Hey y’all! This is the usual thing where I list all my posts from the month and then give you the list of upcoming stuff for December, but before I get into that, I WON NaNoWriMo!!!!!!!!!!! Actually I technically won it on the 28th and scheduled this, so I should get bonus points! But 50K wasn’t enough to tell my story so I’m gonna keep writing through December…
Upcoming for December:
š²I’m gonna attempt to do Blogmas, which means I post each day for the first 25 days of December, but I’ll probably epically fail in my attempt…
š²The Harry Potter Writing Cup is officially happening in January, and I’ll post the schedule of chats and such as soon as it’s finalized.
š²I’m participating in Short Story Society, (go here if you want more info), so I’ll probably be posting some of my writing on here!
š²I have Christmas break in the middle of the month, which means I CAN READ AND Write TO MY HEART’S DESIRE!!!!! Sorry to scream at you, but you just have no idea what school has been like for me this year… But reading means you get book reviews!!!
š²I have some writing posts planned, but there are a lot of them, and I’m not gonna list them all out because I’m typing on my iPad and I’m kinda sick of it…
Did any of you whin NaNoWriMo? Are you going to be writing or editing this month? Do you have suggestions for stuff you want me to post this month? Let’s chat in comments!
Hey, writerly people! If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen some discussions about the “HP Writing Cup.” Some blogger friends and I have been chatting about a little writing contest idea, and this is the official announcement that it will be happening, but the unofficial plan! So to simplify that a bit… It’s gonna happen, but we’re still working out the specifics!
I have teamed up with Trisha,Tanya, and Megan to host this fun challenge. Like I said above, I don’t have the plan/schedule set in stone yet, but here are the basics:
ā¢We’ll pick a month, (probably January), and the challenge will run for the length of that month.
ā¢Every word written in that month counts as a point for your Harry Potter house. (I’ll have a form up soon for you to tell us your house and some other info.)
ā¢Any creative writing counts, (including blog posts!)
ā¢We’ll host Twitter chats about bookish and writerly things! (Ya gotta have a Twitter account if you wanna do the really fun stuff.)
ā¢Someone will head each house, (as of now, Trisha is heading Slytherin, Megan is heading Hufflepuff, Tanya is heading Gryffindor, and I am heading Ravenclaw.) The head of each house will host word sprints for their group, and maybe have some fun extra prompts/challenges.
ā¢We’ll come up with ways to earn extra points so it isn’t all writing. (Suggestions welcome!)
ā¢You need to be following all of us to see important updates if you wanna participate!
ā¢Your input is needed! Do you have a suggestion about how to improve this? Drop me a line in the comments, or let Trisha, tanya, or Megan know on their blogs! You can also message me on Twitter @Cheyenne_writes!
Hey readers, writers, and Wrimos! It’s November 1st, aka the first day of the month long insanity known as National Novel Writing Month! Fun fact: NaNoWriMo began in 1999, which is the year I was born, and my birthday is November 18th, which means NaNoWriMo is just 18 days older than me! Look at me do math! I really hope that was right… š
So… Since it’s NaNoWriMo, and school has me going slightly insane already, I’m gonna have to rearrange my blogging schedule, (or lack there of), until all this calms down a bit. I’m also helping out with some assistive tech training this month, and I’m going to be traveling for doctor appointments in the near future, so here’s how this is gonna go down.
I’m going to post weekly NaNo tips, (and updates on my progress assuming I get 5 minutes free.) Your NaNo tip for today is… Get WAY ahead on your word count while you’re still super excited about your idea! Trust me… You WILL be sick of your characters and story by the beginning of the third week in, and you will decide that the perfect fix to your plot problem is to drop a giant bolder on all your characters, watch them die in agony, and give them a beautiful funeral as a perfect happy ending to your story. Okay… Maybe that was a BIG exageration, but you get the picture, right??? Yes? Good!
I’ve got some scheduled posts, but they’re kinda scattered randomly throughout the month because… Why would I bauther to put them in a set pattern? So expect some book reviews for books that I read like… six months ago or so.
I’ll probably be doing lots of frantic word sprints, so come join me on Twitter please! I’ll either do my own or join @NaNoWordSprints, but come say hey either way @Cheyenne_writes!
What posts I do write will most likely be written in the car, on my iPad, going through mountains for those doctor appointments I mentioned, so I’m sorry in advance for my typos and horrible grammar. It’ll drive me crazy when I reread things, and then I’ll end up updating everything.
Wait for it… Wait for it… I HIT FIFTY FOLLOWERS!!!!!!! If you follow me on Twitter, you know I was hoping to make that by my birthday, and it actually happened! You guys are amazing, and thank you for reading all my rambling! I know you’re actually reading it because a lot of you like and comment. I like likes and comments! A lot! If you’re a Twitter friend, you also know that I had a writerly surprise planned, and that’s still gonna happen… Just not this month… It’ll probably be December because there is NO way I can keep it up this month, but school will let up a lot in December, so that should work out. Hint, hint: It’s Harry Potter related, and it involves people writing together. I would like to collaborate with a couple of bloggers for this, so drop me a line if you’re interested. Either DM me on Twitter or email me from my contact page. My only requirement is that you write and you blog!
Ok so that post was extremely rambling, but hopefully it was sort of coherent, and I will now sign off and return next week with a NaNo tip! Let me know in the comments how your first day of NaNo went! I’ve hit 1500, and I’m planning to make it to 1670 as soon as I publish this! Message me if you’d like more info on my project, and… I don’t actually know how to end this. Please don’t unfollow me because of this post, and remember to be bookish and stay writerly!
From Cheyenne š
Hey Bookworms! Lara has created a fun reading challenge that basically dares you to take a chance on a random read. She has created a quiz, (consisting of five very random questions), that will determine which book you get. All of the books are free in eBook format until this Sunday, (that’s October 30th), and you just need an Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iBooks account to get your copy. If you decide to participate, be sure to click here to see the rest of the rules and take your quiz!
My Results:
I got The Killing Game by Toni Anderson. Looking at the synopsis, this book is pretty far from the kind of thing I normally read, but it also sounds like it’s got potential to be really good! It’s contemporary, and I’m usually a hardcore fantasy lover, but I’ll go into this with an open mind. I have been branching out to contemporary more and more lately, so maybe I’ll be surprised! Plus, it has leopards!!! I love leopards!!!
Thanks so much to Luke Hartman for nominating me for The Q&A tag! His blog is awesome, so you should go check it out! Now… It’s time for me to answer some questions!
The Rules:
Link the blogger who nominated you. Answer the questions you’re given. Nominate 10 bloggers. Write out your 10 questions for them. Let them know they’ve been tagged.
My Questions:
What’s your favorite beverage of all time? Uhhhh… Unsweet tea??? Or maybe coffee with chocolate creamer and milk? But I drink mostly water on a regular basis…
Name three fictional characters you would want as roommates. Blue from The Raven cycle, Cath from Fangirl, and luna from Harry Potter.
What is your favorite Shakespeare play? Yell at me in the comments now… I cannot stand Shakespeare. I know he shaped literature and all, but I just don’t get it!
If you were to play a game of chess with a fictional character, who would it be? Umm… Ron from Harry Potter? He’d totally beat me though!
What’s your favorite animated TV show? I just realized it’s been FOREVER since I’ve watched TV! Like I don’t even remember the last time I actually successfully kept up with a TV show because school and blogging and other stuff have kept me running around like a crazy person! So… I guess I don’t have an answer! š
What’s your go-to breakfast food? Yogurt! Yep… I’m a health nut! I start my morning with yoga, meditation, and then I eat something healthy like yogurt or fruit or a protein bar.
Hogwarts, Middle Earth, or Narnia? Hogwarts! No question about it!
If you could visit anywhere in the world for a day, where would it be? Hawaii!!!
What’s your favorite emoji? Well… The dagger is the first in my frequently used section, followed by the eye roll face, and then the laughing face with tears. It would normally be the laughing face first but it’s been a not so great school week… š”šš
Pick a song that best describes the theme of your favorite book. Favorite book?! Who has a favorite book?! Ok… I’m almost finished with The Raven King right now, and it is quickly making the top of my “favorite books ever” list. And the first song that comes to mind for it is Ravens Still Fly by Southern Raised, and that really kinda goes against the themes a little, but it also fits perfectly, and it’s one of my favorite songs, so…
Name three fictional characters who would either be your best friends or your worst enemies.
Name three songs that describe your personality.
Coffee or tea?
Favorite emoji?
What’s one thing you think would be amazing yet are terrified to do?
What’s the most awkward/embarrassing thing anyone has ever asked/said to you?
What’s your idea of the perfect weekend?
You are given the opportunity to eat lunch with three of your favorite authors/singers/famous people of choice. Who do you invite?
What is the one book/memory/other object you turn to for comfort?
What is one thing you would like the world to know?
*If you’ve already done this tag or just don’t wanna do it, feel free to ignore me completely! And if I didn’t tag you and you wanna do the tag, consider yourself tagged! I can’t wait to see all your answers! From Cheyenne š
Hey people of Blog Land for the second time today! This post is for all you dumbledorks like myself out there who have always dreamed of participating in the traditional Hogwarts House Cup challenge! Ok… So it isn’t exactly traditional because obviously none of us can fly around on broomsticks or casts spells for points, but it’s been altered to make it possible for muggle bookworms to have loads of fun! I’m fighting on team Ravenclaw, and you can hop on over to Michelle’s awesome blog for all the bookish details. Basically, the amount of pages you read from October 10th to November 6th will earn points for your house, and you can earn additional points in competitions like making Harry Potter inspired dIY’s. There’s a Twitter and Instagram account to follow, along with a form to fill out and some important hashtags, so make sure you read Michelle’s post to find out the specifics. Hope you’ll come join the bookworm fun!
Heeeeeey people of Blog Land! This update post is a bit overdue, but better late than never! You may remember that Iām participating in the Bloggerās House Cup.Ā The results of the first challenge are in, and the second challenge is well under way. Click hereĀ to view our first challenge, and watch this video to see my houseās submission.Ā
You can follow these links to see the first challenge results: Ravenclick took third btw!Ā
Click hereĀ to view the second task. Itās a scavenger hunt, so Iāll be posting lots of pics on my Twitter and Instagram pages. Be sure youāre following me to see all my updates! Also, there are lots of awesome bloggers competing in the competition, so you should go check them out and give them a follow!Ā
I found this tag over on Danielleās blog, and she tagged everyone, so technically Iām tagged! I canāt resist a good book tag, and I thought this would be a great way for you to get to know me and my blogging habits a little better. And maybe I just needed a quick postā¦
I prefer to write my blog posts on my MacBook because I found blogging software that is super accessible to my screen-reader, plus I just love my Macbook, and I usually sit at my desk so I can connect a braille display and see all the crazy things that autocorrect comes up with. I have been known to type posts in the WordPress app on my phone and iPad if Iām on the go or just donāt want to put out the effort to get up and get my laptop. This post is being written on my bed because my wrists hurt from typing at my desk all day. And I donāt have a braille display connected, so please excuse my goofs! You probably donāt know what Iām talking about, but a braille display connected to my laptop is the equivalent of the screen for you, and without it Iām going on a computerized robot voice to pick out mistakes. I guess I could just go get the display, but who wants to move that much after Algebra and Chemistry homework? Not I! š
How long does it generally take you to write a book review?
Depends on the book and how in-depth I want to get with my ranting/fangirling. I can usually finish a review in less than two hours, and I think the longest Iāve spent on one was four hours. The hardest part for me is formatting all the links and headings and posts because I always have something to say about a book!
When did you start your book blog?
Hmmmā¦ This is complicatedā¦ I started my first blog in April while I was doing CampNaNoWriMo, and it was more for writing related stuff than books. That blog was under an obscure URL so nobody ever found it, and I used my real name, which creeped me out a little when I started reviewing books and people started noticing. SOā¦ I moved over to this blog in July of this yearā¦ I think.
What is the worst thing about having a book blog in your opinion?
Writing bad reviews is rough! I recently gave my first two star review, and that was hard to write! But I know that I appreciate honest book bloggers who have a mixture of good and not so great reviews on their sites, and I want to be one of those honest book bloggers.
What is the best thing about having a book blog in your opinion?
I love the community! I very rarely see negativity among book bloggers. that is, I donāt ever see people putting other people down just for the heck of it. I see some bad reviews, but those are all for the good of honest readership!
6. What blog post have you had the most fun writing so far?
Hmmā¦ All of my blog posts are fun for me to write. I donāt write anything that isnāt fun to write, because if it isnāt fun to write, then it wonāt be fun to read! That being said, I think my favorite posts are probably my review of Anna Dressed In Blood, or this Snippet Sunday.
7. When do you typically write?
For some reason the writerly part of my brain likes to not work until around 9 PM, so I end up writing into the nightā¦
8. Do you review every book you read?
I have reviewed every book Iāve read since starting this blog. If I ever donāt finish a book, I most likely will not review it. I donāt like reading DNF reviews because if you donāt finish it, you canāt exactly judge it in itās entirety. I may make a short note that I didnāt finish something on a wrap-up post, but I will not post a full review.
9. How do you write your book reviews? With a cup of coffee or tea? With Netflix? Cuddled with your fur baby?
Whenever I write anything, I will have a cup of coffee or tea, and also a glass of water because I try to balance caffeine intake with water. I sometimes have Netflix, (Supernatural), on for background noise, but usually itās Pandora, Spotify, music from my iPod, or a youtube video. And my fur baby is currently confined to a cage because he decided to climb over something and cut his stomach openā¦ He’s a big cuddly kitty by the name of JackO, (short for JackOLantern because he has big orange eyes that sometimes turn green.) No, Iām serious. My catās eyes change color. Tell me Iām not the only one with a freaky eye changing cat! Anywayā¦ When heās allowed to roam around, he usually sits in my lap and bats at the mouse pointer whilst Iām attempting to write.
10. When do you write your book reviews? Right after finishing a book? Two weeks after finishing a book?
I usually try to write my reviews the day after I finish the book so itās still fresh on my mind, but Iām not still angry/sad/majorly obsessed with whatever I just read.
11. How often do you post?
Hahahahahaā¦ Iām just gonna skip over this questionā¦ Jk! But seriouslyā¦ I had a great posting schedule, and then school happened, and now things donāt happen on time! Iād like to post two or three times a week, but itās usually more like once over the weekend. Iāve got some stuff scheduled though, so that should change!
*Donāt feel obligated to do the tag if youāve already done it or just donāt want to do it! š
What Do You Think?
Do we share any blogging habits? Do any of my habits seem crazy to you? What’s your favorite post out of everything youāve written? Letās chat in the comments!
Hiiiii people of Blog Land! Iām alive! You guys probably didnāt actually notice my absence, but I sure did! I took an unexpected and very unwanted break from blogging for nearly a month becauseā¦ Wellā¦ School happened. And the stomach virus happenedā¦ And family functions happenedā¦ And my poor little OCD/ADHD brain just couldnāt keep up with all those happenings without going into frazzled mode!Ā
Anywayā¦ Iām writing this post to catch you guys up on whatās been going on with me, and what you can expect to see on this blog in the near future. First of all: The ranty/whiny/yucky part!Ā
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My Classes This Year Include:Ā
ā¢Algebra II šĀ
ā¢US History šŖĀ
ā¢Psychology š¤Ā
ā¢English III šĀ
ā¢Chemistry (My teacherās name is tom Riddle! Seriously!) š±Ā
ā¢Medical Terminology šĀ
ā¢Oral Communications šĀ
*All of those classes except Algebra, English, and Chemistry are online through Blackboard, and letās just say that Blackboard isnāt exactly blind friendly. Thatās contributed a great deal to my frazzled nature, but Iāll spare you the torture of hearing, (reading?), me rant about questionable accessibility standards in education for the moment because I think that deserves itās own postā¦Ā
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Personal Goings On:Ā
Iāve been pretty crafty lately, so this is gonna be a bunch of DIY stuffā¦Ā
ā¢I started a bullet journal and love it! Let me know if you wanna see a post, and hereās the video I used to get started:Ā
ā¢I made a replica of Tom Riddleās diary using this tutorial, only it didnāt turn out exactly like it cause I ended up putting black and silver duck tape over the spine to make it not show my glue goofs.Ā
ā¢Iāve started art journaling! I thought about a post of āthe blind girlās art journal,ā so let me know if youād like to see that
ā¢I found tactile emoji stickers!!!! You guys have no idea how happy tactile stickers make me!!! I also got some tacky glue cause gorilla glue made me goof up my Voldemort diary, a glue stick that means business cause school glue doesnāt stick to anything, and some chalk pain cause it has an awesome texture and Mom found me a pretty blue color!Ā
ā¢I somehow survived my two-year-old cousinās birthday party without going insane from Micky Mouse music! Like my ears? The pic is of me and my Aunt Kathy!Ā
ā¢I have scalded my tongue on jasmine green tea about four times since starting this postā¦. š«Ā
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Will you read with me? And other blogging stuffā¦Ā
I havenāt been blogging as much as Iād like, but I have been reading a lot! By the end of my crazy busy school day, Iāve been being so sick and tired of working that the idea of typing one more letter on the keyboard or reading one more word of braille makes me want to scream, so Iāve turned to audio books. Iāve been listening to them as I work on my various craft projects, so Iāve got quite a few book reviews ready to be written. Those are pretty simple to write because I love analyzing books, so that is most likely what the majority of this blog will be during the school weeks until I get a break. Soooooā¦ I have a thought! I love discussing books with other people just as much as I love analyzing them in writing, so I think it would be really cool to start a kind of bloggers bookclub. The idea is that a group of bloggers would get together and vote on a book to read each month, and then we could do kind of a giant collaborative post. By that I mean that we would each write our own individual post, but we would link it back to the other bloggers in the group. We could set up a forum, or a Skype group, or a Twitter group, or a FaceBook group, or maybe a group on Google Hangouts depending on what you guys like. Just drop me a line in the comments if your interested, or email me from my contact page. Also, feel free to share this with anybody you think would be interested! Iāll also share a list of the reviews I have coming up in the near future, and Iād love it if you want to read along and discuss with me!Ā
Aside from that, I am behind on a tagā¦ Thank you SO much to The Quirky Book NerdĀ for tagging me in the reader confession tag! Iām not ignoring you; I just totally forgot to do it because it didnāt make the todo list as soon as I saw itā¦ I canāt wait to do it now, and actually itās already done and scheduled for later this week! I guess that means I canāt wait for it to post thoughā¦ Iāve got a couple other tags planned as well that I think look super fun, and you guys can tag me if you see anything youād like me to do! I love tags, and I donāt typically leave them waiting so long!Ā
And for all you fellow ādumbledorks” out there, I am participating in the bloggers house cup, and this is my teamās first challenge! Keep an eye out for our results cause with me involved this is gonna be interesting to say the least!Ā
If you guys have any suggestions for me as far as what to read next or future posts youād like to see from me, please let me know! And also let me know if youād like Bloggerās Bookclub to happen because now I am super excited about the idea of it happening! Guys!!! Please read with me!!! I need some bookworm buddies!!! Okā¦ Until next time, be bookish, stay writerly, and go watch this video because you really need it in your life if you are a Dumbledork!Ā
Hello and welcome to the blog of a writerly bookworm! Iām Cheyenne Raphael, (or thatās my future pen name anyway.) I write young adult fantasy and read a lot. Iām also blind as a bat, (minus the sonar hearing), so I use braille and screen-reading software to read, write, and maintain this blog. Please excuse any odd things like the occasional misplaced picture or oddly colored fontā¦ I wonāt catch visual things like that unless it pops up in the blog coding, so clue me into anything really weird!
On this blog you can expect to find all sorts of things, including the unexpected! I post book reviews, writing tips and tricks, snippets of my own writing, stuff about the blind and visually impaired, and random life stuff that happens to pop up in my writerly mind! I love hearing from my followers, so feel free to drop me a comment with a post suggestion or just general feedback. If youād like to know more about me, go here!Ā And if youād like to contact me directly, go here!Ā I look forward to chatting with all you fellow writers and bookworms!
Cheyenne Raphael Writes 