Books
I only read three books this month. I say ‘only’ because two of them were re-reads. So I only read one new book in April. I completed Joe Hart’s Dominion Trilogy: The Last Girl, The Final Trade, and his newest release, The First City.
I’m not going to lie, rereading books within a three year time period of the first read through was somewhat tedious. I still enjoyed the first two books, but I read them much slower than I normally would.
Currently, I am reading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. I always thought it was one of those books that was a tough read but a literary masterpiece. So far, it’s hit and miss for me. Some of the lines are incredibly beautiful, but other things the author does drives me crazy. In chapter two (chapter one is 73 pages long; chapter two is 104; out of 317 total, and each chapter is from a different person’s perspective), Faulkner describes how the main character walks on his shadow way, way, way, way too many times. It was beautiful, artistic, ominous, and meaningful the first few times he did it, but by the tenth, I couldn’t help but consider it poor writing.
I could probably have a good long book club discussion of The Sound and the Fury, but I won’t do it here. I haven’t finished it yet. As of now, it is a three star book because I both like and dislike it. We’ll see if my opinion changes. Find me on Goodreads if you haven’t yet! 😀
Somewhat related: The Handmaid’s Tale is up on Hulu! We binge watched the first three episodes the other night and wow. Tear jerking, shocking, and haunting are excellent words to describe it! It is grounded in reality really well through flashbacks, making the whole thing seem like an easily foreseeable future.
I read the book a few years ago and plan to read it again. I wanted to watch the series first though, so I can appreciate it. I hate reading books right before seeing their cinematic interpretations; it’s a great way to ruin the film/show.
Writing
I began the month brainstorming and outlining my next novel. The manuscript I completed earlier this year is all over the place, I feel like, and will need a ton of edits. I didn’t want to run into the same problems I had with it on my next story, so I decided to plan, plan, plan!
I’ve got the story plotted, characters named, some history and myths written, and the world map drawn. I still have a list of additional world-building tasks I want to complete before I let myself get started on the actual manuscript.
Work on my new story has taken a back seat to editing in the last few weeks. My most recent manuscript is currently being alpha read, and I’m steadily keeping up with the comments made on it in Google Docs. Check out my post about using Google Docs to share your manuscript if you missed it!
Editing my fairytale, which I speed-wrote in November last year, has consumed most of my time over the last two weeks. I can’t wait to tell you more about what I’ve learned from the experience, but that is for a later post 😉
Starting tomorrow, I will be taking a four week writing class on Sexual and Romantic
Tension. I don’t actively look for writing classes to take and don’t feel like my romance scenes especially need work, but the class is only $25!
I’m always interested in finding ways to improve my writing, so I’m not about to pass up four weeks of online helpful info when it’s only $25! My writing buddy is already signed up to take the class with me, but I’d love for you to join too! You can find more info about the class on the instructor’s blog.
R.Q. Woodward 