That Word Congregate

This segment of my blog is inspired by Victoria Grace Howell Word definition that we get as part of her weekly Writerly Bundles and by me when I come across words I have a vague sense of the meaning but not a complete sense of the word.

I often come upon words that I either haven't heard of before I can't remember the meaning. These posts are for those words and in hopes of helping others remember the meanings and introduce them to words they may not know.

Our next word is...

Congregate 

Where I Found It

I didn't find this word anywhere in particular. In my notes where I had written it I said I felt that I had always liked it. 

Definition/s 

1. To come together; assemble, especially in large numbers:
2. To bring together in a crowd, body or mass; assemble; collect.
3. Congregated; assembled
4. Formed by collecting; collective. 

An Example Sentence

The small winged group congregated in a corner of the cell like room.

My Thoughts

I know this word is not that uncommon, but obviously some time ago I thought that I had always liked the sound of it. And I do like the sound of it. The way the g's work in accordance with the words around it make it sound cool, for lack of a better word. It just, I like it. I don't know fully how to describe it.

What Do You Think? Do You Like This Word? 

Monthly Recap: August

My Life

This month I participated in my first ever Instagram challenge it was #Ausyachallenge. I did most of them but did get behind as I didn't plan ahead. I think I will do that for my next challenge. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun.

#AusYAchallenge day 25: Colour

You know that history challenge I said I was writing for in my June Recap. Well, I never did end up doing it because school got ultra busy and I didn't put any time into it in the holidays. I still would have liked to write the essay though. Maybe I will sometime in the future but for now it is on the back burner. 

On another school note I have the ticket for this year's school ball. I'm fairly excited because it's my first ball type thing ever. At my old school they had a senior dinner but that was totally different to this. My friends and I are just going as a group of friends though. No boys. With the information for it, it mentioned prizes. I didn't expect that and it also is asking for song suggestions. I'm not sure what yet though. I'm going to reuse a dress I already have but Mum is crocheting a shawl that she think will go well with the theme which by the way is The Roaring Twenties (though I keep think Great Gatsby. I think that's what I get for studying it this year in school). 

There's a French exchange student going to my school. My friends and I have taken her under our wings. She will be coming to the ball with us too. I've been learning french at school this year for the first time but haven't tried any on her. I think if there is one thing with my french I will never be able to do is roll my r's. She does it so well though.  

Something Frenchy 

I decided I wanted to get into origami again. I was excited and then disappointed in myself because I wanted to do better than I was. I probably shouldn't' have started off with trying a dragon, but I couldn't resist. I really wanted to make an origami iris for Mum's birthday because it's her favourite flower and she really appreciates hand made things.

What I've Watched

My family and I are still watching Gilmore Girls we have just started season 5. I started re-watching Fullmetal Alchemist today. 

Books I Read

I think I was a bit slow reading books this month and mostly I blame wattpad. There was one week and weekend where I had this huge phase where I only felt like reading all things wattpad. I even was staying up late reading which isn't often like me but I did get some books read and all my library books finished. I had to renew them a couple of times though. I blame school. But now I can get to my own books that seriously need to be read.

Pretty Cover!

• I finished reading Firebrand by Gillian Philip. I didn't like it that much at all. 
• I didn't finish reading The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees. I may pick it up at a later time but I'm not really sure about that
• I finished reading Crown of Midnight and liked it so much more than Throne of Glass and now look forward to the next book. A review will be up soonish.

So in all I would say that has been an ultra slow reading month. This makes me sad but next month is September in which I hope to do better.

Books I Plan to read

The Plot To Save Socrates by Paul Levinson

I bought this one at a library sale. It only cost 50c! It interested me because I am currently studying Ancient Greece in my Ancient Civilisations class. It sounds interesting with a bit of time travel. 

Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery 

As I am planning to reread these it makes sense to include one in the list. And I have actually started this already. 

The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

This is a book I bought with a gift card that I received for my birthday. Coincidently enough this one also involves time travel. The girl at the counter said he was good author as well. It's always nice to meet someone who has a bookish opinion. 

Here are some posts that I stumbled upon this month.

• The Write Life posted something in 2013 about 22 Gifts for Writers. I absolutely loved it and would recommend you check it out. I wish there were some more people I could give it too. 
• This person @ She's Novel wrote a great post near the end of last month on Maximising Your Writing Time. It splits into where your at with your writing too (beginner, amateur or professional).
• Cait @ Paperfury wrote about Should the "Special Snowflake" trope be retired and Left 20,000 Leagues Underground or is it Still Fun. It is a good topic to consider. 
• Victoria Grace Howell @ Wanderer's Pen wrote a great post about Keeping Morality in Fiction:  Perfect and Good Characters aren't Synonymous.

On the Blog

That Word Splendiferous

I Participated in Camp Nanowrimo

Throne of Glass in a Book Review

Beautiful People: August Addition

To come on the Blog

Next week I have a post planned about Naming Characters and the difficulties it can present. Then in the week after I have a book review of Crown of Midnight. I'm so excited to share my thoughts with you all. There will be another That word and then around the 17th I hope to post the next Beautiful people. One the 24th there will be the Monthly Recap and finally a few days later another That word will be squeezed in. 

Jumbled Thoughts of Realisations This Month

1. I tend to panic when I think I've lost my pens. They are quite precious. I can't write down my ideas nearly so well without them or blog plan for that matter. 
2. I realised how much I want to go to a writer's conference. In other words I really, really, really want to go to one. 
3. I have also realised how much I would love to do an exchange student thing overseas. It would be awesome. Even though I have never been much anywhere on my own. I've spent sometime this month seeing what my university will offer in exchange programs. I definitely think I will do it. Even though it will be scary. 

What have you done this month? Has it been busy? Have you done any crafts this month? Did you go to Realm Makers conference this month? What strange realisations have you come to this month? 

Beautiful People: August Edition

Beautiful People is a link up hosted by Cait @Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In. I've only participated in it a few times so far but it has really helped me to get to know my characters and books better.


This

1. Give a brief overview of their looks (Include a photo if you want!)

Samuel is pale, and fairly average in height with dusty blond hair (I'm not even sure if that's the right way to describe it)

2. Share a snippet that involves description of their appearance. 

I don't think I really have a snippet as of yet that really describes his appearance but you can be sure that when one is born I will add it to this post.

That Word Fastidious

This segment of my blog is inspired by Victoria Grace Howell Word definition that we get as part of her weekly Writerly Bundles and by me when I come across words I have a vague sense of the meaning but not a complete sense of the word.

I often come upon words that I either haven't heard of before I can't remember the meaning. These posts are for those words and in hopes of helping others remember the meanings and introduce them to words they may not know.

Our next word is...

Fastidious 

Where I Found It

This is a word I heard of before and thought I had a vague sense of the meaning. I came across it again recently while reading The Secret River by Kate Grenville.

Throne of Glass In A Book Review

I received this books as a birthday present this year. My friend who gave it to me isn't a big reader at all so it was much appreciated. She even told me three book worms had suggested it. On saying that I didn't really know what to expect from it. I know there are lots of people out there that love it and I know there are people out there who don't like (or hate) it. On saying that I had actually borrowed this from the library once and didn't finish it (my friend didn't know this) I'm not sure whether it was all life getting in the way or it didn't hold my attention. It's rare for me to not like a book that much. In other words I don't think I've rated a book lower than three stars (in other words a C). I actually found there were a lot of things I didn't like while reading this. It was a surprise to not like so many things in the book because I don't usually do. But hopefully they don't override this whole review. Bear with me if you will. I will list the things I liked below the ones I didn't maybe so I can leave you with a sweet taste (I really don't know why I'ming saying this(.

Throne of Glass amongst my pile of birthday presents

Disappointments 

To start off with in the beginning there was so much attention to her looks that I got sick of it. It irritated me. Celaena is an assassin one who has been in a "special" prison for a year which normally means most people would be dead. She survived. She sort of has freedom and she's thinking about how she looks in front of Dorian Havilliard a prince of a royal family she hates. So who cares. She should've been like 'I stick it in your face'. In my opinion.

Dorian. I really didn't see that great a need for him as a love interest. Maybe it matters more in later books maybe it doesn't (I have absolutely no idea) but I didn't care for it. Chaol on the other hand I could imagine being good for her if she let him. If she realised it. I like him much better than Dorian.

Another misgiving for me is about when we learned her cover. She introduced herself to her servant Philippa as Celaena and was told off. It's not like she even knew what other name she could call herself by.

There is a certain point in the novel where we are thrown into several people's POV's. This irritated me also. We had almost been reading the whole novel in Celaena's point of view before this. Suddenly there were all to many.

Throne of Glass with a bit of Blue

What made me Smile
I found it kind of funny she was insulted at being a jewel thief.

I also liked Nol he was smart and kind and if (or when) I read the next book (s) I hope to see him again.

Early on it was the prospect of magic that excited me the most. That scene early on where they stop in the forest introduced to me that it was there but I wanted to know ever so much more and still do to be honest. We barely seem to know anything except maybe a bit on the wyrd marks and even that isn't much.

I also loved Nehemiah. She was quite a deceptive princess. I loved her character.

Intrigue 

I want to know more about Celaena's past. Yes, it would be nice to know some more things in her assassin years but what I really want to know is more about her past before then. Before she was found in that river. It's that and magic that really has my attention.

To Finish Off
Altogether I think this book was okay. I didn't love it but by the end I was enjoying it. I think I might want to read the next book but I don't know when and don't think I will be in a rush.



All up I rate it a....

C 

Celaena Sardothien, a master assassin caught, tortured and survived where others have not.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Did you love it or hate it?

I Participated in July Campnanowrimo

This July I participated in Camp Nanowrimo. It was the first one I had one which meant it was super exciting, but the novel is far from done and I can't wait to write some more. Also while Camp was going on another story idea has been brewing. I'm considering working on it in November. Also sorry for the late update.

What Happened

I almost didn't do it this time round though. I felt that I needed to do some more planning for the plot, but still I went ahead. The main character had already changed from who I originally saw it as. I felt sure Jaye was the one, but as I started writing I struggled. I of knew where I wanted it to go but wasn't confident if it was sounding right. I kept trying to write something but it was slow and painful. I knew it wasn't right. So I played down my pen (or took a break from typing) for a little while. There were a couple of scenes I was happy with but the rest just wasn't flowing right. 

Then, something happened. I was trying to imagine what might happen and felt that Jaye wasn't speaking to me in the right voice anymore. Suddenly I just began writing from another character's point of view. I t was someone I had been with (so to speak) before but hadn't written anything down for. I thought maybe he would either come along later in the story or be some sort of sub-plot. I realise now that I had begun writing from his point of view things were better. 

Another thing I was uncertainty and insecurity about was how I was writing Jaye's point of view. I felt for sure at first that it should've been written in third person past tense but then I was just unsure. I kept switching between that one and first person past tense. With this other character, Samuel James, I felt confident going into it writing in first tense and I was finding it much easier to get the words out. 

My Words

The first two weeks of July was school holidays for me and this helped to try and keep writing a focus.  On one of those weekends my family and I went and stayed with my Nan and Pop. Down there I didn't have any internet. And you know what, I managed to get a few thousand words done in those days. My goal for each day was to get at least a few hundred. I take it down to no internet equalling no distractions. Ever since that weekend I've managed to keep a steady pace on my goal. Happy me :D

What Else

I feel like a lot of what I've written this month for Samuel could be more of his backstory than the actual story I wanted to tell. Even though that is what it seems I am glad for what I've written. The story is definitely not finished and I will continue to write this through out the year.

It's likely that some of what I wrote at the beginning will have to be cut because it was written in Jaye's point of view. Still I am proud of what I managed to get out during Camp Nanowrimo. I'm not sure if I will be doing Nanowrimo in November because I know I have exams that month but even while I was working on this story another was beginning. I swear I have way too many story ideas. I wonder if I will ever get to write them all. 

Did you participate in Camp this July? How well did you go with your own goal? Were you happy with what you accomplished? 

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My Life of Writing

That Word Spleniferous

This segment of my blog is inspired by Victoria Grace Howell Word definition that we get as part of her weekly Writerly Bundles and by me when I come across words I have a vague sense of the meaning but not a complete sense of the word.

I often come upon words that I either haven't heard of before I can't remember the meaning. These posts are for those words and in hopes of helping others remember the meanings and introduce them to words they may not know.

Our next word is...

Splendiferous

Where I Found It

I found this word in Cait @ Paperfury post, 10 Most Splendiferous Bookworm Moments. At first I thought that it has to be a made up word. I was surprised when she mentioned in her first couple of sentences that it was actually a word. I immediately looked it up for myself and knew that I need to added it to the list of words to share with you.

The Definition/s

1. Splendid; magnificent; fine.

Example Sentence

Jaye thought chocolate cake was a splendiferous invention.

A delicious chocolate mud cake I made for my brother's birthday last year.

My Thoughts

When I first saw this word I thought it was made up. It just sounded that way, but when Cait mentioned in the first couple of sentence that it wasn't I knew I had to see it for myself. Not that I didn't believe her it's just that it sounds like an unreal word. Now I love it and feel like I should use it more often. Also Splendiferous sounds like it has a more definite split in it when you say it slowly but when you say it faster I think it sounds cooler. 

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