ve just worked on The Inhumans #1 and #2. We’ll see if I ever hit The Silver Sword. . . .

Since I’m working on three projects at the same time, I set a goal to write for 1,500 minutes - which, if you do the math, is only 50 minutes a day. (Thank you, Camp NaNo website, for doing the math for me. XD)

Lately, I’m noticing that I’m measuring all my progress based on word-count, and this Camp, I’m trying to change that.

Um. *cough* So, there’s three of them. . . .

So I’ll just give you a tentative elevator pitch for all of them!

The Inhumans #1: A boy and his cousin set out to find the person who tried to kill him, and stumble upon an underground society bent on stopping superpowered terrorists.

(Yes, it’s bad. I just came up with it now.)

The Inhumans #2: As Ben works to help a newly freed prisoner adjust to life outside, Shannon realizes that something eerie is happening back home.

The Silver Sword: Four kids, two nobles and two peasants, fight for the same object: the protection of a kingdom.

I’ve been working on The Inhumans for exactly a year now. I started the Silver Sword last November. But both ideas have been brewing in my head for at least a year before I actually put fingers to keyboard.

The Inhumans: long story short, I watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and wanted to make a character like Draco, but nicer.

The Silver Sword: I wanted to put a twist on the “girl is matched to prince, but doesn’t want to be a princess” trope. I also was wandering an indoor garden and saw a creepy door in the middle of it, and I wanted to know where that led.

I hope I’ll be able to make it! If school doesn’t get in the way . . .

Hahahahaha, NOPE. I always wing it during Camp. XD

Um. As for goals for them . . . No, not really.

But I DO want to share one thing! I recently discovered a picture that perfectly encapsulates Askari’s personality! (In case you’re wondering, Askari is the character from The Inhumans that’s the nicer Draco. XD)

(Yes, it’s Avidan from the Silver Eye. Shhhhh)

Um. Well. *gulps*

I’ll share a short snippet from each one. Don’t worry, spoilers will be limited.

The Inhumans #1: (Ben's POV)  

“Hello, Shannon,” Ben said as he plopped his bag down in the car and took a seat - and immediately jumped off again. He had forgotten that leather burned in the summer.
No response.
“Hello? Shannon?”
She glanced up and took out an earbud. “Oh. Hey, Ben. When’d you get in here?”
“About ten seconds ago.”
“Oh.” Her eyes roved up and down Ben’s body and focused just below his eyes. “Watch your seat. It’s been sitting in the sun.”
Ben bit back a sarcastic reply and said, “Duly noted.”
The Inhumans #2 (Prologue)

The thumps of his bare feet against the marble floor of the base vibrated in his ears. [Name Redacted] had often talked of this walk - the Walk to the Future.
    But what future? Would it be a future of death? Or a future of life, as [name redacted] promised?
    He hoped it would be the latter.

(Hehe, and no, I won’t tell you whose POV that’s from. But I’m very proud of the way the prologue turned out.)

The Silver Sword: 

Bible verse? Um. Not really??? I’ve never thought about having a Bible verse for it.

As for a focus, I kind of have a theme that I zoom in on for each book:

The Inhumans #1: letting go
The Inhumans #2: adjusting to change
The Silver Sword: prejudice and opening up

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*exhale*

That was a lot of questions! XD

A few other awesome bloggers are participating in the tag. Here are their links:

Ceci
Catherine
Faith
Sarah
Ariel

See you guys next week, for our next goal-oriented post! *whispers* it’s about other projects during April.

-Nicole <3