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December 2017 Dares

by Kellyn Roth |
December 2, 2017

December 2017 Dares
HELLO FRIENDS. Long time, no see! Well, okay, it’s only been a couple days since Wednesday, but lots has happened, and I’m more than ready to get back to our regularly scheduled programming!
This month we have some great dares for you (all taken from my extremely long to-do list, haha … NaNo is all-consuming, like I said!). And … we also have a lot of updates. And some plans for the coming months. Though I’m trying to make this post super short so you can skim it and then next week we’ll have #awesome again.
ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?

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December 2017 Dares

Reading

  • Read three review copies. I feel like this is going to be easier because I’ve made it a point to only accept amazing ARCs. πŸ˜›
  • Finish all those random books in your closet. I now have several paperbacks in my closet that aren’t getting read, and it’s vaguely disturbing because I have never done that before. AM I BECOMING A BOOKWORM??? *is so excited*
  • BETA-READ THE BOOK YOU PROMISED TO BETA-READ. (What? That’s reading, too!)

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Writing

  • Edit & publish Flowers. Yep, I’ve been promising to do that for a while. I set a date for the 13th, but I’m not sure if that will happen.
  • Get through At Her Fingertips twice. #mustdo I’m editing it on my Kindle now (UGHHHH SO MUCH DIALOGUE SO LITTLE EVERYTHING ELSE)
  • Make those formatting changes for TDS and IvIn. I asked Willowy Whisper, my designer, to redo the back covers on TDS and IvIn to add in my new website URL, and I’m going to fix a couple indents that got messed up when I update them.
  • Write a Christmas short story. Just ’cause. πŸ™‚

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Blogging

  • Participate in the 12 Days of Christmas party! This is gonna be fun! (Also, it will take over Reveries for a couple weeks, but that’s okay; y’all don’t mind, right?)
  • Actually put out some quality posts that aren’t published at ten o’ clock at night. *coughs guiltily*
  • And do some reviewing and such on RR. I AM SO BEHIND HEEEEELLLLPPP.

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Life

  • Clean my fish’s bowl. Yeah … it’s been a while … *fish is probably dying*
  • Practice my clarinet and saxophone. Even after the concert. I NEED THIS.
  • Work with Aubrey. She’s sweet, but I can’t spoil her anymore. I need to really start cracking down on that little ball of fluff.
  • Visit my grandparents – at least a couple times. *is a terrible granddaughter* Like, the only two people on earth who think I’m a goddess, and I don’t go visit them anymore. *drops anvils on my head*
  • Christmas shopping! I hate shopping. But oh well … it’s gotta happen sometime.

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Updates

And …Β this year was a crazy NaNo indeed!Β I made my goal of 50,000 words on November 25th and finished the entire book about fifteen minutes afterΒ midnightΒ December 1st at just under 72K.

Words written from November 1st to November 30th come toΒ a grand total of 71,588!
That is the longest novel I have ever written, and the most words I’ve ever written in a month! I also topped my previous most-words-in-a-day record withΒ 10,358 written on November 30th, 2017.
If you’d like to know anything more about my stats, you can check them outΒ here. You should also be able to find a summary ofΒ Beyond Her CallingΒ as well as a brief excerpt.

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What’s next?

I’m going to return toΒ At Her Fingertips and get it revised and edited so I can hand it off to beta-readers sometime in February. (Stay tuned for that!) I’m considering asking an editor to work with me onΒ At Her Fingertips, though there are a lot of things to consider before I commit.

What will I be writing next, though? Well … you’ll have to wait and see. (e.g. I DON’T KNOW HELP???)
I’m also planning on releasing FlowersΒ sometime in December (as I mentioned before). However, I still haven’tΒ  (working with Victoria Lynn this time), and it needs some more editing-work, so … yep. Not sure what’s going to happen.
And … it is Sunday for some of y’all, and it’s past 10:30 here, so I think it’s time to call it quits! But … I will see y’all back Wednesday! *highfives all around*

Until next week,

~Kellyn Roth~

Social MediaΒ |Β WebsiteΒ |Β Book Blog

p.s.

Do you think I’ll accomplish my goals this month? (I’m actually surprisingly optimistic!) What are you doing now that NaNo is over? Do you feel a little lost? (I do! *waves hand wildly to get attention of people who will tell me what to do now that my life is over*) What are your December plans? (I’m actually mainly enjoying Christmas! JESUS IS COMING. I mean, He already came, but yep … we’re celebrating Him coming!) AND … most important of all … WHAT IF YOUR FAVORITE BEVERAGE TO DRINK IN WINTER? Mine is cold hot cocoa. You heard me.

What do you think of my thoughts?

35 Responses

  1. Congratulations on finishing your novel! ? I personally don’t know any editors that you have to pay to ask for, but if you ever need some feedback and fixing editing mistakes, I’m always open. (I’ve found that I’m good at cracking down on myself, so how hard can it be to help someone else? ?) (Why do I suddenly feel like you’ll say yes and when I get the book I’ll freak out and scream at myself for saying this? ?)

    1. Well, I already have an editor who I’m talking to. (I have to pay for her, haha. πŸ˜› )
      Honestly, I am very attempted to ask you to take a look at it. πŸ˜‰ Still, I don’t want to make you scream at yourself!

  2. Yay for beta readers in February! I’m glad you’re waiting until after Christmas to summon your devoted followers… πŸ˜€
    Apparently I’m in the same boat as you- I’m looking forward to the Christmas season, for the most part. I’m so sorry for you because you have to go Christmas shopping. I don’t like shopping, either. Fortunately, I avoid it almost 100% of the time. πŸ˜› (I probably haven’t gone ‘shopping’ in the classical sense in like two years)
    If you say it’s the most important question, I guess I’ll answer it. πŸ˜€ My favorite beverage is apple cider. We’re still drinking it, so I can say that it’s a Winter drink, right? πŸ˜‰
    CutePolarBear

    1. Yes, I didn’t want to interrupt the holiday season with a book that has nothing to do with Christmas … and I do need to make some changes, too! It might be more like January, though … not sure at the moment.
      Well, I’m glad! It sure is exciting! πŸ˜€ Good for you! *applauds* How do you avoid it?
      Yes, anything that you drink during the winter qualifies as a winter beverage. Kinda. πŸ˜‰

      1. Eh, January, February… doesn’t matter. Just as long as it’s after the quite hectic Christmas season. πŸ˜‰
        I avoid it by making all of my Christmas presents. For the (very) few times I buy things, it’s on Amazon. So unless that counts as shopping- and I don’t ‘browse’ for the purpose of buying right away- I don’t think I go Christmas shopping at all.

        1. Haha, yep, Christmas can be crazy …
          That’s very clever! I should make more presents. But I tend to be the kind of person who half-finished crafts and knitted items and stuff like that … xD

          1. Haha! I tend to be the person who kind of wants to make something or other, but never decides to actually do it… πŸ˜›

            1. I actually made someone something for Christmas this year (a great big bag I knitted that is honestly the awkwardest thing you ever saw … and I switched stitches like three times, so it has an … intersting pattern! πŸ˜› ), so I’m proud. It took me like six months to finish it though … and I actually didn’t know it was going to be anything than a big bulk of knitting until like this month … xD

              1. Wow, you were working on a Christmas present for six months?? I totally cannot think that far ahead. I can’t start thinking about Christmas presents (really) until after my sister’s birthday in November. Maybe that’s why I get so stressed 24 days before Christmas…
                But hey, I think homemade gifts are great, even if they’re not as good as store-bought ones. The trick is to try to make your gifts almost as good-and maybe better- than the ones in the store. πŸ˜‰ (Cue more stress…)

  3. It’s so exciting that you were able to do so well with NaNo!!!! I’m beating myself up for not doing it, but I’m working on a nonfiction project now, so I was focusing on interviews and research and such. Eh – it is what it is.
    I am down to read anything you write! You’re so fabulous! Cannot wait to catch a glimpse of the new stuff you’re working on! Yay you!

    1. Well, I figure some years just aren’t good for NaNo! I don’t know how I’ll manage it once I’m out of school and have a full-time job. And good for you for continuing on with your nonfiction project. What is it? (if you don’t mind sharing, of course!)
      Thank you, Tonya … you’re so sweet! πŸ˜€ I’m hoping to ask people to beta-read in the next couple months if you’re interested. πŸ™‚

      1. I’d be all over beta reading for you!!
        I’m not sure how it’ll look yet. Maybe a series of essays? But anyway, it’s a book focusing on stuff girls should know through high school and college about living a good life dedicated to Jesus. I think there’s a lot of materials available for older women and younger girls but not a lot for young women, ya know?

        1. Great! I’m really looking forward to beta-readers … I can hardly wait! *runs off to edit*
          Oh, that’s really neat! I’d definitely want to read that. Yes, that’s definitely something I don’t see a lot of – especially for young women going through college!

  4. YAY FOR YOUR DARES! πŸ˜€ *should really post something on my blog hehhheehh* I’m sure you’ll do great!
    AND ESPECIALLY YAY FOR NANO CONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING BEYOND HER CALLING THAT IS AWESOME!!
    Can I beta read AFOP too…? πŸ˜›
    OH YEAH AND CONGRATS ON 10K IN A DAY–THAT’S AWESOME AS WELL. πŸ˜€ JUST GOOD JOB ON EVERYTHING, KELL.
    I’m very excited for December because now I actually have time to write! Although I’m struggling with Battle Song. I just don’t feel like I know how to do it, so I don’t want to…
    And CHRISTMAS BREAK I’m excited! It finally snowed here (which is actually quite unfortunate because now I actually have to drive in the snow) but now it also feels like Christmas. I set up all our nativities on Saturday and it made me so happy! πŸ™‚
    Hmmm, I really like hot cocoa and apple cider. Hot chocolate is especially good right after you come inside from playing in/shoveling the snow. πŸ™‚

    1. Thanks! (And yes, you really should post something. πŸ˜› ) Of course you can beta read AFOP! πŸ˜€
      Yeah, I know that feeling. :/ Writing is too hard! *wails* I hope you’re able to figure it out, though! Good luck!
      YAY! I can’t wait until it snows here … hoping it will! Sometimes it only snows every once and a while and sometimes (like last year) we get snow that lasts for months … like, into March I think it was. XD It depends on the year …

      1. Yay! (I know, but at the same time I’m worried that I’ll just end up posting one thing and nothing else afterward.)
        Me too! πŸ™‚
        Haha, last year there was a lot of snow! I like lots of snow around Christmas, but then it should just go away. πŸ˜‰

            1. (NO GIRL YOU KNOW. GO WRITE A POST. πŸ˜› ) (Seriously, not that I’m gonna force you if you don’t have time, though …)
              Well, I know a lot of people who really hate the snow – for numerous reasons. So I guess it depends on the person?

              1. (Hehe, I have some time, but not necessarily inspiration…)
                Yeah, I guess? And I do want it to snow a lot a couple of days before Christmas, but before that and after that…

  5. Congratulations on winning NaNo! I didn’t do it this year, but I still feel the same wandery lost feeling anyway?? Who knows? Good luck on all your goals!

  6. Cold Hot cocoa! *high five*
    That’s so much fun!
    Hey, I’m a fish person. You should really clean your fish bowl. XD
    If you want an info overload about fish you can check out fishlore.com. But if you want to keep living and breathing something beside fish keeping information, probably a better Idea not to. XD

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