ramblings in times of a pandemic

Hi!

It's been a while, hasn't it? I'd love to claim it's because I've been so busy, so productive, that I just didn't have the time to post anything. But that would basically mean lying, and I'm not really fond of that. The sad truth is, ever since C*VID arrived, my productivity, creativity and motivation have steadily been reaching new all time lows, over and over and over. 

Despite trying many things, I haven't yet figured out how to get myself out of this funk. Which is a shame since a time where we're all advised to stay at home and away from other people sounds like a great one for writing and doing creative things, but alas...I can't seem to do it. 

Anyone have tips they'd be willing to share? Some advice?

Of course not everything has been bad. After all, on June 2nd FRACTURES was released. I wish it could've been the way it was with ECHOES, as in having the possibility of going to a bookstore and signing copies, hang out with friends to celebrate, share some pictures of the day with you on IG. But alas, that day was nothing like that.

Due to C*VID FRACTURES currently only exists as digital version, so ebook, kindle, and nook, while the paperback is only print-on-demand. That means none of us have a physical copy to match the ECHOES paperback, not even me. Which is a shame, but I hope once C*VID passes and we'll settle into whatever out new normal will look like, the possibility of having a paperback will be a thing again.

Either way, I'm still super happy (and a little sad) that this duology is now over. ECHOES and FRACTURES have been with me for a long time, just like Miles and Fiona, who went through several changes (personality and plot wise) over the years but I'm so happy with how everything turned out in the end. It's so much better than what I imagined many, many years ago, and I'm even more overjoyed by the positive reception both books have received. Thank you so, so much for that! I never expected my writing to be so liked and that so many people would read it. It really is a dream come true.

In other news, because what would an Alice ramblings post be without them being mentioned, BTS are having a new single called DYNAMITE out on August 21st completely in English and I, just like all other ARMY, am very excited and curious. The fandom energy for this song, the hype and happiness, is honestly unreal making this such a fun time despite everything. Maybe there's a story to be writing somewhere in there, something about people in fandom in their mid twenties and how that's like as opposed to fandom in YA about teens. Based on my own experience, it certainly is very different.

Perhaps one day when my creative energy returns, I'll think about it.

But, all in all, that is really everything that's noteworthy when it comes to the last couple of months of my life. I kind of wish there was more to share, but there really isn't. How have you guys been in recent months? Are you doing okay? I hope so.

Until next time! Take care, stay healthy, be careful!

Hello 2019!

Who's totally late to post something for the start of the new year? Me, of course. I'm sorry.

So, this is it, 2019, a new year with new possibilities, changes, opportunities, and lessons to be learned. I don't know about you, but I didn't do anything special for New Year's Eve, just watched a movie on Netflix (I finally got it after missing out on so much, took me long enough, huh?) and trying to calm down my dog. As for new years resolutions, I have a few, but I've decided against having big ones that count for the entire year--let's be real, most of them we'll abandon after two weeks anyway--and instead I split them into quarterly goals.

I don't think I'll tell you about them, well, maybe I will but only once I'll actually manage to meet them and have something fun to share. Otherwise, should I fail, it'll just make me feel worse and that's not a good self-care choice, is it?

But, 2019 is off to quite the exciting start for me. If you follow me on twitter and/or Instagram you might've already seen me talk about this, but if you haven't, Echoes became a #1 Best Seller on Amazon. I honestly didn't think I'd ever get to see that orange banner next to it and yet, there it was. I was excitedly texting all my friends feeling overwhelmed and just so happy. It actually remained #1 for over 24h which made it even more insane to me. My book above Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo? I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I was sure I'd wake up the next day and the banner would be gone, but it wasn't.

Thank you, to all of you, for your support and for giving my book a chance. I know it's a bit different, and not necessarily as straight forward as some would wish it'd be, but I love that story, and I'm beyond happy that so many of you do too, and I honestly cannot wait for you to read the sequel. You thought Echoes was wild? Just you wait and see. 

On a somewhat related note, I haven't read a single book in 2019 yet, and we're already two weeks into the year. Who even am I? But, I totally have a plan (reading all the books in February). For now my top priority is finishing up my draft of Fissures and making my deadline, and after that, I'll set my plan into motion. I'm looking forward to it so much!

I don't know what 2019 will have in store for me, but I'm curious to find out, write new stories, work on WIPs, explore new possibilities, listen to all the K-Pop I can find, and just hope it'll be a better year than 2018. I'm not complaining though, don't get me wrong, Echoes was released last year and that was amazing and I'm so grateful for all the support and love it received, but besides that, it was a hard year, draining both mentally and physically, so hopefully 2019 will be a bit easier. 

What about you? What are your plans, goals, hopes for 2019? Tell me in the comments below or on social media. I always try my best to respond to all the tweets and DMs I get. :)

Thank you so much for reading and cheers to a new year! 

#ContinuousPractice: Day 1-31 - UPDATE #1!

   Welcome to my first update!

   Thirty one days ago I posted my commitment to the #ContinuousPractice challenge (read here) and, surprisingly enough, I've actually been truly committing to it. So in this post I want to give you an overview of how I've been holding up word count wise and hour wise.

   In my original post I've stated that, each day I want to work on my current work in progress for at least one hour, be it by writing new chapters, editing already existing ones, or outlining those to come. I've written every day, except for three days which I've spent all day filming a YouTube project. On those three days I've outlines chapters and edited/revised the chapters I'd already written, meaning that I still filled the hour I committed to.

   To give you an idea on how writing has been going I can give you some stats:

   Average word count written per day: 2.202 words

   Total word count day 1-30*: 66.069 words

   * I've left out day 31 since that's today and I've not written anything today yet since I usually write in the evening/at night.

   So far I can tell you that this challenge has been doing wonders for me, as silly as that might sound. Every day I was reminded of the challenge, which meant that I felt this need to write every day for at least that hour (which usually expended more in to two or three hours) which, of course, had a very positive effect on my daily word count. The challenge definitely gave me the motivation I needed to make myself sit down and write so I could write a good update on my Instagram, show that I've been really putting in the work I said I would.

   Therefore, I can only recommend the challenge so far. If you're struggling with your daily motivation to write (or do whatever else you'd want to commit to) I'd give it a try. I was skeptical at first, because I'm really bad at committing to things like these types of challenges, so I was surprised at how well it works for me right now. I've definitely made big progress on my current work in progress at a much higher pace then I usually would, which is amazing and I'm very happy with it.

   I'm curious how the challenge will continue for me, hope that I'll be able to keep up the good work and my commitment to it. In April I'll be doing Camp NaNoWriMo which I am quite sure will, again, add extra motivation to my daily writing, so I hope I'll have a just as positive update as this one at the end of April.

   Tell me down below, or tweet me (@Alice_Reeds), how you've been doing, if you're also doing the challenge. Has it been working for you? Yes? No? Why? I'm curious!

Cheers!