Perfection.

It doesn't come soon.

It never comes the first time you try.

There's always a mistake here, a glitch there.

There's always something we wish we had done differently.

There are even things we wish we hadn't done.

Even if it does come immediately, it's a one in a million chance that it will.

Perfection takes time.

Perfection takes patience.

Most of the time we just want to see our creations come to life.

We want the reward of seeing other people enjoy what we have been imagining for years.

But every reward requires work.

Are we willing to have patience and work for the reward we want so badly?

Sometimes we say no.

Sometimes we say yes.

And sometimes we say, I will try.

We try.

We write, and write, and write.

But our perfect story, our goal, seems so far away.

It's as if we are inside a tunnel and the light is just a mere pinprick in the dark, and we wonder when we are ever going to see the light of day again.

But we made this decision to enter this tunnel.

Just keep walking.

Just keep writing.

We will see the light eventually.

Often we feel like turning around and walking back the way we came.

But we look how far we've come, and we realize that going back is not worth it.

We're just this much closer to where we want to be.

So we keep walking.

We keep writing.

And then we trip in the dark.

We doubt ourselves.

We doubt our stories are worth sharing.

We doubt our capability to make people feel something.

We doubt we can write that perfect story.

And we stop.

We don't turn back.

But we don't go forward.

We don't know where we are meant to go.

At some point, we have to pick ourselves up and go somewhere.

We have to make a choice.

And whether we choose to go forward and be patient and work towards the day out story breathes life is up to us.

Perfection doesn't just happen.

Dreams don't just happen.

They take work.

Our choice is to put in the work it takes or turn back.

But if we turn back, we will never know what could have happened had we kept going.

We will never know if our dreams came true.

We will never know if we achieved perfection.

Please don't turn back.

Please keep going.

Please don't doubt yourself.

Please be patient.

Please be hopeful.

Please don't be hard on yourself.

Please don't give up.

Please don't choose to never know.

Perfection will come one day.

Perfection.



Lately I've been doubting myself and my writing, and I just wanted to share with you a bit of what's been going through my head. I have a hard time dealing with the truth that perfection takes patience, and that makes me hesitate before I start writing. It makes me try to look for a faster way. It makes me wonder if this dream is worth the effort, but I've decided that it is. It always will be and there is not need for me to doubt myself. God will help me achieve my goal if I try and work at it, and since anything is possible with God, I think pursuing writing is worth a shot. :)

*please excuse me if this post is somewhat messy. I just found out about my library's reading program and am scrambling to read 25 books so I can win on Thursday. :P*

Greetings! It's a new year, which means new resolutions/goals, whatever you want to call them, and somewhere on that list was probably some sort of goal that had something to do with healthy eating/dieting/fitness. I have that on mine! But that's not we're talking about today because, hey, THIS IS A BOOK/WRITING BLOG—physical fitness be shunned from thine mind when thou dost read this. If you had trouble reading that sentence, don't worry, I had trouble writing it. *thumbs up*

So what makes the perfect reading diet? I feel guilty that my TBR is the equivalent of eating donuts for breakfast everyday, which is exactly why I plan on reforming my reading diet this year. I thought maybe of your feel the same way, and because I'm helpful like this, I'm writing a post about this! So here are 5 tips to creating the sustainable reading diet:




The first thing you want to do is assess whether you are over-indulging in one genre. Look at your TBR before you start it and pick out the patterns in the literature you've chosen. I typically have a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and magical realism in my own reading trends. If you see an overpowering dominance of one or two genres, then you probably need to branch out your interests and try something new. If you are scared to read a new genre, or you think that you won't like it, don't be! One of my favorite books is Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer, which is a contemporary. If you didn't already know, I kind of detested the contemporary genre before I actually read a good portion of it. You too might find a new favorite that you might never have discovered if you hadn't tried it!


So now you can look up some books that you might be interesting in reading to strengthen the weak spots in your balanced reading diet, or if you're already drowning in your TBR like me, trade other books out for different ones. I've swapped several of the novels I want to read most badly for classics by Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo. The great thing about books is that they will be around for a really long time, so you really aren't losing anything by waiting.




My mom tells me this all the time! And you know what? She's right. Classic literature is sadly bypassed by many teens these days, seen as the boring stuff you are required to read in English class. But it's seriously not boring! The reason it is deemed 'classic' is because it is brilliant. The stories these people tell are engaging and kick my heart rate up just like any modern adventure. In terms of education, you can learn a lot about plot structure, character arcs and development, setting, chronology, and so many more elements of good storytelling straight from the masters if you are a writer. Another great educational benefit of reading the classics is the vocabulary. Let's be honest here—most literature now days is written in street grammar. (Why do you think it's easy to read a 200-page book in one day?) The vocabulary at those times was so much richer than the street grammar we use now, and as you pick up those long and intellectual words, you will become more intelligent and verbose.





The only way to get anything done is to discipline yourself. This year, I am telling myself that I can only check out four books on each library trip: two novels, one classic, and on nonfiction book of my choice with substantial information. And I can't check out any more novels until I'm done with either the classic or the nonfiction. Create a "diet" for yourself, and stick by it. Don't give yourself too many exceptions or excuses, or you will never progress. If you have to, ask someone to keep an eye on your reading habits. An imbalanced reading diet can have the same affect as playing too many video-games or watching too many movies. Be careful what you feed your brain! Knowledge is power that only royals had in old times, so treat yourself like royalty, because that is what you are. :)

Good morning/afternoon/evening (whenever you're reading this)! You're probably thinking, "Dude, it's been one and something weeks since January 1st—catch up with the times." But late is better than never! I went to D.C. (squee!) last week, and so I didn't have the time, but I swear I'm not that one person who is fifty years behind!

So today I'm highlighting my favorite (and maybe not so favorite) reads of 2017, complete with mini-reviews, because there is no way I will be able to review all these in the four days left until 2018 slams us in the face. Oh wait, guess what? 2018 SLAMMED ME IN THE FACE! It's so weird that 2018 is here, I'M NOT READY FOR THIS!! And yes, this draft has been sitting in my draft box since December 27th. 😅

I've created some categories and selected my favorite book for each category, all of which I read in 2017. Some of them were published in 2017, but most weren't because my library doesn't get them on time and I'm a broke bank. And I talk a lot, so I'll go ahead and get started because I think y'all are tired of me ranting.








AHHHHH! This book—no words. The writing is so beautiful and the story is equal parts light and dark, and there is so much emotion! I might have cried multiple times?? I re-read the ending three times to try to figure out what I was supposed to feel, and I settled on bittersweet, which I have never truly felt while reading a book before. To be able to pull that off is amazing! The characters are well-rounded and the romance is swoon-worthy (I love how it's written as a subplot). There is a lot of strong language and some suggestive humor, but if you can stomach that I would definitely recommend it. This is for the reader who loves enchanted water horses, small islands in the Atlantic, and emotional stress.








This book is absolutely adorable! I read it twice this year, and I was charmed from the first couple of chapters by Callie Vee and her peculiar Grandfather. This book reminded me a lot of Anne of Green Gables because of the loose plot. There is so much humor in it, and it was not boring at all! Another enjoyable thing about it was that it is a YA novel, but it's such a nice break from all these romance epics I keep finding on the shelf.





Not the cleanest book, and I didn't like the romance much, but noteworthy for the stress it put me through. I don't think I've ever read a plot with so much tension–it was amazing. I skipped a couple of scenes, and at the end of the book, I just felt satisfied with the first one, like the plot was over and there was no way it was going to get more intense than it already had been. So I DNF the rest of the series. Definitely thriller; content check: language, some inappropriate scenes, not recommended for readers younger than 16.





So I don't normally read graphic novels...I think it's kind of like reading picture books for young adults. But since this was a Lunar Chronicles series, of course I read it, despite my picture book ideology. And you know what? I liked it! I love Iko in the Lunar Chronicles and so her story was the perfect mix of humor and suspense to keep me going. I ended up finishing the book in one or two hours, so if you're looking for a short read, this is probably a good recommendation. For content, I think there were a couple of bad words but otherwise it was perfect!




Honestly I don't know why I have a category for audiobook because I don't even listen to audiobooks that often. XD In fact, I think I only listened to two and that was in December. But I love the Fantastic Beasts audiobook because a) it's read very well b) Eddie Redmayne reads it so that means Newt is reading his own textbook, and c) it's got sound effects. I cannot stand most audiobooks because the readers are TERRIBLE at pacing and all of the ones I've listened to have little to no expression in their voices. This one was an exception! The pacing was neither too quick nor too slow and the way the book is read makes it very interesting. I found it good to listen to while I worked on my watercolors. ;)