Let’s Catch Up (#15)

Hey y’all! This week has really been something. I’ve made some personal challenges for myself that I’m really hoping I get through, but it’s been harder than I thought. I guess that’s why they call it a challenge.

If you’re new here, Let’s Catch Up is basically just my form of a weekly wrap-up. It’s a time where I update you on many of the things going on in my life and blogging. It’s also a time when I shout out some of the amazing bloggers and booktubers out there. All in all, just a really fun time.

Heads up, I’m writing this at 3 in the morning because I’ve been getting sudden bursts of creative energy at night. I-

Life Update

I forgot to mention last week that my freelance article for Mental Floss was up. It’s a list of 14 Black Authors You Should Read Right Now. I really enjoyed working on the article and sharing some of my favorite authors. Definitely check them out if you’re looking to do freelance work.

Last week, I talked about how I was feeling very low energy. I truly appreciate the outpouring of support I received in the comments. I’m so happy to have this community. It was a rough week for me mentally but I’m happy to say today that this week has been a whole lot better.

I’ve left the house more and that’s been incredibly helpful. I visited my grandma a few times this week and I went to the thrift store on Friday. I also went over to my cousin’s house yesterday for a small get-together and that was such a serotonin boost. All my cousins are younger than me and 4 out of 5 of them are under the age of 11, so it’s always a fun time when I see them.

As for the challenge I’ve set for myself. Well, I saw this mentorship opportunity for writers of color and I really want to enter but I don’t have a completed manuscript. I know it’s going to take me quite a while to finish the YA manuscript I’m working on, but I have had an idea for a Middle grade that’s been nagging on my brain for a while. At the start of the week, I challenged myself to finish a first draft before the deadline, effectively giving myself 13 days to write a novel. Do I know what I’m doing here? No. Am I still going to try? Yes.

Blogging Update

Blogging has been going pretty well, but I haven’t gotten to blog hop nearly as much as I would’ve liked to. I’ve seen such interesting posts in my feed but with my hyper-focus on completing this manuscript, I haven’t really given myself time to check them out.

I do still need to update a lot of my older blog banners. I was planning to do that this week but, the manuscript has really taken over my life. It’s been hard to focus on anything other than finishing this story by August 31st. Even if I don’t finish it by then, I’ve already made so much progress and for that, I am grateful.

The Instagram reels have been such a blast to make. I’ve found myself creating more reels than pictures for my feed. Which reminds me, I really need to take more pictures for my feed.

Also, my classes start this week so if you see less of me, that’s why.

What Did I Miss?

Somehow, in-between this outrageous week of writing challenges and Instagram reels, I’ve been able to keep up with my daily posting schedule. I’m sure I’ll start to slow down with this in the coming weeks, but it has been really fun creating these posts.

This dream cast for Opposite of Always has been in my drafts for the longest time, but I finally decided to release it into the world. It got some really great feedback and now I kind of want to do more. I had created a draft for one on Such a Fun Age and now I want to revisit that and finish it.

Top 5 Tuesday is always a fun time. This week’s theme was 5 character I’d dress up as and I really enjoyed it. I also loved reading other people’s post because a lot of them were so funny.

I’ve been reading a lot lately (somehow) so I decided to do a WWW Wednesday to update you on my latest reads. Some were good, some were not.

My long awaited review of Frankly in Love is finally out in the public sphere. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably heard me say a few things about it already. Now those thoughts are compiled into one succinct (and coherent) place.

You Should See Me in a Crown is a masterpiece. If you need more elaboration on that, just check out my review where I go all giggles and fangirl over it.

This one was actually a spur of the moment post. I listened to the audiobook of The Magic Treehouse as some inspiration/research for my manuscript and then I realized it could make a fun blog post. I asked on Twitter if people would like me to make this a series and the feedback was really positive, so be on the lookout for more of these in the (possibly distant) future. Make sure to read the full post on me reliving my childhood, it’s a short one.

Book Bloggers to Check Out

Cielo @ bellrose reads posted a really interesting discussion about the negative review dilemma and how to find reviewers you trust. I really liked how Cielo addressed this and I definitely agree with a lot of the points she made.

Maisy @ Hawthorn Book Reviews shared Netgalley tips that would be excellent for beginners and even those with a little experience.

Sammie @ The Bookwyrm’s Den raised some really interesting points about whether #OwnVoices truly fits into fantasy. I don’t read much fantasy but this still brought up interesting points about the movement as a whole.

Xandra @ Starry Sky Books had a class project that she turned into the very thing I didn’t know I needed in my life: a book adaptation streaming service. That A was well deserved.

Booktubers to Check Out

I’ve come to the realization that I don’t follow that many other booktubers. I feel like I’ve already mentioned them all in my last few catch up sessions, so I’m just going to use this space to put up videos I’ve enjoyed this week.

I love Joel’s videos so much. This latest one in his writing vlog series was so good and definitely what I needed to see this week. I love how he breaks down his writing process and gives advice along the way. He also responds to comments and he’s so encouraging. Joel just has all of the positive vibes.

This was a great video to watch while I was between tasks. I wasn’t in the mood to write at the time and I needed some YouTube. In this video, Hayley mentioned her mental health struggle and how she was going through a depressive episode. That’s definitely something I can relate to.

Cassidy Marie is so funny. She literally talks trash about a book I loved during this video and I can’t help but laugh.

I actually haven’t mentioned Noria Reads before, but I’m mentioning her now. Her videos are so funny and I just love the clips she inserts throughout them. Noria is a comedic genius and her birthday was this week so that’s even more reason to go subscribe to her channel.

I love Mina’s videos and this one was much needed. Several of these books are actually on my TBR already and I’m excited to get to them in the coming months.

Well, that’s all from me this week. Now it’s your turn to answer my questions:

How was your week?

What have you been reading?

Who are your favorite people in the book community?

Let me know in the comments below, let’s chat!

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