IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR!! Again. Who's excited about recapping 2018 and planning 2019? I SURE AM. But it's still a lot to take in.
^^ parent: isn't it scary it's so close to 2020?
sibling: no
sibling: not really
sibling: the only scary thing is whether Dreamworks makes a fool of HTTYD 3 next year
The only scary thing is I'm only a year away from BEING AN ADULT. *cue panicking*
2018 was my second year of calling myself "an aspiring writer". Stuff I accomplished :
. I FINISHED MY FIRST BOOK aka Broccoli Queen in the spring. It's a middle grade fantasy novel about four girls competing for the crown. It's an absolute mess and I'm still trying to untangle it for rewrites. I'm looking forward to editing it + beating it into shape next year.
. I DID CAMP NANO IN APRIL and succeeded with 13 k of short stories and miscellaneous novels. I ALSO DID NANOWRIMO IN NOVEMBER ... and failed lol
. I STARTED A FUTURISTIC/DYSTOPIAN/SURVIVALIS BOOK IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR. It's called The 101st Human and it's one third way through so hurray for that!
. I WROTE A NUMBER OF SHORT STORIES AND FLASH FICTION (about 7 or 8, I believe).
^^ One was for Rosalie's flash fic challenge and the other for Christmas, if you want to check them out.
. I GOT AN HONORABLE MENTION IN PROJECT CANVAS'S HANDWRITTEN POETRY CONTEST. I really had fun writing it and then rewriting it multiple times to get the lettering just right. Then I must have taken 50 pictures because the first time round I didn't realized I had a spelling error until I'd taken about 25 photos XD
. I GOT A COUPLE OF MY STORIES BETA READ/CRITIQUED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE which was so insanely helpful and amazing that I shall be doing that a lot more in the future!
In beta reading I've done a nice amount of work too. I finished three novels, one novella, and multiple short stories and chapters. And three or four of the works I read will/have gone on to be published including Seek and Live Without You.
Goodreads says I've read 62 books which is less than half what I hoped to read, but never mind.
Cool stats:
. I read 17,249 pages
. shortest book: 48 pages in Mansion of the Gods (comic book from Asterix series)
. longest book: 635 pages Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
. average rating: 4.3 stars (pretty good, eh?)
Numbers by the genre (approx.):
Fantasy: 20.
Contemporary: 17.
Comics: 9.
Nonfiction: 6.
Historical fiction: 5.
Classics: 3.
Sci-fi/futuristic: 3.
Thriller: 2.
Retellings: 1.
. Mystery: 1.
Steampunk: 1.
Best books (first time reads only):
the whole Wings of Fire series in general.
Blogging in recap:
Not a lot to talk about, I think. I do remember that I changed my template and spent hours customizing it to fit my wants. I took three hiatuses. I hosted a short story contest which was incredibly fun. I abandoned doing recap posts. I redid my aesthetic and I'm really happy with how the second half of the year reflects that in terms of images. I learned a lot about html and css. I discovered I like writing how-to posts about blog design. I gave up trying to do all the tags thrown at me. I have about 150 followers (including double followers and spam followers). I have enjoyed blogging A LOT but have also been ridiculously stressed over
- how much time it takes,
- and what a perfectionist I am in terms of looks.
Most popular posts:
Best screen experiences:
. Hawaii Five-0 (the old series, which we finished in the spring after over one and half years of binge watching)
. Blue Zoo (one of the best surprises - it's about kids given six weeks to experience marine animal training and conservation)
. Studio Ghibli (after being convinced by my best friends I saw about seven of their films, the best being Howl's Moving Castle and Whisper of the Heart)
. Ballerina
. Ferdinand
. Little Women (mini-series from BBC)
. Blue Planet II (awe-striking and eye opening and heartbreaking)
. The Boxcar Children (and The Surprise Island)
. The Lego Batman Movie
. The Star (best Christmas movie I've seen)
. 15:17 from Paris (thought it was going to be thriller but turned out more biographical)
. Father Brown (many thanks to Angela Watts for recommending the series)
. The Man Who Invented Christmas (multi-layered and brilliant)
MUSIC. According to Spotify I listened to 1,666% more than last year and below are the top artists and song. Unfortunately - it's incorrect. Thanks to the fact that I let my sister use my account for about half a year, the stats reflect HER FAVORITE SONGS THAT SHE PLAYED ON REPEAT and not mine.
So here are my musical obsessions listed for you.
NEWLY FOUND ARTISTS I LISTENED TO ON REPEAT (for a while):
Sleeping At Last :: Ben Rector :: Raelynn :: Alec Benjamin :: Svrcina :: For King & Country :: Colton Dixon :: Sarah Reeves :: Tori Kelly :: Lany :: Pentatonix
TOP SONGS:
you are enough (sleeping at last).
cross my mind (arizona).
island (svrcina).
don't wait (addison road).
reckless love (cory asbury).
living hope (phil wickham).
resurrection power (chris tomlin).
well done (the afters).
fear no more (the afters).
more of you (colton dixon).
you are (colton dixon).
i stand here (hannah kerr).
i love you (sarah reeves).
cheerleader (pentatonix).
boulevard of broken dreams (lindsey stirling).
it ain't me (lindsey stirling).
if i killed someone for you (alec benjamin).
kids (ben rector).
lonely call (raelynn).
Cool stuff that happened in the months (I'm taking the major highlights from my recap posts *sigh of relief*):
JANUARY : read approx. 15 books + quite a bit of travel writing // was sick // hardly wrote // went to a wedding // got guitar strings but never played it
FEBRUARY : THE OLYMPICS // snow for the first time that winter // chinese new year // read a health book (the only one of the year)
MARCH : was sick again // went skating once // finished alpha reading projects // FINISHED BROCCOLI QUEEN and two short stories
APRIL : cherry blossoms everywhere // Nanowrimo and finished with 13 k // plotting The 101st Human // got a story of mine beta read for the first time EVER // read four ARCs/review copies // got We're All Just A Garden Full of Souls by Julia Ryan // took a blogging hiatus
MARCH : watched too much of Miss Marple // won the Allegiance series' first three books in a giveaway
JUNE : bought a Kindle // HAD MY BLOG ANNIVERSARY and hosted a short story contest // finished a course // acquired an orchid or two // THE FIFA WORLD CUP BEGAN
JULY : THE WORLD CUP CONTINUES AND FRANCE WINS // played too much foosball having been inspired by the games // had some really hot days
AUGUST : SUMMER CAMP which was the most exciting thing that happened in our lives" according to a sibling of mine XDD // also got a new phone (<< major highlight)
SEPTEMBER : went of a road trip // tried out video editing (and I love it) // watched Little Women
OCTOBER: inktober // started painting again // for king and country released a new album (!!) // got a succulent // turned 17 // became a writer for Oh Beloved One magazine
NOVEMBER : failed Nano // wrote The 101st Human to it's third way point // beta reading again
DECEMBER : went on unexpected hiatus due to major school deadlines // wrote a Christmas story and had it edited // lots of present wrapping // potluck on the Eve // studying like mad
SO THAT'S MY YEAR IN RECAP! Lots of good stuff happened and I'm super grateful for everything accomplished, learned, and discovered.
Now it's your turn - how was your year and what were your biggest highlights?
hope your new year is wonderful + and 2019 is your best year yet.
xx lisa
ps. don't forget to check out that christmas story of mine right here.
Congratulations on everything you've gotten done this year!
ReplyDeleteInkspell is great! I think the longest book I read this year was The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, which clocks in around 1200 pages. And yesss the Ilyon Chronicles!! I got Exiles and Bitter Winter for Christmas this year, and I'm super excited to dive in to them.
My year was just....stressful. Just burned out and stressful. It's the first time I've ever gotten tired of school, and I'm just hanging in this weird grey, in-between space and waiting to go to college. (Which I CAN'T DO if I don't FINISH MY APPLICATIONS). C'est la vie, I suppose. C'est la freaking vie.
Happy New Year and whatnot!! (Since there are only a few days left of 2018.) Are you making any New Year's resolutions?
Eleanor | On the Other Side of Reality
THANK YOU MY DUDE THANK YOU
Deletemaaannnnn that's a long book, congrats on conquering it !! and I'm ridiculously excited that you love the Ilyon Chronicles so much and I hope those books live up to your expectations and yeahhhhh I need to get them too. This year. *makes new resolution*
dear girl I get you! My year was stressful too but I didn't dwell on that in the post lol I have been studying NONSTOP ALL YEAR AND AM BEHIND ON MY COURSES. like ... depressingly behind bother it all. *high fives for stressing out* LET'S WORK ON IT THIS YEAR let's manage our stress effectively !!
I certainly am making resolutions (such as, finishing said frustrating courses) and I hope + pray all your plans go swimmingly and you get you applications all in and GET TO YOUR DREAM SCHOOL!!!
Woah 2018 sounds like a busy but really fun year for you! :D We shared several of our favourite books for this year too!! Great minds read alike. ;) Have a wonderful 2019!
ReplyDeleteDEFINITELY WAS!! That's great, Melissa !! and yes !! lol great bookdragons read alike (aka you and I) ;DD you too girl, let's continue in being great minds by both making most of the year XDD
DeleteOK I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY THAT YOU'RE BLOG DESIGN IS AMAZING AND ALL OF THE IMAGES IN YOUR POSTS ARE AWESOME. Oh and also loved this post and I hope you have an amazing 2019. :)
ReplyDeleteNabila | Hot Town Cool Girl
AWWWWW NABILA THANK YOU FOR TAKING A MOMENT TO SAY THAT IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME AND ASLKDFJAODKFJDLKAL THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH <333 I have no words, but I hope your new year is AMAZING TOO <333
DeleteI LOVE THE FORMAT OF THIS POST. My goodness. Your year sounds amazing! I still need to write you back argh xD
ReplyDeleteAlso your taste in music is impeccable.
THANK YOU THANK YOU ELAIKIE it really was !! and hey no stress - you'll get to it and we have this brilliant modern day technology at our finger tips haha
DeleteUMMMM THANK YOU DUDE WHAT A COMPLIMENT I mean I didn't even list Fall Out Boy lolololol
1) YES, YOUR SIBLINGS FEARS FOR 2019 ARE THE SCARIEST BUT HAVE YOU SEEN ALL THE TRAILERS!! *falls into the puddles of feels left by the HTTYD3 trailers*
ReplyDelete2)WORLDS BENEATH, YASSS!!
3)SRVCINA, YASSS!!! *starts singing off key about Islands and Dragonflies* (p.s have you heard her song Dragonflies? My new favorite!)
4)YOU CHRISTMAS STORY IS EPIC AND I TOTALLY FORGOT TO COMMENT BUT I READ IT A FEW DAYS AGO AND LOVED IT!!!!!
*takes a deep breath from all the fangirling*
Whew, okay, this is super aesthetic and now I'm regretting my wrap up post because my word this is gorgeous! <3
God bless and I hope 2019 is your best year yet! <3
*SCREAMS WITH YOU OVER HTTYD, WORLD'S BENEATH, SRVCINA, AND MY OWN CHRISTMAS STORY* ok but literally girl I'm so flattered you liked that story and so so so happy too :')
Deletehumph never regret your posts - but like, in all honesty, I'm a teensy bit proud of that compliment lol
SAME TO YOU DEAR SAME TO YOU
Holy wow, you've been so productive this year!!! ALSO BRB SWOONING over the style of this post!! The staggered alignment + the white background are SO PRETTY!!!
ReplyDeleteHere's to 2019!
Ack you are too much thank youuuuuu so much that's such a compliment and I appreciate it so much 💛💛💛
DeleteHere's right back at ya, to 2019 !!!
I really like Inkspell I read all the books at one time. Sounds like a great year! I had a great year too. I wrote one book this year and got one edited. I did a lot of riding in the summer.
ReplyDeleteYou do such nice posts!
astorydetective.blogspot.com
Such a good series isn't it?! Yay you accomplished more than I in writing terms actually lol I didn't write a WHOLE BOOK 😁
DeleteEEP THANKS SO MUCH so happy you enjoy the blog that just makes my day 😊
DO NOT SPEAK TO ME OF HTTYD 3 POSSIBLY BEING BAD. IF IT ISN’T GOOD, I WILL *insert scene of me mumbling incoherent threats*
ReplyDeleteAnd congratulations on finishing Broccoli Queen this year! Actually, congrats on ALL your achievements! I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for you, Lisa! :)
as they say IF ANYTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN CHANCES ARE IT EVENTUALLY WILL 😂 mwahahahaaaa jk jk it'll be fiiiiine
DeleteThanks for your compliments I can't wait to see what 2019 holds either 💛
You accomplished a lot! Seems like you had a really good year.
ReplyDeleteHope the coming one is even better.
Yesss thanks so much Skye! Hope it's the same way for you too girl 💛
DeleteHawaii Five-O and Built by Titan yessss 🤙
ReplyDelete👍 100% AGREED DUDE
DeleteI LOVED your little Christmas story!! So cute!!
ReplyDeleteAnd hey - 62 books is a great accomplishment! (And while finishing your own book??? EPICNESS)
Awww Julian thaaaanksss
DeleteIt actually is a nice number !! And eheheheh yessss writing is haaaard ... 😉
LONELY CALL. Legit my favorite part of this fabulous post. xD A blessed 2019 to you, Lisa!
ReplyDeleteLol well all credit to you cos you introduced me to Wild Horse 😂 blessings to you too dear !!
DeleteACK I love love loved A Thousand Perfect Notes!! I mean, it's Cait so I was definitely expecting a lot but the characters were so fascinating and colorful and I really fell in love with the book.
ReplyDeletethat's so awesome!! I totally fell in love with it too!! (sorry my reply is like five months late lol)
Delete