Monthly Highlights - February 2017


February 27, 2017


   So February decided that it was going to be just as hectic as January - if not more so.  But I got a ton done in the world of writing, so I guess I'll consider it a good month?

   Also, Nebraska can't decide whether it wants to be Spring or Winter. Thus the flower-y post header.    

pink flowers February Highlights header

Monthly Highlights

   - We celebrated my sister (Ariel) and mom's birthday earlier in February, and we're celebrating my brother's today! Needless to say, much cake has been eaten this month.

   - My sister (different sister - Skylar, the musical one, this time xD) composed an instrumental song this month that I am basically in awe of. I so wish that I could show it to you guys, but there's no way we could make a quality recording of it. Maybe someday ;).

   - I bought a copy of Martin Hospitality (by Abigayle Claire) and OH MY does it look gorgeous on my shelf. I think it's the only book with a watercolor cover that I own but now I need more*. They're so gorgeous.

   - Somehow we had a 70 degree day, and two days later we had a big snowstorm. Someone tell me what's wrong with Nebraska's weather, because I certainly don't know. I need either winter or spring, not both at once. My pollen allergies are killing me.

* who am I kidding, I always need more books.

Writer-ly Things

   - I finished writing the fifth draft of Killing Snow. It was INSANE and almost slayed me, but at least I learned a lot xD. I'm already itching to start on the sixth draft (sixth draft AND first draft, actually - don't ask me to explain, it's confusing), but I'm saving it for April. Though, I did write some snippets that might appear in draft six. I couldn't help myself.

A snippet from Killing Snow

   - I wrote 10,012 of words this month *dies of the shock*. I didn't actually expect to write as much as I said I wanted to write in February BUT I DID. I'm going to try and beat last month's goal by 5k each month - which means I need to write at least 15k in March, 20k in April*, and so on. This year is going to be a doozy.

   - I wrote and posted my short story, The Testing. I had been on-and-off brainstorming for a short story all of February, and finally had a plot bunny come hopping up to me**. "Hi, Ms. Author - I just saw a little boy standing in the middle of a courtyard and being chosen by something-or-other to be a wizard's apprentice. Wanna write about him?" "No. I'm busy."
   But the plot bunny was insistent, and thus you guys got The Testing. Go figure.

   - I did some more work on a story I've temporarily titled "The Firefly Child" (the title doesn't make any sense anymore, so I'll probably be changing that soon xD). It's one of the weirdest stories I've ever written, and I'm writing it in a way that I haven't written a story for a long time. I can't decide if I love it or hate it, but when I'm bored I tend to tack some more words onto it, so I guess I'm getting somewhere? And The Dreamer's Game (last year's NaNo novel) also got a few more paragraphs, so that was fun.

   *gives you two more (unedited) snippets of this month's work*

A snippet from The Firefly Child
yes, there's a typo. I'm too tired of writing to fix it - see if you can find it xD

A snippet from The Dreamer's Game

   The poor things. They need work. But that will have to wait until I'm done with Killing Snow xD.   

*HAHAHAHA no - it's Camp month. I'm writing 75k. 
**Just one of my millions of little plot bunny pets. DO TAKE THEM OFF MY HANDS. They're eating me out of house and home. My stories are suffering.    

Bookishness

A collage of the books I read in February
+ Heist Society by Ally Carter

   Ten books - definitely less than last month's seventeen, but I'm certainly not disappointed, seeing as this month was kind of crazy. And I didn't read any below-three-star books, which was a plus ;).

   - Illusionarium by Heather Dixon. Something insane happened this month, you guys*. I re-read a book and still gave it five stars. In the last six-ish months, I think this is the only book that I gave five stars and then gave it five stars again (I could be wrong, though. Goldfish brain, and all that). It's one of the most creative books I've ever read and it has footnotes**. Witty little footnotes, because the book is written in first person. I love the thing to death. It does have a few creepy bits, so it's not everyone's book - but for me it's a five star book, two times over.

   - Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen. I read the first chapter or two of this book a couple of years ago and loathed it. But my mom told me that I just had to read it - so I tried again and made it all the way through. And I. Loved. It. Now I own the book, and this is the second time I've read it. It's a re-read that I certainly give four and a half stars.

   And of course, you can read my review of Martin Hospitality right here - and you'll get to see my review of The Princess And I in March.   

*okay, so a lot of insane stuff happened this month but HAHAHA we're not talking about me making the decision to write 75k for April's Camp NaNo. 'Course not.   
** footnotes, I tell you! *is a very happy goldfish*  

Posts I did this month

http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-martin-hospitality-by.html

http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/2017/02/how-i-edited-my-fifth-draft-and-what-i.html

http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/2017/02/cover-reveal-princess-and-i.html
 
http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/2017/02/how-to-liven-up-your-villain-character.html

http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/2017/02/martin-hospitality-blog-tour.html

http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/2017/02/infinity-dreams-award-vlog-style-guest.html


Elsewhere online

   - Katie posted a GORGEOUS posted entitled To The Ones Who Dream that all of you need to read this instant (also she posted an epic piece of flash fiction, so read that, too)

   - Audrey talked about finding your story's theme, which was really fun to read about.

   - Hannah wrote an amazing post about living in the moment, and also celebrated her one-year blogoversary!

   - Jonathan wrote a super-awesome post about inspiring people with stories that aren't perfect.

   - Burning Youth worked their magic ONCE AGAIN. (and then they did it some more)

   - Meredith from On Stories And Words announced that she's going to be having a Beauty And The Beast week in March - and we're invited to participate ;).

   - Michaila posted about 'you know you're a writer if ...', which was really fun to read. 

   - Abi posted 50 facts about her just-published novel, Martin Hospitality (and celebrated her one-year blogoversary, too!).

   - Christine posted a gorgeous short story that I just want to hug and read forever and ever.

Ramblings to come

   - The fourth post in my How To Liven Up Your Character series (which may or may not be about secondary characters ...), and possibly the fifth one, too.

   - A review of The Princess And I by Rebekah Eddy, which is releasing on March 3rd.

   - Possibly a whole post of me rambling about Killing Snow and giving you guys snippets of it (seeing as the one-year mark of me writing Killing Snow is coming up awfully fast)

A snippet from Killing Snow
i guess you can consider this a sneak peek of sorts

   2017 has been crazy so far, but it looks like it's going to be a good year. And if my calculations are correct, I'll end the year with over 200k words written. I guess we'll see if THAT happens, huh? xD

~ Savannah Grace

   Are you planning on joining in April's Camp NaNoWriMo? What's the best book you read this month? Tell me all about your February!

43 comments :

  1. *is happy because my book cover made it into your post* ^_^
    Definitely looking forward to your posts in March! B-)

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    1. It's SO gorgeous, I love it to death! <3 I can't wait to get the review of The Princess And I posted ;).

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  2. OOOH. 200K? YOU CAN DO IT. I BELIEVE IN YOU.

    I'M SO LOOKING FORWARD TO CAMP. I've got a cabin(almost)ful of epic peoples that I've been gathering from around the place. AND I'm going to start plotting soon for my novel and it's going to be epic fun. :D

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    1. THANK YOU I HOPE I CAN :D.

      So am I! I'm insanely excited for Camp to start, I want April to hurry up xD. Ooh, you're going to be plotting? You should post about it - I want to hear all about the new Prill-story ideas!

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  3. I have started about three books this month - lol - and not ONE is going anywhere. I come up with the beginning, and then I can't figure out how to finish! lolls! Oh well, I can make them into short stories...
    YOUR short short was GREAT! I know I've said that before, but still... <3 I love the story clips! Can't wait 'til the next one! xD

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    1. Our weather has been crazy also... It's like 80 degrees one day and 30 the next!!! O_O

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    2. I always come up with the ending or middle of a story, and then I can't figure out how to actually start the thing! I guess we even each other one xD.

      Thank you again, GJE! I'm glad that you enjoyed it :D. And you may or may not be getting more story snippets around the 11th of March, just saying ;).

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    3. I guess so... ;D If I don't finish a book, I'll just send whatever I had already written to my sister or keep if for further reference. I am writing a new book now, though, and I think it's going somewhere... yay!
      You're welcome! I have something to look forward to.... *rubs hands together eagerly*

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  4. Our weather has been so schizophrenic as well! Like 80 DEGREES SOMETIMES. Just no. But then cold the next day. I DON'T EVEN KNOW. February seems to keep forgetting it's actually winter and not spring. >.>

    Wow, you guys have a lot of February birthdays! Happy birthday to everyone! <3

    LOOK AT ALL THE WRITERLYNESS YOU DID THIS MONTH. 10K WORDS??? I AM IN AWE. Go, Savannah!!! Can I have some of your writing motivation, because I seriously need it! Eheh.
    SNIPPETS. SNIPPEEEETS!!! I love them all so much! I got a thrill when you shared one from The Dreamer's Game. I just LOVE the style and feel of that one. It's gorgeous. Also The Firefly Child looks epic just from that tiny bit you shared. Dwarves? A mute girl? YESH.

    Okay, I am utterly, totally, completely in AWE at your goal to write 5k more words each month. O_O Like like like...THAT IS EPIC. Wow. I so admire your dedication!

    YOU REREAD ILLUSIONARIUM!!!! Isn't it just the greatest? It's so UNIQUE. Gah! I love it! And, oh man, I've been wanting to read Here, There be Dragons for AGES. I can never find it though! D: But now I want to read it even MORE after seeing you loved it so much. I NEEDS IT, PRECIOUSSS.

    AWK. You linked to my short story. SAVANNAH. YOU ARE THE NICEST. <3333

    I cannot wait for more of your Characters series! :D AND I DEFINITELY WANT A POST ABOUT KILLING SNOW WITH SNIPPETS. GIVES IT TO US. PLEEEEASE. *puppy dog eyes*

    I do so hope you have an absolutely amazing March! <3

    (P.S. I tagged you for the Life Lessons Learned from Fantasy Tag: http://musingsofanelf.blogspot.com/2017/02/life-lessons-learned-from-fantasy-tag.html Absolutely NO precious to do it. Just wanted to let you know. ^_^)

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    1. YES to schizophrenic (*hoards the new pretty word* xD) weather - I can't decide whether I want it to be winter or spring, either!

      10k words and a very fried brain - but the thought of having Killing Snow ready for publication in December (if I continue at this breakneck pace) is keeping me going :D. And OH MY, I'm so glad that you liked the snippets I shared! <3 I actually didn't PLAN to have the girl be mute - but she kind of didn't want to say anything, and I finally figured at that she didn't have anything she COULD say. It's so much fun to have a bunch of diverse characters in a story, so I left her that way ;).

      ILLUSIONARIUM. Oh gracious, it's one of my favorite books. I MIGHT have picked it up the first time just because I wanted to read a fantasy story with legit footnotes . I picked it up the second time because I HAD to read it again xD. And yes, yes - you need to read Here, There Be Dragons! I think you would enjoy it ;).

      YOU'RE WELCOME! It's was sooo pretty, I just can't. *hugs the gorgeous thing*

      Well, if you can figure out which day I started writing Killing Snow, then you can know when to expect some snippets! I'm already planning the post ;).

      Ooh, thank you for tagging me! I've been tagged for that twice now, and it looks SO AMAZING. *add it to growing tag pile* It might take me awhile to get to it, but I'll try ;). Thanks for reading, Christine! <3

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  5. Happy Birthday, Savannah's brother! *hands over a ginormous piece of his favorite cake*
    Savannah, I can't get over the plot bunnies. xD They raid my house and all rush at me with new ideas! *muffles a scream while being trampled by fluffy bunnies*
    My February has gone AMAZING! I'd say, the best book I've read this month was...(trying to think while getting poked by plot bunnies)...I haven't read as much as i wanted to this week, btu I'd have to say Dear America- A Coal Miner's Bride by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. It may sound babyish, btu I really enjoy them. It had a very good story and plot.

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    1. Oh dear - I'm not the only one being attacked by plot bunnies, then? xD *helps dig you out of the plot bunny pile* I'm constantly needing to break out my brainstorming notebook to jot down a new idea that suddenly jumps me. I can't decide whether I love that fact or hate it xD.

      I'm glad! And that sounds like it might be a cool book - I may have to check it out ;).

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    2. No. You are not alone. *threatening to stuff the plot bunnies, and thanking you for helping me*
      I know! It's neat that you can get so many great ideas, but it gets so frustrating.
      It is! I order them from the library SO much. I'm a drunkard of books. xD

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  6. GIRL. Fun month-keep being awesome!!!!

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  7. The weather here is crazy, too. I'm so happy you read Every Soul a Star--one of my favorites, but no one else has ever heard of it before!!

    Hailey
    haileyhudson.wordpress.com

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    1. Ooh, you've read it before? *highfive* It's not one of my top-favorites, but it's definitely a wonderful book!

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  8. YES CHRISTINE'S STORY IS AMAZING! I enjoyed yours too, and I wrote one as well. XD Aaaall the wintry short stories being posted!

    ILLUSIONARIUM AND FOOTNOTES!!!! THAT IS ALL.

    10K words. Wow. O_O GO YOU! Hope you have an awesome March. :)

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    1. YES IT WAS WONDERFUL - and I'm glad you enjoyed mine! :D I read yours and OH MY was I floored by the epicness. I haven't had time to comment on it, but I definitely will ;).

      ALSO THE CHARACTERS. Illusionarium has the best characters :D.

      Same to you, Deborah! Thanks for reading <3.

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  9. Here, There Be Dragons is so good!! I love that twist ending (literally, that last page stuns me every time). And I am so excited to read Martin Hospitality!!

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    1. *gasps* You've read it? Good for you! And YES THE ENDING. I basically just stared at the page for a full minute after I got to it. It was just so EPIC!

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  10. The weather has been so weird here in Maine also! We had so many warm days last week - and now it's back down to freezing. >:| I just want it to be summer, if that's not too much to ask.
    Your snippets are so great. I want to read your book now. *laughs nervously because she wants to read everyone's book*
    I'm doing Camp NaNo! We'll see how many words I can get with school and computer curfew and stuff, but... *sighs*

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    1. I'm normally begging for winter to stick around just a little longer - but after getting a taste of spring, I kind of want it to stick around xD.

      Thank you so much! You might get to see more if it around March 11th ;).

      Really? That's awesome! *highfive* What's your wordgoal going to be?

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  11. 10,000+ WORDS?! GIIIIIRLLLL... That is AWESOME! :D
    ILLUSIONARIUM!! *hugs book to death* I loves it soooo much. Footnotes are indeed quite wonderful. ;)
    Also, those snippets are FABULOUS. I find myself easily susceptible to grammatical errors all to often, so you're not alone on that. XD
    I hope you have a delightful March! <3

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    1. THANK YOU! I'm really excited about trying to hit 15k this month.

      Oh gracious, YES. I love it so much. I'll probably be buying it, so that I can put the beautiful thing on my bookshelf ;).

      I'm so glad that you enjoyed the snippets! And I hope you have a wonderful March as well <3.

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  12. Camp NaNo? Ha ha...ha...

    ....

    *clears throat* I'm DYING to do it (because I obviously loved NaNoWriMo's craziness), but I'm going to be drowning in edits come April, when I get my novel back from betas *hides* Not to mention how I'm now editing the sequel, which is looking more and more messy the deeper in I get. BUT I've been known to make last minute decisions regarding writing, so I might do it xD

    Ditto on the crazy month :P I don't even want to know how much more hectic it's going to be by the end of 2017 ;-)

    audrey caylin

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    1. Well, a LOT of people edit for Camp NaNo - so maybe you can still do it ;). And I totally agree about loving the NaNoWriMo craziness! I wouldn't miss it for anything :D. `

      OH WOW - you're doing a lot of editing, huh? I never can quite decide whether I love or hate editing ... I guess it depends on what mood I'm in xD. I hope that all goes well for you!

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  13. Wow, it looks like you had an amazing month! :D You're having weird weather to? Maine can't decide if it's winter or spring either. :P Woah, ten books? I only got four, which is definitely NOT my best.

    But anyway, I'm glad you had a great month, and I hope that March well. :)

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    1. Yup, it was pretty awesome! It PROBABLY wasn't the best idea for me to try and read that many books - it only made the month more insane xD. Maybe in March I'll wise up and only read a few, so that I have more time to write ;).

      Thank you! I hope you have a great March as well :).

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  14. LOVED this post, my friend!! I realllly enjoy reading your monthly reviews... =)
    Okay. Firefly Child. LET ME JUST FLAIL FOR A MINUTE BECAUSE EVEN THIS SNIPPET TELLS ME THAT THIS BOOK IS GOING TO BE PURE GOLD AND I LOVE THIS DWARF ALREADY AND WHO IS THE GIRL AND YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT A REASON WHY SHE IS MUTE THAT COULD TURN OUT REALLY INTERESTING AND I JUST WANT MORE OF THIS STORYYYYYY.
    (and just saying, I love your footnotes xD)
    -Ariel

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    1. Thank you, Ariel! I'm glad that you like them - even if you probably know most of the stuff I talk about before I talk about it xD.

      OH GOOD GRACIOUS, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Also, yes you will love the dwarf. He'll probably be your favorite character. I know you so well xD. And maybe I'll let you read a little bit extra sometime, seeing as you get "sister points" and all that ;).

      (footnotes are fun - in both books and blog posts! Glad you enjoy them xD)

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    2. I agree with Ariel. You write so much interesting writing. I WANT MORE OF IT!!!!!!! Why is she mute? *curiosity overwhelming me*

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  15. YOU READ EVERY SOUL A STAR. Did you like it?? I saw it at the library the other day and picked it up and read a bit but put it back down. But IF IT'S GOOD I MIGHT GO CHECK IT OUT AND FINISH IT. And thank you for mentioning my post! *warm fuzzies* *hugs* Congrats on your writer epicness!

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    1. YES, I READ IT - and yes, I did like it! It wasn't one of the top books I read this month (I gave it three and a half stars), but it certainly wasn't bad. I guess it depends on what genre you like ;). And you're welcome! You always write such epic stuff :D.

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  16. Love it, Savannah!
    "They swirled like dying butterflies before twirling in a broken dance down to her feet." SAVANNAH GRACE, THIS WORD PICTURE I CAN'T EVEN. I am in awe.
    And YES, GIVE US A KILLING SNOW POST!! And allllllllll the snippets!!! Please?
    (Wow, look at that all caps. Guess I'm excited. *cough*)

    The best book I read this month is TOTALLY The Silmarillion (I've read less than half of it--that still counts, right? *awkward laugh*). Seriously, so much gorgeous. Okay, Feanor is making me insanely mad right now and Ungoliant was SUPER freaky, but I'm still desperately in love with this book! ;)

    P.S. Just heads up, Aragorn's birthday is tomorrow, if you want to post. ;)

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    1. OH GOOD GRACIOUS - Thank you so much, Hanna! I'm grinning so big over here :D.

      Well if you can figure out which day is the one-year birthday of Killing Snow, you might be able to figure out which day you can expect snippets around ;).

      Ooh, I really need to get Silmarillion from the library again! Feanor doesn't ring any bells (but it's such an epic name) but I THINK I remember reading something about Ungoliant ... *goes to request the book again* ;)

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    2. Ooh, I'll have to figure that out. I think Ungoliant is some ancestor of Shelob's. She's creepy, but still kind-of cool. Yes, I love Feanor's name! Sadly, I'm liking it a lot less after seeing the choices he made. >:(

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  17. Happy belated birthday to your sister, mother, and brother!

    I remember reading Here There Be Dragons a long time ago. I think my library only had three out of the eight books in the series. I remember liking the references and the idea of dragon boats.

    lovely snippets, thanks for sharing!

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    1. My library doesn't have the entire series, either - but I might have to buy the books that it's missing ;). I'm excited to see how the rest of the series plays out!

      Thank you for reading, Blue! :D

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  18. Eeep I'm doing camp and I'm so pumped!! I'll still be working on my NaNoWriMo novel... which I've basically written only 5k on since barely finishing 50k. :P BUT I'm excited.

    I'm glad you had a good February, and I wish you a very good March. :D

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    1. YAY - now we'll be able to rant and rave about being word-less together! :D I'm super excited for April.

      Same to you, friend! :D

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