Tag: The Liebster Award

We've finished our first week of January, and I haven't quite melted from the sun. As is, my fingers still seem to be working well enough to do a blog post, even if it isn't highly imaginative. (Although, looking a bit closer, it seems to be.)

I've been tagged with the Liebster Award tag, which pretty much means that I have been given a bunch of questions to answer, then to tag other people. Many thanks to Aberdeen the Authorosaurus (and Mariposa) for tagging me with this, and I shall give it a shot! I'm pretty sure I did this a while back, but they were very different questions then opposed to now, so it shall be interesting.

The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the blog that nominated you for the award.
2. Answer the questions they gave you.
3. Give 11 fun facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 11 other bloggers for the award and give them 11 questions to answer.

1. What tune would you hate to get stuck in your head? (yes, you’re welcome for getting it stuck in your head now)
   
   Hmm, I constantly have music going on in my head, so I'd say the most annoying tunes to get stuck in my head are the ones that I can't identify. *nodnod* Or only know part of. Both are pretty bad.
   
   
2. If you were a dinosaur, what species would you be and why?
   
   Gosh. Um...here. Have an Australian Dinosaur. Muttaburrassaurus. Why? Because...I am Australian, and there is something like 5 that I could be, and that is the most prominent, so, I suppose that makes it a 4/10 chance?
   
   
3. What is your favourite book in a genre you don’t normally read?
   
   Hmmm, probably In 27 Days by Alison Gervais. It's a book of mixed recommendations, but I really enjoyed it, despite it being VERY different to usual. Like...Contemporary supernatural romance? Anyone else who's read it, what genre would you say it is?
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. What is the first thing you saw this morning?
   
   The ceiling. Prior to the sun being anywhere near the horizon. Sooo, something like this:
   
   
   
   
   
5. If you could make up a dinosaur species, what would it be called and what would it look like?
   
   This is a really hard question.
   
   How about I create a dinosaur that's primary function is to write? It has one claw thingo larger than the others, and it excretes something kinda inky. This creature is horrible at defending itself, but has a great imagination, and is highly coordinated. Its skin also sheds as large sheets of parchment. We'll call it, Historiascriptorerumraptor. (History's Historian Raptor)
   
   
6. If you could have a pen that looked like anything you wanted, what would you pick?
   
   Something that could morph in size, shape and appearance. xD Then I could pick up an invisible pen and write with it, or I could be plotting Russ's story with Russ's iconic pen!
   
   
7. What fictional character depicts your current mood right now?
   
   Shallan, from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. Why? Well, she seems to swap pretty regularly, so I'm sure one of her emotion's fits mine.
   
   
8. What is the most ridiculous pen name that fits your personality?
   
   Probably something like, "Fueled by Chai."
   
   
9. What is the funniest text you’ve received/written?
   
   
   
   
   
10. If a dinosaur was roaming around your yard, what would you do?
    
    I probably wouldn't notice for the first little while, then wonder why Mum was screaming, then probably be 98% sure I was hallucinating. Although, what size is the dinosaur? That could change things a bit.
    
    
11. Would you rather only be able to write one magnificent book every ten years, or one mediocre book every year?
    
    One magnificent book every ten years? Yeouch. That would be what I'd choose if that was the final product. If you're talking pre-draft, then I'd take one a year. But... I reckon I turn out 3-4 mediocre first drafts every year, so I have no clue. *sigh*
    

Questions answered! Eleven fun facts about me? Well. This could get random.

1. I prefer to crack apples in half before eating them. Looks intimidating, plus, it makes it easier.
2. Two out of the three of my favourite first drafts that I've written result in the narrating character dying. Sorry guys.
3. I'm an INFP that school acquaintances think is an INTJ, friends think is an INTP, and close friends know is an INFP.
4. 95% of adults have been asking me what I'm currently studying in uni since I was in year 10, and I still have very little desire to go to uni.
5. I live on a cattle farm.
6. I drink copious amounts of chai tea.
7. I am known to make references to my own books, then get sad cos no-one gets them. (like leaving post-it-notes with 'GTG' when I leave a room or go on a long walk.)
8. I have had my iPod for five years, and I am yet to smash the screen. It does not have a cover or a case.
9. I do not own a phone.
10. I tend to talk with my hands.
11. I GOT TAGGED BY A DINOSAUR.

Hopefully, there are a few crazy things in there that you did not guess/already know.

Now, for anyone out there who wants to give this tag a go, here are some questions to answer.

1. Favourite hot beverage?
2. What are your top 5 prettiest book covers?
3. Do you have a favourite book/movie troupe? What is it?
4. What are your top 5 book quotes?
5. Do you dislike something that EVERYONE seems to like? (Harry Potter, chocolate, just to name a few ideas.)
6. Board games or card games?
7. What is the main virtue that you wish you had more of?
8. What is your favourite climate?
9. What smells best: Old books, new books, second-hand books, in between books?
10. Which of Aberdeen the Authorosaurus's questions do you most like?
11. Answer that question.

That is all for that tag, and thank you once again, Aberdeen the Authorosaurus for tagging me. Not every day that you get tagged by a dinosaur. Also, I'm gonna say a kinda thank you to Eliza Leblanc for 'tagging' me in this too! (You left it open, so I'll take it as a tag.)

Anyone who wants to do this tag, go on ahead and let me know! Or, you could just answer some questions below. That works too. ;D (But honestly, what dinosaur species would you create? Have you had any crazy texts?)

2019: A New Beginning

There have been a lot of posts about new starts and resolutions floating about in my inbox lately, and now I'm doing one myself.

I'm not a huge person for making vows to try and keep, because if I even slightly fail at some point, I tend to give up completely. Not such a great way of acting, and it's definitely something I'm going to be working on.

2018 was a great year for ideas and taking new steps. I alpha read two amazing books, did my first official lot of edits on one of my own works, completed 'the worst year at school,' and started doing a lot more about the place as a writer.

I also struggled a lot, and have been constantly having to be reminded to keep on leaning on God. It's something I've always known in theory, but when life is really getting painful, it's very easy to either push God from your mind, or to start heaping the blame on Him. But these last few months have definitely been a journey to keep my eyes focused upward, and to trust continually.

And now, a new year has begun, and it is time for us to move on with it!

I'm not certain as to what this year will hold; I know that it will involve finally finishing off at school, and doing some more writing and editing, but that's as far as I can guess. However, that doesn't make it any less interesting to think about what things I plan to do. Besides, that means I can look back at the end of the year and laugh at how differently things went.

Top Three Books to be Written:

1. Broken Chains

This is a contemporary/action story about a police officer’s son who joined forces with his best friend in order to stop a weapon dealing circle, only to realise he’d been tricked and ended up with a lot of evidence—and a gun—pointing at him.

The idea has been floating around for a while, and has some characters who I absolutely adore. So, I really hope to give it a shot in the first few months of the year. (aka, I have already started! Eeeep!)

2. Autumn Artist

Who doesn't like contemporary fantasy mystery novels?

The general concept is that the main character is a professionally trained con-artist, and has been hired to infiltrate a wealthy family's home, down in a fantasy version of modern day Australia, except there is one problem...she has been signed up as an artist with two weeks warning and not an artwork to her name.

I'm not certain where this story is going, but I love the aesthetic, and the ideas I have thus far sound like fun to play about with.

3. A World of Ice

When Aaron Ward woke up, he found that he had been in a coma for around five years, and no one knew who he was...not even himself. The world had faced a huge disaster some years back, caused by a scientist who had released a gas into the air that slowly thickened the ozone layer—origninally purposed to stop global warming, but rapidly causing global freezing. Ice now covers the entire world, and no one knows where the scientist who caused this apocalyptic event has vanished to.

As Aaron journies to find an answer, he soon begins to feel that something isn't quite right, and he's not so sure that he even wants to know who he was, or what he had done.

I really love this story idea, and I can't wait to write it! It'll be quite interesting, as it doesn't have a villain so much as just a crazy time limit, but I still think it would be a really cool thing to write.



I love all of these so much, and can't wait to give them a shot! But who knows, I may well come up with some totally different ideas. Plus, I have another short story that I'll be working on throughout the year for school, so that'll be good.

Editing:

For any who don't know, I have been editing Flightless lately, and I can't wait to see where this will be going. I've gotten a lot of great feedback from some stellar friends who volunteered to read over it and tell me what they thought of the story, and I love those guys so much! (Thanks heaps guys!)

I'm really hoping to have this next lot of edits well and truly done by the end of April this year, and have that draft out to a few alphas by May. *hides at the craziness* I'm not expecting to be looking into all of the publishing things until the end of this year/early next year, but even so, that seems to be coming up scarily fast.

This Blog:

I actually think I'll be able to post once a week again! Yay! That's mostly because I now actually can type up my blog posts on a computer instead of doing them from an iPod, plus, I think I've worked out how to manage my time a bit better. :P

What exactly should you be expecting? I'm not sure. Expect nothing so that you can be surprised by everything!



Yep, a new year has started, and I'm looking forward to seeing what things God brings with it, and what lessons I'll be learning. He's got great things planned, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. That's something that He has proven over and over again, so we can always remember to trust in Him.

I pray that you guys can all remember this year to keep looking up to God and trusting Him to guide your ways. He is good and knows what he is doing with your life...even if you have absolutely no clue.

Good luck to this new year!