Wednesday, June 26, 2013

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme, started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk, that helps readers and writers touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up. Join by visiting their blogs and signing in on the widget.

I've been pretty bad at blogging lately, and even pumping out a What's Up Wednesday! (Partly because I get Wednesday almost 24 hours before America/Canada so I get confused by the time difference...!)

But this week, it's all on!

What I'm Reading
I finally finished Cody Name Verity which took me quite a while to get through then I followed it up by one of those guilty pleasures... Pretty Little Liars number 13 (!!). Dang guilty pleasures! Now I'm reading the new book from Khaled Hosseini, And The Mountains Echoed. There are so many others on my list that I've been meaning to read for over a year now, but I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns so really want to crack into this one!

What I'm Writing
Still pumping away on my WIP. I've finally broken free of my mind block and barriers (there'll be a blog about this in the next few weeks) and now the words are flowing more freely. The key is to keep them flowing! I've made up two of the chapters I deleted, so just got to get a move on and make up the rest!

I'm happy with where my story is heading now, but I am spending more time getting those words down  and unfortunately less time here on the blog. I'm trying to avoid using my blog as a procrastination tool and avoid procrastination in general! We'll see how that goes... haha!

What Inspires Me Right Now
We've been having some pretty crappy weather in New Zealand lately. It's heading toward the middle of winter and New Zealand has been utterly battered with wild weather. In the past week we've had a massive wind storm, a massive rain storm (which caused huge amounts of flooding) and a huge snow storm. My character is in a pretty dark place currently so bundling up in front of the heater and writing while the rain pours outside is what has been inspiring me!

What Else I've Been Up To...
It's been busy over the last few weeks. Our Festival programme launched - if you're interested in just looking or think you might be in Christchurch in August/September check it out here. That's been one of my big projects and I'm very happy with how it turned out!

I've been braving the -3 temperatures to get out to the gym at 7am each morning, and have finally started watching Game of Thrones. I know I'm SO far behind, and I did watch most of the first season in 2011 but just couldn't get into it. I'm trying again and am loving it so far! About to start on season two :D

Aside from that, I've just been working and hanging with my family. Heading up north to see my man on Friday which i'm VERY excited about! 

As I said, it's mid-winter so we're all in hibernation mode so not a lot is really going on! Hating this cold! Bring on the summer!

What have you been up to?


30 comments:

  1. I'll try to blow some warm winds your way, but honestly, I'm glad out snow is finally gone. Don't feel guilty about writing and not blogging - writing is definitely more important ;)
    Glad you're feeling inspired!

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    1. Haha i'll welcome even a day of warm winds! Thanks for stopping by :)

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  2. Wow, so great to hear that you can use the freezing weather as inspiration. Sounds like you're really making progress on your WIP--bravo!
    I loved CNV too. Such a powerful read. I've heard AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED is really good too.
    Have a great week!

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    1. Ha yeah, i'm one of those people that if it's warm and sunny outside I can't stand to spend my day inside at a computer! I really hope I love And The Mountains Echoed! Hope your week is great too :)

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  3. The weather sounds TERRIBLE, but I'm glad you were able to be productive! We've had some rainy days here too, and since that inflict on the sun time, I've been spending more time writing too. WIN

    Also, LOVED Code Name Verity! I hope you have a wonderful writing week!

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    1. I really find there's something inspiring about awful weather when it comes to writing! I hope your week is great too :)

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  4. Ug, I am not envious of that weather. It is great that you're using it for inspiration. Yay Samantha. I so hear what you're saying about blogging and procrastination. I've been trying to ONLY blog for WUW right now. Otherwise I spend too much time in blog world. Good luck writing this week!

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    1. It's hard isn't it. The words don't flow so well so the procrastination begins! It's nice to have inspiring weather but I really really hate the cold! Hope you have a great week :)

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  5. I feel you on the weather. I lived in Australia for 5 months and even with your flooding and earthquakes (I happened to live there in 2011 during the Japanese tsunamis, the earthquakes, the flooding, etc) I miss it! I am glad it is feeling like good inspiration though. :-)
    It's also nice to meet you *waves* I loved Christchurch when I visited even if was hard to see (this was RIGHT after the 'quake). I am hoping it is rebuilding itself slowly!
    I haven't read CODE NAME VERITY yet but everyone says it is so so so so great. One of these days I will get to it!!
    Good luck with your WIP and keep it going, Samanatha!

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    1. Hey! I don't find many people who have been to Christchurch! How cool! 2011 was certainly an interesting time for NZ and Aus! What part of Aus were you in? Christchurch was quite a sad mess at that time, you'll have to come back and see all the progress being made with the rebuild :)

      Definitely read Code Name Verity. I found it a bit slow but overall it's a great book!

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  6. Wow, I'm impressed that you're managing the time difference so well. It's so great to hear that your writing is going well! And yeah, I tend to use the blog as an "I'm being an author" excuse, when it's really just an chronic form of procrastination. :P

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    1. The time difference thing is such a pain! I always forget! Procrastination is a difficult thing, especially when it comes to the blog, I feel like it's important to keep up an online presence but the writing of the WIP needs to come first, something I need to remind myself of!

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  7. I can't imagine it being winter there when it's 90F here! I have CODE NAME VERITY on my TBR, and I actually have copy of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS that my mum gave me--she bought it to read on the plane the last time she came to visit. I need to get around to reading it sometime soon!

    Keep warm, and all the best with your writing, Samantha! :)

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    1. I miss that insane East Coast heat! I can still remember walking through the streets of NYC at 2am last June and the temperature being 95F (35C). We never get that during the night, even in summer. I'm jealous seeing all the summer pics and hearing the summer stories coming out of the Northern Hemisphere. We've had the shortest day though, so back on the road to summer!
      Definitely get onto reading both of those books. They're hugely different but both great reads!

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  8. The whole hemisphere thing still blows my mind. Winter in June! MADNESS :P Also, forget braving the temperatures. Being at a gym by 7's what really impresses me!

    So glad to hear the words are flowing. Hooray! What a great feeling that always is. Have a great writing week!

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    1. Haha it is NOT easy to get to the gym by 7am when the frost is biting hard! This will blow your mind even more - we have Christmas during summer! We spend our Christmas days outside, having BBQs and hanging at the beach! It's great.
      Have a great week :)

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  9. I'm with Cole on the hemisphere thing: I'll never get used to the fact that it's snowy in cold in June where you are. Here's hoping that changes! I suppose it's good if it's inspiring you, though. I hope the words keep on coming, but maybe not so much the crummy weather. :)

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    1. I know, it's crazy isn't it! I did quite enjoy having summer in the middle of the year last year, but having a cold Christmas, New Years and Birthday was SO strange.
      Hope you're feeling better, Jaime :)

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  10. A few other bloggers on the Ready Set Write list mentioned Code Name Verity too. It is a tough book to get through, though overall, worth it. Good idea to follow up with something lighter and fun.

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  11. First, I love your font! It's gorgeous!

    Second, I envy your winter-time. Well, not the -3 degrees. But, living in Texas in the summer really makes you long for any weather that doesn't make you sweat 3 seconds after you leave your house.

    I haven't watched Pretty Little Liars, but I love my guilty pleasures. The Vampire Diaries is my biggest guilty pleasure. But, I'm starting to not feel as guilty for them all, so maybe they should just be pleasures. People should be able to enjoy things without feeling guilty sometimes, don't you think? So, enjoy your PLL and throw that guilt out the window! :)

    Good luck with your WIP! And finding a balance between blogging and writing that doesn't involve procrastination! (I do the same thing...)

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    1. Thanks :) I love the font too! My man is a typography freak and he chose it for me!

      Ahh I loved Texas! I was there over the winter and thought it was so great that it was still so warm! To be honest, the Texas winter temperatures were like our summer temperatures - almost! I do know what you mean about the heat that just gets too much though!

      I resisted Vampire Diaries but I know so many people who LOVE it. and I agree, we should be allowed our guilty pleasures :)
      Have yourself a great week!

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  12. It's so funny how most normal people hate the horrible weather and we writers are all like "This massive rainstorm is SO inspiring!" I'm glad to hear writing is going better now. I had some issues earlier this week too. It feels great when you jump those writer's block hurdles and everything starts falling into place! Hope it continues to go well!

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    1. I know, those rainstorms create such a good atmosphere! Aren't those writing issues a pain! It's so nice to leap over the hurdles and let the words flow - here's hoping it lasts!!

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  13. Now I think I have stop complaining about how the weather has been here lately. It was sunny for a week and then the storms started to roll in. I don't like storms of any kind. It's strange because most writers tend to like rain/thunder but I absolutely hate it. I hope it gets warmer we're your at soon though.

    I need to get around to reading Khaled Hosseini's other two books because I LOVED The Kite Runner. Even though it made me tear up, it was still a good book.

    And yay! for getting over the block. It's a good feeling when the words continue to flow.

    I LOVE Game of Thrones. I won't say any more on it. Don't want to spoil it for you. But I watch Pretty Little Liars. I like the show a lot but part of me feels like we're never going to find out who A is. EVER. I want to read the books just to find out but if they're still more books in the series, I doubt A is revealed in them. It's driving me crazy not knowing.

    Keep up the writing and stay warm!

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    1. Aww I hope the storms stop coming your way then! At least over here we're more or less expecting them in some form since it's winter! We're on the countdown until summer now so hopefully it races by!

      Ohh yes you should read the other two! I can't speak for his latest one as I've read about a page (fail) but A thousand splendid suns is great! I loved The Kite Runner too :)

      I'm addicted to GoT now! Finally finished season one, loving it! As for PLL, if we never find out, i'll be FURIOUS! The first A in the books was the same as the TV show, but then there hasn't been another reveal since then, I wish they'd just hurry up!!!

      Have a great week :)

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  14. I'm glad the words are flowing! It took me a while to get into Game of Thrones too. I had to go back to Season 1 and start over but now it's probably one of my favorite TV shows. I love PLL too. The books and the TV show. Though I think this season has started off a little slow hopefully it will pick up. Have a good week!

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    1. Yeah I think sometimes it must take two goes to really get into it but now I'm loving it, getting into season two currently! I agree, this season of PLL needs to speed up. The most recent episode was branded 'worst episode yet' on one review, I want more excitement!
      Hope your week is lovely :)

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  15. CNV wrecked me for a couple days. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

    Congratulations on getting through those writing barriers. Good luck on your goals this week.

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    1. Oh I know, that "Kiss me quick!" echoes around my brain all the time!
      Have a great week :)

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