My Goings On in March:
- I barely blogged in March! I’m feeling a bit behind on just about everything lately, and it came through in my blogging. I think this was the least number of posts I’ve put up in a month since my very early days of blogging. On the positive side, school is ramping down for our homeschool co-op, and I should have a lot more time once that happens. And since my two youngest kids will be attending public school next year (and my oldest takes most classes at the local community college), I should have A LOT more time on my hands in the future. So, starting in fall, I hope to get a schedule down for myself that I can stick to. I wish I could promise that for the summer, but I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep!
- I found a few CPs for my MG project. The #CPMatch hashtag really works! I’ve tried finding CPs other ways, but this is the first thing that panned out, and I’m really excited to work with them!
- I signed up for the Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers Conference, which is happening in June. Trent Reedy is running the workshop I signed up for, and I’m super excited about it!
- I got to see Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff at a signing event. I LOVE these two together!
Features & Discussions:
March 2018 Discussion Challenge & Giveaway
Anderson’s Children’s Literature Breakfast Recap & Giveaway
February 2018 Wrap-Up Round-Up Giveaway
A Wrinkle in Time: A Spoiler-Filled Comparison of Book Vs. Movie
My 2018 Reading Progress:
I’m still keeping up with my Goodreads Reading goal!
March 2018 Reviews
Again, I didn’t post much in March, including reviews.
- You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan | Review | Rating: 3.5/5
- Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Review | Rating: 5/5
- I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maureen Goo | Review | Rating: 4/5
- Deception So Dark by Clara Kensie | Review | Rating: 3.5/5
- Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand | Review | Rating: 4.5/5
- In Her Skin by Kim Savage | Review | Rating: 4/5
March Best of the Bunch:
(Best of the Bunch is hosted over at Cocoon of Books. We link up our favorite reads of the month!)
This month was easy! Obsidio is an All-Time Favorite!!
2018 Reading Challenges/Goals Progress:
I made a big decision this month: I’m quitting all my challenges except the Discussion Challenge (since I host it) and the Beat the Backlist Challenge (since my team is counting on me for that one, and any entries I can provide will help). So, I quit the Commenting 365 Challenge, the Les Mis Readalong Challenge, the New Release Challenge, and the TBR Pile Challenge. I’m a little sad to let these go, but I realized that I just don’t have time to keep up with them now that my priorities are shifting toward writing, and they’re just stressing me out. Blogging and reading shouldn’t stress you out. 🙂
Status: 6/31-40 Discussions Posted
I really only wrote one discussion this month. Writing is definitely taking a toll on my blogging time, but that’s okay.
Great Reasons to Get to Know Your Bookish Friends Better
Top 10 of 2017: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2018
2017 End of Year Book Survey
My Writing & Reading Goals for 2018
My Book Outlet Weakness (& Why My Latest Haul Is All Your Fault)
Which Types of Reviews Are Most Effective? Let’s Discuss!
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Feed Your Fiction Addiction & It Starts at Midnight
Status: 16 points on the Rafflecopter this month
I think this is correct. Might have been 17. Anyway, I’m trying!
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Novel Knight
My 2018 Goals Progress:
- Complete a second edit of my MG novel. Done!
- Attend a writing workshop. I signed up for one in June!
- Read more writing craft books/materials. I’m doing okay. I wanted to read an actual full writing craft book this quarter, though, and I didn’t.
- Finish the first draft of YA novel. I still haven’t moved back to my YA book, since I’ve been focusing on working with my CPs on the MG.
- Read one review book for every one that I request/receive. ) I got 5 review books this month (one that was unsolicited) and posted reviews for 6, so I’m happy with that! (So far for the year, I’ve received 24 and read 21, so I’m only a little behind.)
- Read more middle grade. One of my seven reviews was MG, so that isn’t so bad (and the book I’m reading now is MG as well). (I’ve read 4 MGs so far this year.)
- Work out! A few times? I keep telling myself that once the homeschool co-op school year is done, I’ll be better about this. We’ll see if that holds true.
Wrap-Up Round-Up!
Don’t forget to link your March wrap-up posts up to the Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up! And check out the giveaway, which will be posted here on Feed Your Fiction Addiction right around the 7th!
Those books read all look wicked, 🙂 Happy Easter and happy April!
Thanks, Freda!
I’m glad you found some CP’s for your MG novel – that’s awesome. And I’m so happy you get to do a writing conference in June. You’ll have to fill us all in. I hope that you can find a schedule that works better for you in the fall, but you’re totally right – reading/blogging should NOT stress us out, so you do you! We’ll all still be around to comment and cheer you on. I think it’s wonderful you’re doing so well with your writing. 🙂
-Lauren
My CPs have been great—I’m so excited about them!
Best of luck on your writing! I agree it’s difficult finding that balance between writing and blogging, so I’m glad you’re not stressing yourself out over it 🙂
We can only do the best we can with the time we have!
You may have blogged less, but at least you are still blogging! And yay for keeping up with your reading goal!
That’s true—the fact that I’m still going is a win! I think I just have to face the fact that I’m slowing down on some things—and that’s okay.
I have about 100 pages left in Obsidio. I cannot believe how many tears I am shedding. Kady’s dad and his notes got me so verklempt. Good luck with all your writing things. I admire you so much for making it happen.
Glad I’m not the only one who was wrecked by this one!
That conference sounds like so much fun! And good on you for whittling down your reading challenges; there’s absolutely no reason for them to be a source of stress, especially when you have so much else on your hands 🙂 Best of luck with your writing!
I’m really excited about the conference! Can’t wait!!
I would do more challenges but I think that keeping track of them would stress me out. Good for you for making the decision to reduce some stress in your life. You are doing great on your goals! I was lucky enough to meet Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff and loved them as well. I do need to get busy finishing the series though. Have a great April!
Sometimes you just have to pare back on some things. I have no regrets!
I didn’t get much blogging done in March either, I’m afraid. It was just such a crazy month. As it is, I’m so behind on comments and blog visits too. I hope you are able to find more down time soon. I know I am keeping an eye out for some too. The Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers Conference sounds like a lot of fun! I hope you enjoy it! I understand about challenges. You have to keep it fun for yourself. We have enough stressors in our life. I hope you have a great week!
Lately I feel like I’m always two steps behind. I’ll catch up on one thing (like comments), but then I’ll be behind on reading and commenting on discussion posts, and then I’ll catch up with that, but I will be behind on the monthly wrap-ups. It feels sort of impossible to keep up with it all sometimes!
Kaufman/ Kristoff would be so fun to see, especially with Obsidio being out now. How fun! And great job on your writing goals!
Have a happy Easter!!
They’re a fantastic duo! So funny!
I noticed you blogged less! I was wondering if it’s a slump or just business. I’m not doing so well on my Backlist challenge xD but alright with my ARCs. Currently reading like 15 books at the time though xD things might change after that lol. I hope you can go back to the blog more this month 🙂
Blogging hasn’t picked up all that much this month, unfortunately. I think I might just have to live with the fact that I can handle less on the blog for right now. In May it should get better, and then in the fall I should hopefully have a LOT more time!
Glad to see the Illuminate series is good all the way! I’m kinda glad you took it easy in March because you are always so busy! Feeling a bit behind is not the best feeling but you’ll catch up! I’ll bet you’ll be having a blast blogging when the kids attend public school! I hope you post more about your CP experience! 🙂
I will definitely post more about CPing!
I’m so far behind on so many things right now. I thought that spring break would help me catch up….it didn’t (but I did have a blast and spent a lot of time with friends and family….and some reading). I need to spend some time looking at my priorities and regrouping to reflect those priorities!
Yeah, sometimes you just have to figure out what’s most important and then do your best.
I hope the CPs are useful! I’m in a writing group with some of the alumni from my grad school, but we’re all slackers. I’m glad you liked Obsidio because I still need to read that one. You’re doing great on your goals and challenges. Have a great April!
Ha! Slacker CPs wouldn’t work so well—though at least if you’re all slackers, nobody’s mad about it. 🙂
Hope the CPs are a great match and Are able to add some valuable input.
I totally understand dropping the challenges. I made the decision to not join any this year (other than the usual GoodReads challenge). The last couple years I’ve found myself gearing my reading toward certain challenges and it just isn’t what I want to do. I just want to read what I want to read, when I want to read it, review it if I feel like it, skip it if I don’t, no tracking… it’s made things infinitely easier… and I’m happier. 🙂 Hope letting some of those go is a help to you!
I’m realizing that I have to let a few things go this year. I can’t keep adding and adding onto my plate without taking anything off—it just isn’t sustainable!
I also had a less progressive blogging month in March. I think I also hit a reading slump in March, which I’m trying to get out of in April. Happy for your kids attending public school!
Hope you managed to shake the slump in April!
Yay you for how many points you had for Beat the Backlist. My computer died for the last week or so of March, so I couldn’t post a few more reviews I wanted to add to the challenge. Ack. This month I should catch up for that. 🙂
I figure that’s one challenge that I should try to keep up with since my team is counting on me!
You are doing so well on your writing. And hey sometimes something has got to give, we can only do so much. Maybe in previous times you took less time for writing than you are doing now.
Yes, definitely wasn’t working as hard on writing before as I am now. Plus, I have more grading to do for school right now!
Sometimes blogging has to take a back-seat for life stuff – and that’s ok! You’re still doing awesome! XD <3
Yeah, I’ve learned to take breaks in stride—I need them sometimes!