End of the Semester Chaos!

CHAOS I TELL YOU! UTTER AND COMPLETE CHAOS! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

Ahem.

As you can see, I'm currently experiencing a bit of panic, stress, and lack of sleep. I've also developed a nasty eye-twitch and an odd craving for anything awful for me (chocolate, chips, ice cream etc etc). I'd also like to sleep for the next million or so years.

Yep, I think that about sums it up. 

As of today, I only have 4 days of classes left (remember, I only have classes Mondays and Wednesdays). My last official day is April 13th. After that I have a final on the 26th, 27th, and two finals on the 29th.  Yeah, I know. I have nearly two weeks between my last day of classes and my first exam. Not exactly the schedule I would have picked, but meh.

I currently have 2 essays I need to write, 1 presentation to do, and 1 test to study for before the 13th of April. Therefore, I'm going to take a short blog break until I am out of the woods, so to speak.  However, I will be on Twitter (I'd like to see you stop me! *cackles*), so if you'd like to check in on me, I'll be on there. I can't guarantee any of my tweets will make sense, but that's a risk you'll have to take.

Until April, my dears.

xoxo

New Look

Hello all!

So I decided my blog needed a new look. Although I adored my old blog background, it was a bit...girly. And by a bit, I mean a lot. I loved it, but I needed something new.  So here it is!  Let me know what you think =) Some of the old posts might have some funky colours happening, but I can't change all of them.

As well, I changed my Twitter background too. Go check it out! The link is on the sidebar. If you're not following me already, friend me!

xoxo

WIP Wednesday

Hello all! Since today's Wednesday it's time for a writing update! Woohoo!

Struck (Paranormal YA):

• Current word count: 18, 050 words
• Current page count: 71 pages
• This story is still going really well =) I finished chapter 10 and I'm very happy with how it's going. I've now started chapter 11 and it seems to be going really well.

A Highlander's Ransom (Medieval Romance):

• Current word count: 7007 words
• Current page count: 27 pages
• I finally finished chapter 2! Yay!!! I hope it's good. I've sent it to my CPs, so we'll find out soon what they think =) I've now started chapter 3 and it's gone so quickly.

So how are your stories going? Any news?

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

In honour of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd post a video from one of my favourite Irish bands, Flogging Molly. If you'd like some other bands to listen to, Dropkick Murphys are always good, as are The Pogues, The Clancy Brothers, and The Chieftains. There are plenty more, but those are some of my favourites.

WIP Wednesday

Hello all!

I haven't done a writing update for a while, so I thought I'd do it today! =)

Struck (YA Paranormal):

• Current word count: 16, 621 words
• Current page count: 66 pages
• I've had a sudden burst of inspiration recently. I've written quite a bit the last few days, so I'm happy. With how busy I am with school, any words are good words ;)

A Highlander's Ransom (Medieval Romance):

• Current word count: 5004 words
• Current page count: 20 pages
• This story has been a bit more difficult than I'd first assumed. While I adore the words I do have down, they've been hard won. However, I still love this story. I can't wait to see where this goes =)

How are your stories coming along? Any exciting news? 

The 5 Rules of Being a Good Critique Partner

Hello all! So today I thought I would do a blog post on the 5 rules (in my opinion) that every critique partner should follow.

• Be Quick: No one likes a slowpoke. I know life gets in the way, but being a critique partner is a job you need to take seriously. Taking several weeks to get back one chapter isn't right, especially if the person is waiting for your feedback so they can continue revising.

• Be Thorough: In my opinion, this one is very obvious. Don't let things slide simply because they're your friend. I tell my CPs everything I find and then some. Does this mean that some critiques are full of comments? Yes. But at least this way, my CPs know I'm being honest, which leads into my next point...

• Be Honest: Dishonesty is something I can't stand. If you have to give someone tough news, so be it. It's better than lying, and it's part of the business. We all need to have thick skin to survive. If you can't take it right now, you need to learn how.

• Be Respectful: Of course, being honest doesn't mean you're being disrespectful. In a critique, you need to give positive feedback as well. I know sometimes it can be hard to find good things (ouchie), but you need to do it.

• Be There For Your Fellow Critique Partners: Being a CP isn't simply critiquing someone else's work. You need to be there for them. You should want to be there for them. In my opinion, you need to be friends with your critique partners. I talk to my CPs daily--I can't imagine going 24 hours without talking to them. They're there for me, for every aspect of my life.

So there you have it! Those are the 5 things I think every CP should follow! Of course, this list was rather broad, and didn't get into the nitty gritty aspects of a CP relationship, but that's a post for another day, I think.

Which point do you think is the most important? Do you have any other points to add?

My Surgery

*WARNING: PICTURES OF MY INCISIONS BELOW*

Okay, as promised, here is an update on my arm. I went and got my stitches out last Thursday and my surgeon gave me the news.

1. My left arm was quite a bit worse than my right one. I have some permanent damage, but there's nothing they can do. It shouldn't be too bad, though.
2. If we'd waited even one more week, I would've needed the huge surgery and my semester would have been a write off. Phew, that was close!
3. I'll have the same pain level (it hurts a lot), for the next month.
4. It'll be about a year before I notice any significant difference.

So yeah. Both good and bad news, I suppose. It seems to be healing up nicely, even though it hurts.

But now, some pictures!

Left arm (and most recent surgery).

This is right before the stitches were removed. 

You can see some of the bruising still, even after 2 weeks.

Left arm again.

Stitches are out! You can see some of the pen marks still.

As well, my arm is pretty swollen around the incision area.

Right arm (surgery last November).

I couldn't get a good picture of it because of the angle, but here it is.

It has healed up nicely after 3 and a 1/2 months.

However, it's a lot darker than this picture shows.