Something Sunday

With my crazy week and the fact that I'm still trying to rest and get better, I haven't put a lot of thought into what I wanted to recommend this Sunday. So, what else do I do when I can't think of something to write (well, besides my random thoughts)? Yep, I boast about something! Some of these books will be ones I've already talked about, but I just really think people need to check 'em out...because they're AWESOME! :D

Become by Ali Cross (I've done a TAG! with her. You can find it here)
Bound by C.K. Bryant (I reviewed the book here if you want to see my review first)
Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper (I have a TAG! coming up with her next month, make sure to keep an eye out ;)
Thoughtless by Jacqueline Gardner (Did a TAG! with her here)
CassaStar by Alex J Cavanaugh
CassaFire by Alex J Cavanaugh
Ashfall by Mike Mullin (There's a TAG! coming up next month with him as well) (I also reviewed this book here)
Zombie Whisperer by Caterina Torres (There is already a TAG! on her-she was my first :)
The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot (This is a Historical Fiction, but it has received GREAT reviews)

I've linked each book to their site on Amazon.com, but that is not the only place they're available. So if you don't have a Kindle, make sure you look elsewhere-you will find the books I promise. :)

Unfortunately I can't think of anymore right now. BUT you should definitely check out ALL of these books, they're fantastically fabulously awesome!!

I want to take a second to mention a couple things:

I'm signed up for Alex's...

Four firsts-movie, song/band, book, person. Go check it out - you can sign up here.

Also I wanted to say hello and thanks to my new followers. I know some people are taking a complete break from blogs on Sundays. BUT if any of you read this, I really appreciate you following me :)

One last announcement, and I will try to announce this at another time...Next month I am planning my first giveaway. I've never had one and am not sure what all exactly I'm going to giveaway (though I have a few things in mind) or even what sort of rules I'm going to set. I just wanted to get it out there that very soon I will have a contest, so stay tuned ;)

And that's all.

Happy Sunday :)

To Do List: Learn

We're still going strong and everyone is having an easier time checking things off their to do. So here's the next thing up, and this one doesn't always have to come daily.

LEARN:


Now, of course we all hope to learn something everyday (or at least several times a week). However, what I'm talking about here is learning in respect to your craft-writing. There are so many things we need to know and it never stops. The business, agents, publishers, how to's, and the list goes on and on. If you are a writer who writes with the desire that your books will be published for others to read-then you have to learn the business.

Websites, other writers, blogs, books, etc. are all tools for learning. We use them, we need them, and we must find the time to do it. Learning takes up a lot of time, and I know it's hard to check it off. We want to write, that's why we are writers. But if you want to go somewhere with your writing, you have to learn. You have to go to sites like Agent Query and learn about how the publishing business works, learn about what agents want, learn how to write that beautiful-agent grabbing query. Go to blogs like From The Write Angle and learn from people who have been there and done that-real, genuine people who were once in your shoes-writing with hopes that one day they will have published work for the world to read. Don't forget to go to writer communities like Agent Query Connect and learn from people just like you-what they do and don't do, what has worked and what hasn't. And you have to go to blogs by other writers, like Alex J Cavanaugh's blog and C.K. Bryant's blog who are both published authors that are also normal people, who have been there and understand what it's like. Their posts can be teaching posts without that being the original intent. It will help you learn something, without feeling like it's a "lesson". But make sure you go to blogs from writers who have not been published yet, they can teach you things too. (Like E.M LaBonte's Blog and Terri Bruce's Blog)

The point is-writers have to learn about the writing world. It is not always an easy thing to work into your day (or week), but it's important if you are planning on actually doing something with what you write. The fact that we can learn from various things, makes it easier to mark Learn off the to do. You can learn while you're connecting, or you can go somewhere looking for a specific topic, but however you do it-DO IT. Time to learn can vary, depending on what exactly you are learning, but work it in. There have been plenty of times I have learned something in less than 10 minutes or even in the time it took me to read a blog post. It can be done quickly if you don't have a lot of time to squeeze it in. But if you want writing to be more than a hobby, find the time to do it.

I know my posts are beginning to sound the same- Just find the time, because you need to-but that's really what each thing on your to do comes down to. You need to do these things, so do them.

Happy Learning :)