How Harry Potter Has Positively Affected My Life (AKA Why I Love It)

What with everyone diving back into the Wizarding World lately, it's only made my love for Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling's immense and incredible world stronger. From the Cursed Child book to the play to Fantastic Beasts movie to exciting news about castings and set pictures and whatnot, there's so much going on and it's made me so incredibly happy to be a Harry Potter fan! 

But let's backtrack and go down memory lane: I can hardly belive it now, but my first enounter with Harry Potter was when my aunt got me the first four books in 2000. But since I wasn't much of a reader then, I just shrugged them off and let them sit on my shelf untouched. BUT THEN my dad somehow got early tickets to the movie and I remember seeing it with him and my two younger brothers in either late August or early September of 2001, I can't remember which now. I watched the movie in awe and came out a changed person. Honestly! It was like a switch had been flipped and I needed more of this wondrous magic in my life. I immediately read all of the books and then desperately waited for the 5th book to come out. 

In 2005, again my life changed because of a friend and because of Harry Potter. In my junior year of high school, while standing around bored in gym a friend said she wrote fanfiction for The X-Files. It made me realize there might be Harry Potter fanfiction and boy was there ever. I dove deep into the world of fanfiction. Here were other people like me who longed for more of the Wizarding World. But the real change happened when I decided to write one of my own. I came up with a fun idea (Harry doesn't ask to be put in Gryffindor and ends up in Slytherin) and started writing and I haven't stopped since. I wrote Harry Potter fanfiction into my second year of college, but stopped when I decided to focus on my own stories. (This is one of the reasons I love Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl because it sounds just like my own life minus the cute romance!) 

By the way, you can read my cringe-worthy fanfiction here haha!

I honestly don't know where I would be if it wasn't for Harry Potter. If I hadn't seen the first movie, read the books, gotten into fanfiction, and then started writing my own novels my life would look very, very different. When I think about it, I have no clue what my life would be like right now. I think it's also partly because of Harry Potter that I even started a blog because someone told me "a writer should have a blog." I never would've been called a writer if I hadn't gotten into fanfiction in the first place. It's so strange to think about!

Not only have these books encouraged my path in life, but they've also been there for me during difficult times. My paperback copy of Prisoner of Azkaban is falling apart because I've read it so much when I was stressed or angry or sad or just being a moody teenager. And I'll always turn to Harry Potter to get me through life's hard knocks because it's the best kind of escapism, because it makes you realize their there's always a way through your problems, and because J.K. Rowling has an encouraging quote for every situation. 

One of the best things about Harry Potter though is its fans! Connecting with other Potterheads in person with my best friends while at movie premieres or through fanfiction forums or now through social media helps to relive the magic every day. Us Harry Potter nerds are an awesome, welcoming, and fun bunch. It's fantastic that whenever you want to talk about the movies or a theory or just rave about how much you love the series there will ALWAYS be others there to encourage you. 

Also, they're just wonderful books and I wish I could live in the Wizarding World and do magic. Is that too much to ask for?!

How has Harry Potter changed your life?

If not HP, what books have impacted your life?

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#NaNoWriMo: Writer Necessities

#NaNoWriMo is upon us again! Writers around the world are determined to write 50,000 words in 30 days! Of course, it's at the beginning of NaNoWriMo that The Crown comes out and now all I want to do is watch Netflix. Damn you, Netflix, and you're irresistible shows! Despite the temptation of Netflix, I've done very well so far. I'm almost at 15k words, which means I'm two days ahead of where I should be. Let's hope the inspiration keeps coming!

I've started a little ritual to get me into the writing mood: lighting a candle. If my room smells good then it helps transport me into the world of my novel. I'm no longer just sitting at my computer, I'm walking the corridors of the castle where my novel takes place. Maybe that sounds stupid, but I swear it helps. Also, putting on one of my two writing playlists on Spotify and eating chocolate.

When I need a bit of inspiration, I've been turning to Quotefancy. It's an entire website of quotes on stunning pictures. I would recommend taking a look. 

Writer Necessities:
♥ Kirklands Dream Pillow
♥ Kate Spade Polka Dot Notebook
♥ Nikki Strange Constellations Notebooks
♥ Wilfred Wax Steamed & Froth Candle
♥ Ikonolexi "Create Your Own Magic" Print
♥ Whittard White Hot Chocolate
♥ Kate Spade Thermal Travel Mug
♥ The Scribble Studio "You're Just My Type" Mug
♥ Godinger Water Lily Candle Holder
♥ Kirklands Plush Sherpa Blanket
♥ Marvy 12 Color Pen Set

Be sure to check out this writer's wishlist, 6 ways to support an author, and the inspiration behind my NaNoWriMo novel!

P.S. -- Want that Steamed & Frothed candle that smells like mocha and coffee (or any other Wilfred Wax candle)? Use my 10% off code: SINCERELYSARA10.

Do you have a writing ritual?

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#NaNoWriMo: Inspiration For My Fairytale Retelling Novel

I know, I know, it's only October and NaNoWriMo (aka the month in which all participating writers sacrifice sleep and sanity to write 50,000 words) happens during November, but I like to get a jumpstart. In fact, I got the idea for my current novel way back in December and have been writing it very slowly ever since. With NaNoWriMo looming ever closer, I've started picking up my writing pace and now I'm more than halfway through it. 

I'm hoping to be almost done with it by start of November, so that I can use NaNoWriMo to help me finish the first draft and get a jump on editing. You see, the whole novel is handwritten in two notebooks, so I have no idea how many words I've written. Plus, I need to add a lot of descriptions and details to make the story come alive. 

There are a million and one Beauty and the Beast retellings out there. I know because I like reading them, but when you get an idea that you can't stop thinking about you just have to go for it and this novel has been SO FUN to write. It's the one I've enjoyed writing the most so far. 

So here's some stuff in this novel:

• A curse that seems impossible to break
• An angry young woman who can never leave her castle, but it's fine because she gets a lot of reading done
• An awkward, endearing young man who just wants to go on adventures until he has to go on an adventure (it doesn't happen at all how he thought it would)
• A tough beast hunter who comes to town
• A poison that can kill any magical creature
• Roses that never wilt or die
• Scary wolves
• Sadly no talking household objects
• And a library I wish I had

Is this something you think you'd want to read? Once I finish the first draft and edit the hell out of it, I might be looking for some beta readers to help me fine tune it. 

Without further ado, here's some beautiful inspiration from Pinterest... 

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6 Ways To Support An Author

ONE | Buy their books!

It seems obvious, but it should still be said that authors are able to write more books if their current one is doing well in sales. It's just a sad fact of life. That doesn't mean you should buy every single book that comes out ever, but if you really, really love an author then you should consider buying their books, especially if you want them to write more. And the plus side is that you have a pretty book to add to your collection and show off! 

If you're not able to buy books, then get them at the library. I heard that publishers know when books are requested and read at local libraries, so I hope that's true.

TWO | Go to their local events

There's nothing better than when an author comes to you! If an author you like will be at your local bookstore then drive, take a bus, hop a train, bike ride, or use a jetpack to get there to see them read in person. You might even get that beautiful book signed. And you get to talk with people who also love that author. Win-win!

THREE | Write a review

It doesn't necessarily have to be five stars and the most positive review ever, but just having a good review means a lot to an author, whether they're a new author and not. Write that review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, NetGalley, wherever. Just tell people you read a really cool book and that they should read it too.

Even though I won an ARC, I bought @Gwenda's latest book, #LoisLaneDoubleDown! ❤️ Gotta support your fave authors! pic.twitter.com/J2rdFokeug

— Sara Strauss (@sincerelysara22) May 8, 2016

FOUR | Use social media to express how excited you are about their books

Social media is such a great way to connect with authors and publishers. You could tweet about the books you've read, tweet about the books you want to read, tweet the author, tell the publisher how amazing the cover art is, post something to Facebook, show the book off on Snapchat, and/or take a picture to share on Instagram (#bookstagram for the win!). Authors and publishers like seeing the book "in the wild." 

FIVE | Start a conversation with the author on Twitter

This kind of goes hand-in-hand with #4, but authors like interacting with their readers, so start a conversation. Go into detail about what you loved, share how this book inspired you, tell the author how their book made you feel better on a crappy day, share a quote you loved from their book, etc. 

SIX | Be creative

Write fanfiction, draw the characters, recreate the cover, buy merchandise based on the book, create a graphic with a quote from the book and then put it a mug or a tote bag or a t-shirt, read the book in a book club, leave the book in a little free library so more people can read it, and so much more; the options are endless. 

Go forth and read! 

How do you support your favorite authors? 

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#WritersLife Tag

I saw this #WritersLife Tag on The Quiet People and had to participate. A tag about being a writer? Count me in! So I interviewed myself about writing since it's NaNoWriMo time. So without further ado...

Write Fuel: What Do You Eat/Drink While Writing?

I'm not sure why, but writing makes me really thirsty. It shouldn't because I'm sitting in one place and the only part of me that's moving are my fingers, but I tend to keep a large tumbler of ice cold water next to me. Or sometimes iced tea or soda if I feel like something different. 

Write Sounds: What Do You Listen to While Writing?

I usually create a Spotify playlist of songs whose mood or lyrics remind me in some way of the novel I'm currently working on. It helps me really immerse myself in the scene and not get distracted by outside occurrences (aka my brothers watching TV or noisy people at Panera, which is a place I like to write sometimes). 

Write Vice: What’s Your Most Debilitating Distraction?

TV. Instagram. The WHOLE ENTIRE INTERNET. But mostly TV; I tend to write on the couch while my family is watching a show and I'll get distracted by what's on the screen and then realize that I haven't been writing for ten minutes. 

Write Horror: What’s The WORST Thing That’s Ever Happened To You While Writing?

Two things: 1. I spilled some water on my keyboard and freaked out, but luckily nothing was damaged (still using that computer now). 2. My computer went black from overheating and freaked out that my computer had died, but again luckily it was nothing. I wasn't worried about my work because I keep it all on Dropbox. 

Write Joy: What’s the Best Thing That’s Ever Happened To You Whilst Writing?

The best thing is when I really get into a scene and the rest of the world completely melts away and it's like I'm in the story instead of just jotting it down on paper. BLISS!

Write Crew: Who Do You Communicate With (OR NOT) While Writing?

Um, the Gods of Writing? I communicate with the story inside my head, I guess. 

Writing Secret: What’s Your Secret To Success (Or Hidden Flaw?)

Outline your story ahead of time! Even if you don't follow it exactly, use it as a guide while you're writing. I'm currently using an outline for my NaNoWriMo novel and even though it's not detailed it really helps to know what you're going to write next. I guess my hidden flaw is that I HATE the idea of writing and don't look forward to it until I'm actually writing and then I LOVE it. 

Write-spiration: What Always Makes You Productive?

When I'm super excited to write a scene! Then I'm all like, When can I write?! When I can I write?! The idea of having a finished product makes me productive (but also scares the hell out of me because then I'll have to edit it!). Talking to people about the fact that I'm writing a novel makes me want to write it more. 

Write Peeve: What’s One Thing That Writers Do (or You Do!) That’s annoying?

Right now? Talk incessantly about NaNoWrimo! (I know, I've been walking it about too much lately.) It's annoying when writers talk about how amazing their work is. Just from experience (years of creative writing classes), it's usually the writers that are too into their own work that write horribly. 

Write Words: Share One Sentence From A Project:

This is a cool sentence: "The sound of sniffling was replaced by the soothing but solemn noise of raindrops hitting the tops of black umbrellas." 

I TAG:

Jess of Bookworms in Dresses, Sonya of Sonya Cheney, Kristin of Super Space Chick, 
Allison of bookloversnest, and anyone else who’d like to join in!

Your turn: Answer one of the questions in the comments section!

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NaNoWriMo {Inspiration + Snippets}

I know I've been talking on and on about NaNoWriMo for the past thirteen days, but I haven't mentioned what I'm actually working on. So if you're curious what I'm been using all of my available brain cells and free time on, well here you go:

It's a young adult novel about a young woman named Melaina who discovers that time travel is possible when you have one of seven magical devices. The first problem is that someone is going back in time and killing the owners of the time traveling devices out of revenge, and that person is Melaina from two years in the future. The second problem is that Melaina doesn't have a device of her own and she has to find a way to stop the future Melaina from killing more people. So how do you stop yourself?

It's all about making your own fate vs. what's been chosen for you, friendship, love, and doing what's right rather than what's easy. There's time travel, a cute glasses-wearing guy, lots of coffee and cookies, and of course murder. 

{created via PinCo}

I'm doing really well at reaching the daily goal and most days write a little bit extra. So I hope *fingers crossed* that I get to 50,000 words by November 30th. I want that sweet relief in knowing I hit the goal! 

Because I love you guys, here are two small snippets from my novel:

And another:

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year?

What's your novel about?

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A Writer's Wishlist

Maybe it's the fact that it's NaNoWriMo right now and my writer-ness is coming out in full force, but I've been obsessed with all kinds of paper products and writerly things right now. Give me all the notepads and journals and pens and mugs and candles!

Writerly Wishlist:
Ban.do Pens & Highlighters
Owl Mug
Ban.do Stay Focused Pouch
Ban.do Floral Notebook
B&N Quote Notebook
Frostbeard Sexy Librarian Candle
Obvious State Oscar Wilde Quote
Obvious State Write Drunk Notebook
Uncommon Goods Pen Holder
Rifle Paper Co Notepad

Do you have any writerly essentials?

(I need to keep a notebook and pen with me at all times!)

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Writing Inspiration

So I've been on a writing kick lately. I hadn't written for six months and then the past two weeks I've been writing almost every night for an hour to two hours straight (this is why I haven't been commenting on your blogs as much. sorry about that). It feels so good to write and I'm happy that what got me writing in the first place is a new story idea. I'm not sure whether it's a novel or a novella yet, but I'm just writing and enjoying the process. 

{Incidental Comics}

{The Meta Picture}

{Amanda On Writing}

{Obvious State}

P.S. -- I bought this while at BookCon and love it!

{Trish McCosh}

{Oprah}

{ABC Copywriting}

Have a great weekend, friends!

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Review: Grammarly

Everyone can use a little help with grammar. Let's be honest, there are a lot of crazy rules when it comes to grammar and even seasoned pros can use a bit of assistance in this department. Do I use a comma here? Is it farmers' market or farmer's market? How do I spell that one word I can never remember? 

I'm happy to say Grammarly can help you! If you use Chrome like I do, you can get the free Grammarly extension, which is like autocorrect for your computer. Any time you write something, whether it's an email, a tweet, or a blog post, Grammarly will check what you've written and give you feedback. It will let you know if you misspelled something or used a word incorrectly and much more. If everything is correct, that red little "3" in the picture below will instead be green.

Not only can you get the awesome Chrome extension, but they now have a Microsoft Office (works with Word and Outlook) add-in, though I haven't used it myself. 

Another fantastic thing about Grammarly is the website itself; if you're writing a novel or an essay or a blog post and you know that your friends and family are sick of you asking them to read it, or you're not ready to show it to people yet, you can use Grammarly as a second pair of eyes. Upload or simply copy and paste any document to ensure that your writing has no errors. 

I uploaded the prologue of my novel and I'm happy to say that I got a score of 84 out of 100. I had 13 alerts that were mostly about commas, either there was one that shouldn't be there or there was one missing. As you can see there were two spelling mistakes, but that's because the story takes place in an alternative universe, so the country has a name that I made up and obviously it's not in the dictionary. 

I'm going to continue using both the Grammarly website and the Chrome extension because they're just so darn useful. If you're hesitant to try it, don't be. Grammarly is free to use, or you can get a premium account for $12 a month. They also have this really cool thesaurus. 

Grammarly | Chrome extension | Facebook | Twitter 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review: Elegy for a Dead World

**I was given this game for free to review. All opinions are my own.**

To be honest, I don't play video games all that often, but I was excited when I was offered to test out Elegy for a Dead World. Who could say no to trying out a computer game? 

Elegy for a Dead World, created by Dejobaan Games, is a game about for writers. In the game, you're an astronaut who is exploring dead, unknown worlds and as you go along you write about what you see. On Dejobaan's website, it says: "Three portals have opened to uncharted worlds. Earth has sent a team of explorers to investigate them, but after an accident, you are the sole survivor. Your mission remains the same: survey these worlds and write the only accounts of them that outsiders will ever know." You're like an outer space anthropologist by writing an account of these distant worlds. 

Let me count the things I like about this game: 

1. It's beautiful. Seriously, look at these screen shots of the game. 
2. The music is calming and wistful.
3. You can choose between using prompts or doing it completely on your own.
4. There are three world's (Shelley's World, Keat's World, and Byron's World) and each world has various melancholy prompts. 
5. After you complete your story, you can share it and read other people's stories. 

The only downside? I wish you could explore the world more because it's just so gorgeous.

If you're a writer with writer's block and you want to mix things up, Elegy for a Dead World would be a great way to do it. It's a stunning game and you can pretty much write about anything. You can just write about what you see or create a whole history for why these worlds are dead. It's entirely up to you. Even when you're given a prompt, you can delete some or all of the words from the prompt to make it your own. 

Sometimes it's nice to shake things up and not have to write my novel, but still get some form of writing done.

Buy on Steam | Website | Facebook | Twitter

(First image from Dejobaan)

Would you play a game for writers?

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Review: Every Idea is a Good Idea

**I received this book for free to review, but all opinions are my own.**

★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
MY REVIEW

Let me start by being honest: For a long time I thought creative self-help books were for people who just liked trying various different hobbies, and something I would never, ever need. However, during the past year a doubt has seeped its way into the back of my mind, preventing me from writing. Sure, I've been writing down notes and inspiration, but since graduating in December of last year, I haven't written any actual narration. 

But now that's I've read Tom Sturges' Every Idea is a Good Idea: Be Creative Anytime, Anywhere, I've come to see that inspiration isn't something that you wait for. Creativity may be in all of us, but you have to actively pursue it. That moment of inspiration that we all want (no matter what type of creativity you work towards) can happen every single day if you cultivate it. 

There are a few things that I love about this book:

1. The Structure

This isn't the most important part of the book (obviously that's the content), but how this book is broken down makes it easy to digest and understand. The chapters are called "Creativity In Action," "Creativity And History," "Creativity And You", and more. You know exactly what each section is about in case you're looking for something specific. 

Within those bigger chapters are smaller sections that are only a few pages long at the most. These smaller sections are stories about real people that give you an option for your creativity (ie. how other people are creative, so that maybe you'll get an idea for how you can be too). At the end of (almost) every chapter are brilliant creative exercises and I can't wait to do them myself. 

2. The Content

I'm mostly talking about the smaller sections within each chapter: the stories about people alive and dead. What I really enjoyed about this book the most was reading about how other people cultivate their creativity, from songwriters to scientists, from painters to hip hop rappers. We all have our own way of digging down deep to access our creativity and inspiration, so it was fascinating to read about how others do it. 

But not only were these stories engaging, but they gave me so many ideas. Creativity is unique to everyone, but now and then it's good to try something new, a new way of accessing that inspiration. I got numerous ideas from this book that I'm excited to test out to see what works for me and what doesn't. 

3. The Creative Exercises

At the end of the first five chapters are creative exercises that I think are brilliant. They're short enough that you're not overwhelmed by the ideas, but still intriguing enough that you want to do them instantly. I'll share my favorite one with you: Reductions and More Reductions. In short, you start by telling a story in a paragraph, then a sentence, then a headline, then a word, and finally an onomatopoeia (words that are a sound, like bam). 

I have nothing bad to write about this book. I devoured it in two days, highlighting sentences and paragraphs that spoke to me about creativity, and highlighting the exercises of others that I could see myself doing. If you're in need of inspiration yourself or you're not sure where to start, give this book a try. You might just discover something about yourself that you didn't understand when you first started this book. 

FAVORITE QUOTES

"Creativity is a gift, from life to us. It exists in varying degrees, measures, and amounts in each of us, but we all have it inside. There is as much creativity in our lives as we allow there to be." (p. 4)

"Suppose that instead of forcing the issue when trying to create something, we let it emerge. Instead of demanding that the subject matter bend to our will, we let it bend our will." (p. 115) 

"Just create. Be thankful that creativity exists in your life and move on from there. When you have an idea, capture it. When you find a solution, remember it." (p. 163)

Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 

Would you read this book?

Have you read it? 

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Writing Blog Hop

I usually don't do blog hops (though funnily enough there's another one coming next week), but I had to do this one when I was tagged by Amy of Ten Penny Dreams (read her post). This blog hop is all about writing and since I like to think of myself as a writer (who's been slacking on the writing however) I wanted to participate.

What am I working on/writing? 

I'm working on two novels, though I like to think of one as "currently being written" and the other as "on hiatus." The first one I don't like to talk about too much because I'm protective of the plot (though you can read a little about it in this post and this post), but whenever anyone finds out that I'm writing a novel and ask what it's about I say it's an alternative history murder mystery.

The other story I'm working on is a YA/NA fantasy story about a young woman in New York City who realizes that she can manipulate all of the objects around her and turn them into anything she wants. Not only that, but there are more people who can do the same. There are two main groups of these people and when she discovers that the man who murdered her mother belongs to one group, she joins the other. There's more to the story than that, but that's the general gist of it. 

How does my work/writing differ from others of its genre?

With the first novel, my writing differs because it's more lighthearted. Murder mysteries are usually very gritty and dark, but since it's more about the two main characters friendship it's not a dark, fast-paced thriller. I want to say it's more like an adventure story. 

The second novel is different than other YA (young adult) stories because I would also call it NA (new adult, which is for twenty-somethings). The main character, Morgan, is in college and I don't shy away from sex and violence, but in a way that caters to feminism. Morgan knows what she wants and goes after it. She has sex and doesn't feel guilty about it. There are fight scenes between men and women and it's not a big deal. I haven't seen that in other YA, but I haven't read every YA book.

Why do I write what I do?

I started writing fantasy because it's what I love reading. I love the escapism and writing it also an escape for me. Who wouldn't want to get caught up in a world similar to ours but still different? Both of the stories I'm writing have strong elements of that. One is based in reality and one is fantasy, but they are both our world with differences.  

The first novel is a departure from what I normally write and read, but it's an important story to me and something that I think should be written and read. That probably sounds really arrogant. If I went into more details about it, I'm sure most of you would agree. Guess you'll just have to wait until I've finished it. *insert winking emoji here*

I write the second story because I like the plot and the characters and I find it fun to write. 

How does my writing process work?

To be honest: slowly. Though that's no one's fault but my own. I started the fantasy story back in my sophomore year of college, so that's seven years ago. Granted, it's been on hold for several years now because I started the murder mystery in my last year of college (four years ago). 

In terms of actual writing, when I sit down to write I'll read over the last few paragraphs of what I just read to get back into it and the notes I left myself. (At the end of a writing session, I jot down what I need to write next.) Then I'll start writing. If I'm feeling really inspired I'll just keep writing and writing, but if I'm having trouble with it then I might edit sentences as I go. Sometimes just staring off and "writing" the narration in my head helps. 

I enjoy writing with pen and paper at times because I don't feel like it has to be perfect. Something about writing on a computer makes me want all of my writing to be instantly amazing and it never is. 

After writing several chapters or after getting past a certain part in the plot, I like to print it all out and edit it with a colorful pen (usually purple or green). It's easier to spot mistakes when it's physically in front of me.

I tag:

My Life as a Teacup and Sonya Cheney!

Are any of you writers?

What do you write and what's your process?

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