My Baffling Brain

Well I'm back from Spain, and I had a great time. It was super hot, so it's kind of nice to be back in England! I'll have a post up with some pictures as soon as I find the time to put one together! In the meantime, here's my post for What's Up Wednesday.  What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I got more reading done than I expected to in Spain - six books altogether! I read the first three in the Harry Potter series, the first two in The Hunger Games series and Size 12 is not Fat by Meg Cabot. I'm currently reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 2. What I'm writing I got loads of notes written for my dissertation while in Spain, so I'll be starting on revisions this week. I'm allowing myself four days per story, which sho...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - finishing my dissertation first draft. I've got it all printed and ready to edit.  - having two weeks off work - it's so nice not to have to get up early! - going on holiday! I'm going to Spain today (by the time this posts, I'll probably be there!) so that's a great celebration!  I won't be posting for a while due to my holiday, so I'll see you all in a couple of weeks! :)

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I just started re-reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - I couldn't resist! It's my favourite series, and I've been working so hard lately I thought I'd treat myself.  On my Kindle I've started re-reading The Hunger Games, since I can't really remember what happens! I wanted to re-read the series before the next movie comes out. 2. What I'm writing I just finished the first draft of my dissertation yesterday, which I'm happy about. I'm going to print it off and take it to Spain with me on Friday, so I can edit it while I'm there. 3. What else I've been up to I finished work on Monday for two weeks, so I've just been relishing my freedom since then! I fi...

This will be my last Camp NaNo update, since I should finish my dissertation first draft today. Here are my stats: Average Words Per Day 404 Your Average Per Day 715 Words Written Today 0 Target Word Count 12,500 Total Words Written 11,451 Words Remaining 1,049 Current Day 16 Days Remaining 16 At This Rate You Will Finish On July 18, 2013 Words Per Day To Finish On Time 66 I have one story to go, 1800 words, which I should be able to get finished today. Then I can print it off, all ready to take to Spain with me so I can edit while I'm away. I'm glad I chose to use Camp NaNo to write my first draft; I've managed to write it in a really short time period, so that's great. It means I can spend more time on revisions and edits, before the deadline in September. 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - One week today I'll be in Spain! Just 4 days at work to get through :) - I'm still on track with my dissertation/Camp NaNo, and should get it done before I go. I've written the first drafts of four stories out of the seven. - The weather's been lovely lately, we had two barbecues last weekend! It's cooled down a bit now, but I think it's due to get nice again soon. I'm enjoying the sunshine a lot, and I haven't gotten burnt yet! 

I thought I'd post an update today about my Camp NaNo progress! It's still going really well, I'm happy to say.  Average Words Per Day  404 Your Average Per Day  803 Words Written Today  1,018 Target Word Count  12,500 Total Words Written  6,431 Words Remaining  6,069 Current Day  8 Days Remaining  24 At This Rate You Will Finish On  July 16, 2013 Words Per Day To Finish On Time  253 I'm right on target to finish for the 19th, when I go to Spain, except my stories are ending up much longer than they should be, so the word count is going to be far too high! Oh well, that's what editing is for, right?  I'm really enjoying writing these stories, the words are flowing so easily! I hope it lasts. I've finished three stories out of the seven I have to write, so I'm doing well. 

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author. The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - I'm on schedule with Camp NaNo - the writing's going really well so far, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm right on track to get it finished for the 19th. - My sister found out she got a 2:1 in her Law degree on Monday, so we've been celebrating that this week. I'm really proud of her :) - Rob gave me the New Slightly Enhanced Liebster Award the other day, which I'm certainly celebrating! Thanks, Rob! - It's two weeks until I go to Spain!

First of all, happy July 4th to all my American friends! Hope you're all having a great day :) The Express Yourself meme is co-hosted by Dani and Jackie . Each week bloggers answer a different question, so they can get to know each other better. This week's question is: What are your plans for the 4th if you celebrate, if not, what do you have planned this week then? Being English, I don't celebrate the 4th of July. My week is going to be spent working and writing, the same as usual! I was at work this morning, and I'll be spending the afternoon writing my dissertation. Hopefully I'll get some time to play The Sims 3 later, too :) I'm at work all weekend, but I only have 10 more days to work before I go on holiday! 

If you're looking for my ISWG post, you can find it here .  What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I'm still reading Sarah Dessen, this time Dreamland , since it's main theme is domestic violence, and that's the theme for one of my short stories that I'm writing for my dissertation. It's not one of my favourite novels by her, but I'm hoping it'll help me with my story. 2. What I'm writing Camp NaNo has well and truly started, so I'm writing my dissertation. I've done 2152 words so far, and finished my first story out of 7, so it's going quite well. 3. What else I've been up to I went shopping yesterday, and got quite a lot of stuff for my holiday to Spain on the 19th, which is quite exciting! I'd ...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. This month my insecurities mostly revolve around Camp NaNo, specifically using it to write my dissertation. I'm hoping to get it done by the 19th, which means about 700 words a day. I got 1400 on Monday, since I knew I wouldn't be able to get any writing done yesterday (I went shopping for the holiday, exciting!) so I've had quite a good start.  I'm trying to just get the first draft down, whether I think it's terrible writing or not, but I still can't help being insecure about it. Wondering whether my ideas are good enough, or whether I can put them across into stories successfully, or whether I'm biting off more than I can chew.  However, I do know from past experience that my writing doesn't tend to look any good until I go back to r...

I managed to achieve all of my goals for June: - Plan my dissertation - all done and ready for me to start writing after I've finished this blog post! - Read 5 more books - I've actually read 8 books this month, so I'm up to 25 out of my 50 - right on schedule! - Lots of overtime - Definitely done this, I can tell because I have absolutely no energy! I have two days off now, though, to recharge :) Here are my goals for July: - Write my dissertation/finish Camp NaNo  - I have to write 12500 words by July 19th - that's 700 words a day, definitely doable. That's why I'm using Camp NaNo to write it, since you can set your own word count now. That way, I can take the first draft with me on holiday on the 19th to read through and edit.  - Read lots - Vague, I know, but since I'm going on holiday I should get loads of books read, so there's not much point setting a goal! - Have an awesome holiday! - I'm going to Spain on the 19th, w...