Merry Christmas and looking ahead to 2015 (pt.2)

Well. This year has flown by and I can't believe we're already looking at 2015! Putting this year aside, there are plenty of books and events that I'm looking forward to next year, as well as some resolutions of my own.

I actually wrote about some of the books I'm looking forward to here (although, my own personal list has already grown so much - there are so many books, both new and old that I'm looking forward to hopefully reading next year!). I think it's going to be another good year for YA and books and hopefully lots of exciting things are in store.

I'm excited about MuggleNet's first expo, MuggleNet Live! 2015: Expo Patronum, which is taking place on April 18th, and I can't wait to be involved and meet lots of my wonderful and amazing MuggleNet coworkers.

I'm hoping for another YALC. And more trips to Fowey. I'm hoping for lots of great book events, and meeting bookish and writing friends.

I'm hoping to keep blogging regularly on here, and over at a new blog/site I recently started, YA Inspires (I'm still feeling the way with that one).

Writing wise, I'm hoping to send Treading Water out to lots more agents, to edit the contemporary I wrote this summer to a good standard, to rehash and rewrite the MG story I wrote for my dissertation this summer. And of course, I hope for lots of new ideas, and inspiring things, but also focus. I hope to continue loving writing, no matter what.

Most of all, I hope the year is happy and full of good surprises and nice things!

And that's it for this year. I'm going to take a blogging break until the new year. I hope you all have an AMAZING Christmas and a WONDERFUL happy new year! I hope you get everything you want in the new year and have lots of hopes and dreams for the year.

Thanks for reading! x

Dreams and Ramblings

It's funny how things fall into place, especially when you least expect it. Not even a year ago I tried out windsurfing for the first time. And since then, I've been absolutely hooked. It's changed my life, and I adore it.

Recently I found an old post on my Livejournal (ha!) from a few years ago, saying that I wished I had the courage to try out windsurfing, and get over my fear of the sea. And here I am, a few years later having done that. Strange how things turn out isn't it? I never thought I would be so keen! And I was thinking earlier that it was strange that I did ballet for 10 years, and although I was never that good, it taught me a lot, and some of the things I learnt are oddly relevant to windsurfing - the balance, the feet, all of that. Weird how you don't know how something you do when you're little will affect you or benefit you later on!

Anyway, so while I'm itching to get back on the water again, and dreaming of longer, sunny days, and with my birthday around the corner once again, I was thinking about other things I want to do, or wish I could try out in the immediate future.

Unsurprisingly, most of these things involve the sea - I'd love to try out surfing, especially while I'm still in the West Country, because it's so iconic, and I'd love to have at least tried it. I'd also love to try out paddleboarding. I'd also love to visit more places in both Devon and Cornwall, while I'm still down here. It suddenly feels as if I don't have long left here, and even though I want to live here for good one day, I know that's not in the immediate future, as I work out just what it is I'm doing (and that's another separate list of dreams and wishes I won't write here!!).

I think I wrote last year about trying out things that scare you, and I suppose this is an extension of that. I overcame so much last year, and so many good things happened because of that.

I also want to plan a trip to the Du Maurier/Fowey Festival trip this year. Last year was amazing, and I want to do all that again. As I wrote before, my beloved Fowey has been rather battered recently, and I'm longing to visit again. But with no train links at the moment, I'm a bit stuck.

Since watching the Winter Olympics (something I've never really been into before), I've become a huge fan of snowboarding. That's another thing that I think it would be cool to try one day. I know right - me, who hates snow with a passion. But then, I used to be terrified of going into the ocean, so who knows! Although, I think windsurfing is where my passion lies. It's all about water and the sea, and I adore the coast <3

I'm planning a trip home for my birthday this year, as I think I've had like two birthdays at home in the last ten years - crazy I know. I'm looking forward to it, it'll be nice. I can't believe that time of the year has come around so quickly!

Tennis and Monday Blues

Disappointing tennis result yesterday. Poor Murray. But then it wasn’t as excruciating as matches were a couple of years ago, because he can do it, and he fought so well yesterday. It was a fantastic match, and they’re both brilliant players. And I like Djokovic. If he hadn’t been playing Murray I would have been rooting for him! The commentators were saying that the big rivalry is now between these two, now that Federer is waning a bit, and Nadal has still not made his return (sorry, Nadal who?). 

It made me feel very summery though, all this tennis. I love it. Makes me long for the summer even more though. Warm days, bare feet, Wimbledon, swimming, reading outside... *sigh*. I watched the Wimbledon film afterwards which I adore, but probably didn’t help. Although it did make me feel better. Strange how dated that film is (it’s nearly ten years old, gosh?! Really?!) what with no hawk eye, no roof on centre court and the fact that then a British guy int he final was wistful thinking. HA. Not so anymore. This has to be Murray’s year!

I seem to get a lot of ideas too from tennis which is excellent. Lots of notes made. 

Feeling rather flat today though. Delayed case of Sunday night blues I think (going back to school syndrome) which I haven’t had in ages, normally because I’m busy on a Monday. And this week I’m not, which is rather odd. I don’t like it. 

And what doesn’t help either is that I FINISHED my draft (third?) of Love-All yesterday, which being tennis themed was fantastic to be writing yesterday, I think the matches being on helped a lot! Helped me get in the mood. I love listening to the commentaries, even if I’m not that bothered about the match. So I finished that off. I was giving myself until the end of January so I’ve been left with a few spare days now. What?! I feel a bit lost without it, I just want to open it up and do stuff, but I know I should leave it for a few weeks so that I can look at it again with a fresh eye. It’s difficult though. I made so many big changes to it, it was quite a challenge and i don’t think I realised quite how much it was affecting me. I feel much lighter now, but at the same time I don’t.... because I feel lost. And I guess that isn’t helping my feeling today. 

Technically I have lots of other stuff to be working on, like an assignment for this week, but I just don’t feel motivated at all. I am also wondering what project to work on next. I hate inbetween projects. I have something to type up I wrote last summer, so I will do that and I had a new idea the other day so might see what comes of that, but still.

Hmph. 

After such a great few days (especially writing wise) and a lovely quiet weekend hiding at home I just feel sad now and I have no idea why. 

But I am going to London this weekend, which is exciting because JOHN GREEN IN SIX – SIX – DAYS!!! Eeek. Very excited!

Ideas and Dreams

I have a dream the other night which was so bizarre, but I kept remembering it and yesterday I suddenly thought of an AWESOME idea for a story which will be really interesting and exciting to write, and I'm already really excited about it.

Unfortuantely, it doesn't fit into my 500 word proposal I have to write, nor the story on the royal family I have to write (this is surprisingly hard - I always used to write about real people (fanfic) but writing it for something that has to be handed in is difficult). It doesn't fit into my NaNo story, nor my essay on Shakespeare (what a surprise there). Nor do I want to write it as a short story for my course.

So I'm just going to make lots of notes and keep thinking about it, and have something to look forward to writing when November is over....