Writing Journal

Yes, I still do these.

July is another Camp NaNo.  Between November and April, I learned that I am more successful as a planner than a pantser. 

I really like what NaNoWriMo did for me and for my life.  I think it's something that I'll like every year.  It helps me revert from a social butterfly back into my social cocoon.  To clarify, it helps people around me adapt to my absence for a few months.  Writing a novel is a more concrete reason to not attend a social gathering than something as abstract as a mental disorder. (I don't know why, but that sounds icky to me.  Society, can we plese do something about the stigma of all mental disorders?  Thanks.)  Both are quite legit, but one requires far less exploitation.

Anyway...just as I intend to partake in NaNoWriMo for years to come, I hereby state my intentions to use July's Camp NaNo as a planning month.

By the end of this July, I hope to have:

• 15 pages of plot outline (with the distinct possibility of chapter divisions)
• 10 pages of character analysis
• 5 pages of setting studiees

*main characters

Reading Journal

Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall: How I Learned to Love My Body by Not Looking at It for a Year by Kjerstin Gruys


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The concept of the challenge was intriguing: go for an entire year without looking at one's own image. Gruys was bold enough to allow the challenge to encompass her wedding day (a loophole was created for a once-over of the wedding photos).

Her background, especially working with groups that help women overcome destructive body issues (i.e. eating disorders), sets the tone for the book. I was impressed by her explaining technical terms as she used them. However, I feel it could have done well without most of the cussing.

The final chapters are full of insight as to the lessons Gruys learned throughout the process and those are well worth reading.




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Shortly after beginning this book, I was looking for something to use as a bookmark and the first thing I saw was a postcard from some dentist (it may or may not have been mine).  After actually looking at it, I realized how appropriate it was.

It's time to define your beautiful smile.