Snapshot 8/31/20 // “My Horoscope Might Have Been Right, Lol”

Currently listening: “august” – Taylor Swift
Currently watching: Gossip Girl S1
Currently playing: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Currently reading: If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

August did seem to slip away like a bottle of wine. And I really did need the wine this month. Life has been chaotic at work since a lot of things are changing. COVID is still a thing. Boys are stupid. Weather has been violent lately. All in all August was not easy.

When I read my horoscope at the beginning of the year saying that August was going to be a bad month I just pfffffffft it. August is my birthday month, it’s summer, there is no better part of the year to me. Well. My horoscope was right. This August was a doozy. I’m just writing it off as 2020’s fault because anything that can go wrong this year seems to. It’s not my beloved August’s fault. Next year will be better. I pray.

August Goals:

1. Continue researching, world building, prewriting, plotting, and outlining my WIP! Check.
2. Become more interactive on social media! Check. My activity was about the same as last month but given what a hell of a month this was this is definitely a check.
3. Continue making submissions with my writing! No check here. I didn’t have time this month to submit anywhere.
4. Be nicer to myself. Check? Maybe? I don’t really know. Honestly, I feel like everything I know is a lie at this point and the world is on fire.

September (the month I used to dread but now enjoy) Goals:

1. Continue researching, world building, prewriting, plotting, outlining & WRITING my WIP! Been doing this and will keep doing this till I finish my first draft this year! Gonna get it done. Gonna get it done. I believe in myself. I believe in myself. Yes. This is me telling the universe what I want & therefore hopefully sending out the vibes so I can get it done. (INSPIRATION COME AT ME, I’M READYYYYYYY)
2. Become more interactive on social media! My handle is @jaiiiilynn4 for both Insta and Twitter so let’s connect! I definitely need to do better. And if I keep putting this as a goal and making this a habit I. DETERMINEDLY. WILL. GET. BETTER.
3. Continue making submissions with my writing! Same as above. I. DETERMINEDLY. WILL. GET. BETTER.
4. Be more present/observant in my life! Life get’s hectic but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be grateful for every damn day we have. You never know when or what can happen. I want to pay more attention to what’s around me. I want to expand my world. As a writer being observant is an important skill to have to make your writing as authentic as possible, and as a human there is nothing more valuable than being more present in your own life. No matter what happens good or bad. I do believe there is a reason for everything that happens and since time machines don’t exist (yet) we have to savor this moment… because this moment right now will never come again.

What I Read:

–American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I felt different after reading this book. Or, to put it in other words, I felt changed. The way I read it was a little disjointed, with time gaps between some chapters or bunches of chapters. Life got in the way. But this book in its way is also about life, the soul, religion, belief and America. Oh, America…. one day I’ll read this book again and maybe my review will make more sense than this paragraph I’ve cobbled together (_{is it just me or do a lot of books tend to leave me blubbering speechless with weird rambling reviews…?}) this August of 2020 in one of the weirdest time periods of my life – and probably everyone’s life – but for now this will have to do. I enjoyed this book, it changed something in me (gave more levity to my life and grasp on what I value and how I think about things in relation to others) and that’s how you know a book’s good whether you liked it or not. I encourage others to read it if you haven’t already. It’s a weird story but a great one and an honest one I think...(which is honestly my reading vibe 98% of the time). Yeah, yeah, yeah…. Shadow too… I love Shadow. If you need any other reason to read it at all just read it for Shadow. Then that’s good enough for me. But if you really want to understand my garbled mess here then you MUST read the book. It’s very human, or whatever being human means to you. I think you will find that here in this book. Yes.. that’s the right way to put it…
–More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn. This book was all the good vibes after the seriousness of American Gods. I needed its slice of life, its sweet moments, its simplicity, its music (and there is so much music in thisssssss) and its healthy romance. There wasn’t any love triangle and there was barely any shenanigans with side characters competing for either MC’s affection. It was more wholesome and I loved that. It makes me want to have my own Luke Greenly to share songs over text with. He’s a down to earth, sweet, BRITISH, caring guy that I am here for. Vada I loved too. She is strong, and she knows who she is and what she wants and she is going TO GO GET IT. Go Vada!!! Go out there and get what you want. Life isn’t just going to hand it to you. Hard work builds the foundation and then one day you’ll make it. Man, did I just make a cute YA romance into a philosophical lesson. Probably, blame Neil Gaiman.
–Geekerella by Ashley Poston. I need to read more contemporaries, like, for real. I ADORED this. So MUCH. Geekerella is quite clearly a retelling of Cinderella but for nerds. If that doesn’t sell you already… well. It has falling in love over texts, it has celebrities, it has PUMPKINS, it has cute dogs and badass best friends and everything someone needs in their real life. Friendship, love, adventure and a little magic sprinkled on top. So go read it. Now. Especially if it feels like your life is on fire. Especially.

What I’ll Be Writing:

• Poetry- posted every Wednesday
• Writing Is Hard | WIP Writing Update- posted in the middle of the month
• Snapshot! Monthly Recap- posted the last day of every month
• Announcements- posted as needed

All of my fiction writings are independent of each other and stand alone so no need to read any of the previous work to understand. If you want more information about any of the above, you can check out the About page on my site or just click here.

August Round Up of Posts from Wonderful People:

• Mitchel David Ring @ The Light is On “Marionette“
• T.N. @ The Amateur’s Quill ” Tithes And Offerings”
• Anastasia @ Living in Verses “Heartbeat“
• Kay @ Hammock of Books “On #Ownvoices And Checking Boxes As A Biracial Reviewer // Who Gets To Decide What I Represent?”
• Sammi Lee @ Radiate Literary “Flower Mouth“
• Luna @ Luna the Blog “Poem #334”
• Mary Drover @ Mary and the Words “#marywrites: Being Inspired“
• The Orangutan Librarian “Ranking the Worst Tropes in Fantasy – Inspired by Kate Cavanaugh”

Each of these posts resonated with me in some way. Some are serious, some are funny, but all are beautiful. Keep doing great work out there guys!!

My Round Up of August Posts:

• “Heartbreak Boy“
• Announcement! So… I Was in a Blackout…
• “blackout“
• “Red Cardinal, Black Feather“
• Writing Is Hard | WIP Writing Updates | August 2020 | Roxas
• “In My Head“

August was a double edged sword. Good thing I like swords. I really believe that through this hell of a month something great will be happening (eventually). How were your months? Did you get a lot done? Do you remember anything fun you did? This month was a blur for me. I feel like I’ve been running with no destination and no end in sight. It will be okay. I keep telling myself and I’ll tell you too. If you had a hell of a month too, I promise it will be okay.

Everything’s okay in the end.

That’s a quote from something I read and since I am a writer (a woman of words) I trust quotes. And wine. Just kidding.

Till next time,

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