Megan Time!

This month, I'm going to be honest I haven't done an awful lot of writing on my novel. I've had other things going on and my novel writing took a little back seat. I'm hoping to really get back into next month and take it more seriously. I might even set myself a deadline to complete the first draft. Although, I don't know if I want to put too much pressure on myself but maybe setting a realistic deadline will be useful. Anyway, onto the actual progress of my novel.  Current Progress As it stands I've written 11,021 words so I have made some progress in my last update. I ended up writing the epilogue for my novel as it was one I was looking forward to writing. The best bit about writing is people think you have to write from start to finish but the reality is you can work on any chapter you want. You can even work backwards if you have a really strong idea for the climax of your novel. It's especially good to remember you can write any chapter you want, espe...

Thought I'd share another update of my writing journey as progress has been made. I've done two thousand words worth of research which includes my novel's logline and road map. This has really helped me as I've outlined different points of my novel which I wasn't sure about before but now it feels like it's coming together. I know that this road map is not set in stone as ideas can change but it's a starting point. Definitely worth creating a road map for your novel as it helps you to map out where you're going with the story. Definitely splitting into Act one, two and three also really help with it.  It definitely helped when I decided to do some writing in a coffee shop one day. I find writing in different locations can really spark motivation. I took my road map with me and was in the middle of writing a chapter when I went there> i got myself a caramel latte and set myself time to work. I like writing the old fashion way with a pen and my notebook...

I decided to create a series on my blog where I share my writing journey with you.  Currently, I'm working on a novel and I've been wanting to write a novel for a long time. A couple of years ago I did a first draft of a novel but I wasn't happy with how it turned out. Now, I've thought of a new idea for a novel and I've never been more excited to write a novel. I love the idea and I think it is a strong idea that has potential. Of course, I'm only in the early stages of the writing process at the moment so it is very much a working progress.  Why did I start my novel? I started working on this novel after completing a class on Skillshare. The class was called Creative Writing Bootcamp by Myla Goldberg and I highly recommend it because it really did inspire me. One of the exercises was to write about someone you dislike and I did which then created this whole new character in my head. We had to do an empathy venn diagram which is where you have to compare what s...

Hi, it's been a while since I've last written here and there is a reason for that. I've had a creative block. It's a real struggle because I've been meaning to get back into blogging for a while now as I knew we're getting towards the end of May and I've only made one post this month. Last month I was supposed to post everyday for a month but that's when the creative block hit and I didn't really know what to write about. It's ironic because I even made a post about how to beat creative blocks. Little did I know it was going to hit me hard. That's why I'm here now because I felt like I owed it to you, my fellow readers, to explain where I've been and why I haven't posted. Another thing that got in the way was work had been very busy and after work or on my days off I didn't feel like writing a post. I've also been working on writing my novel which has been occupying my time quite a bit. I think I was focusing on writing my...

Your twenties can sometimes be lonely at times but it's important to make the most out of this by taking time for yourself. I saw a quote about Mr Bean on Instagram about the importance of enjoying your own company instead of expecting other people to make you happy. As many who know Mr Bean, he's a man that does a lot of things on his own and doesn't care what others think. He dines alone at a restaurant, goes to an amusement park, stays in a hotel and even ends up going on holiday by himself. Although if you've seen Mr Bean's Holiday you know he doesn't end up alone for long but still, he never expected to make friends while on holiday. It just happened. That's why it's important not to dwell on loneliness because you never really know what can happen. If you spend time enjoying your company then everything will soon fall into place and maybe along the way you meet friends or even a potential partner. The most important thing is to be happy and content...

Something that I've been meaning to do for the longest time is to start writing my novel. I did write a first draft of a novel back in 2020 during the lockdown but I never revisited again and lost interest in writing. Recently I've really had the creative bug and I even took a creative writing course on Skillshare which really inspired me to write.  I started developing ideas for a story and the creative juices started flowing. I had an idea for a particular plot twist that happens in the middle of the story. Instead of starting to write in a linear format from start to finish, I decided to write in a non linear format where I started to write the chapter in the middle of the novel where the plot twist happens. It felt good because I knew what I wanted to happen and knew I could work my way from this chapter. It made me realise that this is the best way to write because rather than struggling to figure out how your story begins or how it ends, you can work on a significant mome...

If you've read my blog in the past, you know I've made many posts about books and that's because I love to read. I've done this back in July and I realise there's a few books from that post on here still. That's because I'm a huge procrastinator but I thought I'd share my reading plans for the rest of the year. I currently only have seven books on my bookshelf to read then I will complete my goal of reading all the books on my bookshelf which is a goal I never thought I'd achieve. Although the temptation to buy more books is very real either way, all the books I want to read and hope to finish by the end of this year. Let's get started.  Currently Reading One Enchanted Evening by Katie Fforde This book is one I'm enjoying so far. It's a nice story of haters to lovers kind of story is what I'm assuming is going to happen. The main character is called Meg which I'm very happy about as that's the main reason why I bought this boo...

Obviously Summer is probably going to be different than the previous summer's we've had. No holidays. No festivals. Not even going onto the beach with friends. Keeping socially distanced. However, all this is not going to stop me from creating a Summer Bucket List with all the things I want to do which is acceptable during these uncertain times of lockdown. Plus involve staying at home. So here is my Summer Bucket List. 1. Read all of my TBR on my bookshelf I always find the Summer the perfect time to get some reading done as it's nice weather and you can pretty much read everywhere. My goal is to read all of my bookshelf before September rolls around as I should hopefully be off to university by then.  Also it will feel great to know I've read all of my books on my bookshelf so I won't have to feel the guilt of buying a new book. This goal is a little ambitious as I am a bit of a slow and lazy reader but I do hope to do a lot of reading this Summer. 2. Finis...

Something I have been working really hard these past three months is my first draft of my novel. It was one way to keep myself busy and especially during this lock down we are all meant to be on, I have had a bit more time to get some writing done. I am happy to say that on the 1st April 2020, I finished my first draft of my novel. I couldn't believe when I wrote the words "The End" on my first draft but I did it. Now it is only the first draft and I wouldn't say it is the most well written novel as I know there are few mistakes here and there plus some chapters are shorter than others. At the same time though, it has given a basis to work on the second draft as I have the entire story written from beginning to end, I know exactly what happens in my novel and I can now improve on the writing and make sure everything falls into place. Halfway through writing my novel, I was so eager to go back and work on my previous chapters but I stopped myself from doing that as...

As I am currently off work for Christmas and the New Year, I do have a lot of free time. Now it all sounds like fun and games for the first few days but then you suddenly realise this is you life right now and you may get bored. Luckily for me I have a few things that keep me busy and help me not get bored. So I thought I'd share some of the things I have done to keep busy during my time off and this can be useful to any of you going through the same thing or just to find ways on how not to get bored. Here we go: 1. Blogging Honestly, I am so happy to be back in the blogging game again. Blogmas has really helped me to find my motivation to blog and it honestly has been great creating posts then scheduling them. It just lets me be creative and I've tried some new things too. I've edited photos with Photoshop to make them look more aesthetically pleasing. I've also written a load of posts in one day, edited them and scheduled them. This has helped me out so m...

As I'm currently working on a novel, I thought I'd share some tips which I've learned as a beginner writer which will hopefully help any of you with writing. Even though I'm not a professional and this currently just a project for me to work on in my free time. I hope you enjoy these five writing tips I have to share. 1. Make a note of all the ideas you have for the story This can be useful when you're writing. Some times ideas come out of nowhere but you're currently that far in your story to write them or are in the middle of a chapter. Just make a note of it then when the time is write in your story then you can refer back to it. I have a little notebook which I write my ideas down when I'm out and about just so I don't lose the idea. Whether I use the idea is another matter plus at least I've made a note of it so I'm not struggling for ideas when it comes to getting writer's block. Which has happened a few times when I've been ...

As most of you know there has been a book series which I have been reading these past few months. Back on the 2nd of May I finished reading Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella and started reading another of her books called The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic. I wasn't sure if this was a series where I'd buy all the books or even enjoy it. However though as soon as I finished this book, I wanted to know what happens next in the life of Becky Bloomwood. I ended up buying the next book and the book after that. I did read books in between the series but I always went back to reading the series and loving every minute of it. I have to say these books are like a romantic comedy all within a book. It just amazes me and half the time I have no idea how it's going to end as it's full of plot twists and unexpected things happen. Half the time you're like 'How is Becky going to get out of this situation' Most of the time Becky is in some kind of situation whether...