Writing, Reading, University and Kitten Updates November 2019.

Welcome to my November updates post!

It’s been raining non-stop for days, but despite the cold it’s been a productive month.

My goals for November were:

Submit to the first university workshop.
Continue reading autobiographical fiction/life writing.
Watch whatever TV I want until university starts, then cut back.
Read two books.
Write one short story.
Plan and draw my D&D character.
Finish outlining Merlin: Second Chance.

So, how did I do?

University:

The reading so far is very psychological: If I hadn’t taken A-Level Psychology I think I’d be up the creek without a paddle, but I’m not finding it too bad. We’ve been asked to keep a journal too, with notes on our learning process. I picked up a sketchpad for £1, in the hope it encourages me to draw, and made a pretty front cover:

My MA Creative Writing Journal.

I tried, and failed, to read Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. Nothing much happened, and it was too dark for me. I’m moving on to Richard Hammond’s On the Edge, about his car crash, which I hope will be easier reading as far as life writing goes.

I submitted Whirlwind of Thoughts, the story I posted a couple of weeks ago, to the workshops. I was the only person to contribute this week!

My goals for December are to keep up with set reading, write one thing I’m thankful for in my journal each day, and continue to submit to workshops weekly.

TV:

• I forgot how much I adored season 1 of Arrow. It was so much better in the early days, compared to the soap opera that is later CW seasons.

• I stopped watching Gilmore Girls at the end of season 5, because I know the plot takes a turn I don’t like!

• I’ve not started season 3 of Dragon Prince yet. I might save it for my Christmas break.

• I raged at the ‘end’ of Titans season 1. It was the worst cliffhanger in existence and didn’t tie up any major plot points. Seriously writers, don’t do this. If you’re writing a series make it able to stand alone. I’m so mad I might not bother with season 2!

• I’ve still not finished Gotham. I have one episode to go, but it’s a ten year later episode and the penultimate episode tied things off quite nicely, so I might leave it there. The Penguin and Riddler moment at the end was too perfect!

I stuck to my goal of cutting back on TV once university started, with the exception of Let’s Plays on Youtube. I’ve been watching Achievement Hunter play Hitman 2 quite a lot, as my PC can’t run the game! In December I’ll watch Dragon Prince.

Merlin:

The magical cat continues to cause havoc. He’s destroyed my partner’s computer mouse now, an expensive gaming mouse! We switched Merlin to pate instead of pouches, which he loves, and he’s still exceptionally cuddly. I think he might have been a dog in a past life… He hates me studying and has been sitting on my lap so much whilst I try to study!

We’re currently trying to decide if he can be trusted with a Christmas Tree. I suspect not, but it’d be a shame not to have one! Also, we all got advent calendars, even Merlin! His first Christmas will be awesome. I’ve told the entire family that all gifts should be wrapped in large boxes, no matter how small, as he loves boxes 🙂

Writing:

I wrote two very short stories, Whirlwind of Thoughts, based on my MC’s struggle to fight under pressure, and We Failed This Planet, about an angry planet that fights back against humans. My goal was to write one short story, as I thought it was all I’d have time for. Apparently my ability to procrastinate from university is legendary though!

I finished the outline for Merlin: Second Chance just before classes started again. I haven’t had time to look at it since though, which I expected but is still irritating! I guess it’s good to let an outline sit for a while before I go over it one last time though. When I finished it I had mixed feelings about it. At least with a break I can come back to it with fresh eyes!

In December I aim to finalise my outline and write one short story.

Drawing:

I planned and drew my D&D character. I’ve decided to use Seth from my past stories, Brothers through Fire and Shelter from the Storm. I wanted to develop him anyway, and the world the DM designed for us to play in is a good fit 🙂 His outfit needs to be more medieval, but as I sketched him in 20 minutes I didn’t have time for much detail:

I also drew a few sketches inside my university journal, but they’re not very impressive! No goals for December.

Reading:

I haven’t had any books from Hidden Gems in a while. The only book that interested me lost me when, at the end of a great description, it said ‘if you loved the love triangle in Twilight.’ As I despise all things Twilight, especially love triangles, I gave it a miss!

I reviewed 5 books in November, but the only one I read in November was Once. I finished This is Going to Hurt and started The Bell Jar, so I’m going to count it as a win on my goal overall. I’ll aim to read two books in December, probably both life writing.

Other Random Stuff:

• Merlin is, thankfully, oblivious to fireworks and survived Bonfire night without a hitch. All the games we play with loud gunshots must have desensitised him!

• I’m enjoying this university module more than I expected, but as a fantasy writer who doesn’t appreciate life writing, my expectations were rock bottom.

• I didn’t join Nano at last minute. Once university started I forgot about it completely!

• I still can’t be bothered to diet. Food is too good, tis the season, etc, etc.

• I had cold after cold in November. I think I’ve seen the last of them now.

• My mum found my old school reports, with this gem of a drawing of me, by me:

I was quite the artist ^_^”

Thanks for reading!

November was more productive than I expected, considering I started university again. The forum group is quieter this year and there seems to be less reading. I might be able to sneak in some writing time in December, as we get two weeks off for Christmas 🙂

What are your December goals? Do you even set goals in December, or do you enjoy the holidays instead? Did you win Nanowrimo? Any book or TV recommendations? How was November? Chat in the comments!