Tag: Reading/WritingUpdate

Reading + Writing Update

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I really wanted to get some more reading in this weekend, but I did manage to finish Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, the first book in the Shatter Me trilogy. Now I am in the middle of three books and there is still several hours left in the day so I am hoping I can get further into at least one of them. I’m reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi, and The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan which so far, are all fantastic books. I’m listening to The Son of Neptune on audiobook and loving it, so I am hoping I can get through a bit more today!

Lately my brain has been extremely scattered and I have no idea why. I don’t think I’ve written in two days, and it makes me feel really unproductive. Hopefully this is something that will only last another day or two at the most because I really want to get some more outlining done as well as some more words in. It just feels like my brain has been rearranged into patterns I don’t understand yet, but why? I have no idea!

That is all for my reading + writing update, and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: February 2018 Wrap Up

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Reading + Writing Update!

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Happy Sunday!

Since this was the week after the Biannual Bibliothon, I thought I would slow down on the reading this week so I wouldn’t burn myself out. However, I did do quite a bit of reading so I would still call it a successful week!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a book I have read countless times so I decided to give it a shot on audiobook and I loved it! It took me about a week to listen to just but it was so much fun that it was hard to pull away. Last week I mentioned it in my Audiobook Recommendations post so I definitely recommend it if you are looking for an awesome audiobook! This week I also started re reading Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and am about 150 pages into it and really enjoying it! Like Fangirl, it is a fun and easy read that hopefully I will be able to finish quickly this week. Lastly, I started listening to The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series and of course I love it so far. It is pretty long, about 15 hours, and while I am only 5 hours in, hopefully I will also be able to finish it this week.

Writing has also been going well this past week. I haven’t done much writing for myself or literary magazines, but I have been blogging a lot and doing assignments for my creative writing class which obviously involves lots of fiction writing. Currently in the unit I am on, we are blending genres and writing for different audiences which I am loving and enjoying so much. There are a few writing contests I want to submit to though, so I have get on to planning and writing those stories this coming week which I am  looking forward to because I love writing!

That is all for my reading + writing update and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Finding Your Voice, for some tips on how to find your writing voice and keep it strong!

Other Places You Can Find Me:

Twitter:@zoermathers

Pinterest: @zoermathers

Reading/Writing Update!

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Happy Sunday!

I am currently working my way through Stephen King’s “On Writing” and continuously thinking why I haven’t read this sooner. A year ago I took it out from the library but never got around to actually read it, and then this last month I put my name on the waiting list for it, got it again and decided to give it a try. Surprise! I am loving it. I am just over half way through and if all goes to plan I will finish it before the day is done because it is that good! The next book I really want to read is Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare…it would be a re read but I just really, really want to dive back into the world of Shadowhunters and also want to see the amazing characters in this book. Hopefully I will be able to finish Lady Midnight before the 20th, because I have decided to take part in the 2018 Biannual Bibliothon! I will have my TBR up soon as well as more info on this week long readathon, but I cannot wait for it to begin.

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Lately I have been writing so, so much which is amazing and I love it, however I do think last night I overworked myself. The past three days I have been writing at all hours of they day possible, but today I think I will just write later in the evening and try and resort back to my usual writing routine because sadly, I do have other things to get done…like my school work!

That is all for my reading/writing routine and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: My Writing Routine!

Other Places to Find Me:

Twitter: @zoermathers

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Reading/Writing Update!

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wewereliars

I have read 3 books this week…crazy I know right. And they weren’t rereads either! Each one I really enjoyed, and have just made me more motivated to read. The last book I finished was We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, and I picked it up at around 9pm and finished it at 12am. It was so good I couldn’t put it down (except for the collective twenty minutes I had to get ready for bed and clean my room) but it was just so gripping I had to know how it would end. I don’t know exactly what to pick up next…I feel like an easy contemporary but I also kind of want to start on This Savage Song…hmm. I think I am going to pick up This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab because I have heard nothing but AMAZING things about it so I am curious to see if it lives up to the hype. Also this is my first Victoria/V.E. Scwab book so yay!

As for writing, I have been writing about 1000 words a day since Thursday, and am loving getting back into writing. Last night after finishing We Were Liars, I could not sleep because one, I was too sad and two, I really wasn’t tired at all, so I got my laptop and started writing. I wrote until about 2am and finished with just over 1000 words which I was really happy about. From past writing experiences I have realized that if I get the urge to write, I need to just write because otherwise it can be really hard to get myself to sit down and write. It is easy once I get going, but as they say, starting is the hardest part.

That is all for my reading/writing update and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: 5 Goals Every Writer Should Set + How to Stay Accountable

P.S. All the pictures I use in my heading and blog posts are NOT mine. I do not take credit for them because I am an awful photographer, but if you are the owner or know the owner of any of the photos I use please tell me so I can give them credit!

Reading/Writing Update!

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Sorry this is going up a bit later than usual, it was just hard to find some time to quickly type this up!

I was intending to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling (as I am already halfway through it), but I had a sudden change in heart and picked up Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia instead. This was a re read and I think it was either on my December or January TBR, but it was also just a book I personally needed to read again. The main character, Eliza, deals with anxiety in this book, specifically social anxiety, and that is something that has been rapidly re-entering my life again. It was something I just needed to read and it definitely made me feel a lot better seeing that represented in YA. Since that book only took me about two days to read, I have started two other books that I am really excited about. The first is #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso which I am halfway through and already love it. It is about Sophia’s journey to kick starting her vintage clothing company, Nasty Gal, and how us #GIRLBOSSES can do it too. The other book I am currently reading is When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandyha Menon and I absolutely adore it! Despite only being 50 or so pages in, I already know that once I let myself just sit down and read it, I won’t want to stop. Hopefully I will be able to finish #GIRLBOSS by the end of today, thus it being my last book  of the year, but I really doubt I will be able to finish When Dimple Met Rishi…which is okay because it will be my first read of the new year then! I don’t think I have announced what my 2018 reading is, but it is 75 books and fingers crossed that I can get remotely near that number this coming year. 2017 was not a great reading year at all but if I start 2018 off right, I know it will be successful!

As for writing, I have been planning a story idea I have been working on for about a year. The overall, core idea is roughly the same, but I have been changing plot points, characters, etc over the past year, just trying to get the story right. I think I have gotten it almost right now, and hopefully I can start righting it when February comes around! I don’t want to rush it though, because I have always rushed myself to finish an outline and that has never turned out well.

That is all for my reading/writing update and I hope you guys enjoyed! I hope you have a wonderful rest of 2017, or if it is already 2018 for you then happy new year 🙂

Reading/Writing Update!

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Happy Sunday! It has been a quiet and calm yet also busy weekend because I have been finishing up homework and studying for my last few tests coming next week. I haven’t done a ton of reading but I have done some over this past week so I thought I would share what I have accomplished so far because at least it is something!

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Currently I am reading two books. Two books that I absolutely adore and am loving reading so much I don’t ever want them to end. The first one is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert which is a non-fiction book on creativity. I am on page 154 of 273 and have found it so incredibly inspiring and informative, that I have enjoyed taking my time this past week reading it. I don’t usually sit down and just read non-fiction books (I usually just scan them and take note of anything I find useful), but with this one I haven’t taken a single note. I’ve just been sitting and down and reading it which is really nice. The other book I am reading is a re read, and that is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone! I am not very far in it at all, but I am a good 70 pages into it and I cannot wait to keep diving in. I’ve been distracted with reading Big Magic in the spare time I do spend reading, but once I finish it I will be giving Harry Potter by full attention and will hopefully finish it before winter break starts this coming Friday!

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Lately I have been searching up more essay contests ever since the last one I entered a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed writing that essay and would like to continue practicing and submitting more essays. Other than googling about writing, I have not written much lately…really I just want to get through this last week of school and then once I am on break I want to spend some time outlining because I have a story that I want to explore! It is an interesting idea to me, and I am hoping that it will take me by the reins and guide me to writing it, but you never know with ideas!

That is all for my reading/writing update and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Liebster Awards! 🙂

Reading/Writing Update!

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thesummeriturnedpretty

It is December, which means a lot more reading time! I am so excited to get through my TBR, and I am pretty proud of what I have gotten read so far. My current read is The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, a summer contemporary I have mentioned quite a bit on my blog, and I am just over halfway done. Since it is such a short and fun read, I plan on finishing the rest today and then jumping into the second book, It’s Not Summer Without You. Usually I prefer to read fantasy during the winter, but for the last few months I have been in a contemporary kick and it doesn’t look like it will be going away any time soon. I did put a few fantasy and darker books on my TBR for December though, so hopefully I will get to those this month as well.

Friday was hectic day because it was the last day to enter an essay contest I had been prepping for for the last two weeks. I do regret putting off the actual writing part for so long, because I was racing against the clock and ended up submitting it only thirty minutes before the deadline…however I do think I produce better content when on a tight deadline and I was really proud with my finished product! I don’t think I will win, but it was nice writing out of my comfort zone and writing an essay rather than a fiction piece.

That is all for my reading and writing update, and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: December 2017 TBR!

Reading/Writing Update!

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to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before

Okay so let’s start off with some good news…I read 2 books this week! I decided I needed a break from fantasy and decided to pick up and re read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. This is one of my favourite books, and favourite trilogies, and I picked it up because I was really in need of reading a light hearted and fluffy novel. I started it on Wednesday and since then have already finished the first two books. Now I am re reading the third and final installment and I haven’t actually re read this one yet. This will be the first re read which makes me excited because I forget what happens exactly. Anyways, I love these books and Jenny Han’s writing so I know that this was the right choice. Hopefully I will finish Always and Forever, Lara Jean today and after that I am not entirely sure what I will pick up next…but we will see!

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Now for NaNoWriMo…so I am at about 18,000 words and I will sadly not be continuing with it. It has been so hard for me to not find time to write, but find the motivation to write because just after writing a few hundred words, I would feel drained. I decided it would be best for me not to continue on with NaNoWriMo, because I also do not feel like my story is “novel ready”. I need to let it mull around in my head for a bit before I write it down on paper, and honestly, I have no idea when that will be. However, I am still writing. I am still writing short stories, and even some essays which I haven’t done much for my own enjoyment. Anyways, I hope that all of your NaNoWriMo journeys are going well but if not, don’t worry because you are not alone!

That is all for my reading and writing update and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Writing Goals for

Reading/Writing Update!

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I have about 100 pages left of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, and I am determined to finish it before the weekend is over…or at least before the end of October next week. One thing I really want to do is have a mini readathon tomorrow, being Sunday, a day where I plan on having absolutely NO plans. All I want to do is sit down and finish Clockwork Angel and then jump into the next book, Clockwork Prince. Lately reading has been on the back burner, but not reading makes me so sad because all I see in my bedroom are unread, unhappy books! I really want reading to be a high priority for me, especially when I get really busy with other things because it is one of the best stress relievers.

Currently I am taking a creative writing class, and I am really enjoying it! So far I have only done a few little assignments, but it has been really interesting to see how a creative writing class is formatted and laid out since I have never taken one before. I am also scrambling to finish prepping for NaNoWriMo because it starts in 4 days! Can you believe it? I have an idea mapped out but I am still working out the plot points and some other fine detailing…fingers crossed I will be ready for Wednesday. I am also looking forward to hopefully attending a few NaNoWriMo Write-Ins at my local library, but we will see if time allows. I would love to connect with other Wrimos and just talking about NaNoWriMo has me so excited.

That is all for my reading and writing update and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: November 2017 TBR…as well as all my NaNoWriMo Prep posts!

Reading/Writing Update!

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This past week was a busy week of traveling, which meant a lot of ridiculously early mornings and late nights…so not a lot of time for reading. However, I did read about 100 more pages of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare so I am just over half way done! I am really enjoying this re read and cannot wait to continue on with re reading the trilogy. The setting in these books is so dark and autumnal and gets me in the perfect mood for fall!

Yesterday was a very inspirational and motivational day in regards to writing, and that is because I attended a writing conference for the day! It was 8 hours of connecting with other writers (even quite a few young writers my age which was great!) and learning some tips from published authors. I attended this conference last year, but have to say that this was year was 10x better! I was able to attend due to their generous scholarship, as well as some of my other writing friends, and am hoping to attend next year as well. If any of you have the means and opportunity to go to a writing conference, I highly recommend you do everything you can to try!

That is all for this reading and writing update, and I hope you enjoyed. Sorry for no blog post Thursday, I was traveling all week and couldn’t find the time to write it…however I will be back on Monday with the second last NaNoWriMo Prep post!