April's Monthly Musings

Today is not about anything huge.

I've got no list on how to improve your life, or how I'm trying to improve mine.

Really, this blog post is one that deals with different thoughts recently.

First off:

-Game of Thrones: OH MY GOSH. That's really all I can say without, you know, spoiling that ending. Oh my gosh. WHAT?

-Dancing With The Stars: I appreciated Doug being on it and I loved his drive, but he was the worst dancer of the group. As much as I adore Jodie, it won't surprise me if she leaves pretty soon, solely in terms of dancing and improvement levels. Granted I totally voted for her, Paige, and Ginger. I can do nothing that any of them are doing (at least currently). Seriously, I now own two of the Dancing with the stars exercise DVDs and couldn't even figure out what was being don being the first dance.

-Survivor: Eh, Scott needed to go. Him and Jason thoroughly annoy me.

-The Voice: I don't consistently watch this but it is currently on TV and I'm unsure what's going on....

-Books: I finally read the Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. It was good. The descriptions were delightful and the world building was fantastic. I've not read any of the books that it is consistently compared to (except for Hunger Games and the first Divergent book), so I wasn't hindered in that way. The twist at the end was pretty guessable, her clues were pretty heavily scattered throughout the book. At times I wish there was more character growth, but it isn't the last book so I am looking forward to seeing how she (and Cal) do grow. I wanted more to happen with Maven because his feeling for Mare (you know they are there) can create great tension later on, but how it was left makes it seem less plausible.

I've also reread Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon and it was just as good the second time through as it was the first.

-Exercising: Recently I have completely failed at exercising, but not any more. I'm getting back in the habit (not that I ever was in the habit of it....) and I'm requiring myself to workout prior to going to work. Which means getting up earlier than I so desire. In my head I'm realizing perhaps I need a personal trainer that I can pay up front and then force myself to go to because I hate wasting money. Anyone know an affordable Personal Trainer near Houston?

-Eating: My diet has kinda fallen off the wayside as well. I mean it was mostly in celebration of completing my first draft, but I can't use that excuse anymore. I was going to wait until May 1st to really revive both eating and exercising, but then realized I always push things back. I'm not doing it anymore. I'm reviving my diet right now.

Overall, things are going well. I've been working at work. Although nothing is quite as peppy as it was because one of my supportive coworkers had something (what I've got no idea) occur. If she sees this (you know who you are), I hope she realizes how worried everyone is and how much we all miss her. She's in my thoughts and I hope everything is getting better.

Despite that, I've hit some sort of block. It hit me really hard a few days ago and I'm terrified. It's as though my first draft doesn't truly matter and it just sucks and I'm never going to be able to get published, never going to improve, and all of the work I've put into my writing (not just my first draft but also the work it took for me to get my BA in Writing and everything I have ever written) is just for nothing. With that it makes me nervous that I will never surpass where I am now.

Don't get me wrong, my life is fine. I've got a roof over my head, and a job that keeps my loans paid. In fact I've not even got to pay rent or food or anything like that unless I feel like it. The thing is, I want to pay rent and I want to be a responsible adult. Currently I feel as though I'm stuck in an in between. Not an adult, but not a teenager, or child either. It's frustrating and I'm feeling so incredibly....stuck. Stationary.

I need to get this WIP on the move, but I know I probably should let it rest some more because I can't help but totally obsess over it when I'm not working on it. I will start writing my second first draft pretty soon, you know, the one that will be a trilogy that I actually have an outline for. I'm hoping it'll be easier to write with one than without one. Being unable to concentrate was one of the reasons that this is another non-list blog, soon I'll be back to those. Maybe. No promises.

But there will be another blog post.

Also, I think Tuesdays are replacing Monday for my day of posting, unless my boss changes what day I have off again.

Until Next Time,
Shelby Hild

What to Do??

Today is going quite drastically different than I anticipated it to go. I knew the weather was going to be rough, but I didn't actually think work was going to be cancelled. But it happened.

So my "to-do" plan changed rapidly.

As soon as I struggled home through the pouring rain and rumbling thunder, I took a nap. Sort of. Ricky, the dog, woke me up this morning about three or four, and then wouldn't let me fall back to sleep, the silly dog. So I laid down after I got home and dried off, and just chilled. I wasn't able to fall asleep or anything, but still.

So then I went about with what I was planning on doing, only many, many hours before the original intention.

Which is why this blog is being posted so early today!

Today's post is about what to do when you've finished your first draft because, guess what everyone! I have officially finished the first draft of my WIP! It is a weird feeling. It had gotten to the point where all my free time when I was reading, working, or sleeping, I was writing. The first draft ended up being 213 pages, 105142 words, and I can't believe I was able to finish it!

For those out there attempting and struggling as I did to write the first draft of a novel, don't give up. It is possible. But when it is done, remember, just because the first draft is done, doesn't mean your work is done. Honestly it has just begun.

The first step is writing a first draft.

So what do you do when it is done?

• Celebrate! The first thing to do when you've finished your first draft is to celebrate. This is a big accomplishment! Even if you feel like what you've just finished is the biggest pile of poop you've ever seen, that's okay. 
• I celebrated by giving myself the okay to buy a new outfit and a new toy for Hathor. Right now, I've been searching for a nice new outfit, but it is harder than I anticipated!
• Ignore the Draft. Once the first draft is done, everything I have read is to leave it alone for a bit. Completely ignore it. Keep ignoring it until you can go for a bit of time without cringing about what all needs to be changed. That can be anywhere from a day to a year.
• So far, this is the step I am on and it is incredibly difficult. I've been trying to focus on other things, like rereading Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, but it isn't working too well. My brain forced me to try and write an outline to the first draft, but I failed and it ended up upsetting me a lot more than I wish. There is an outline there in the draft, but there are so many inconsistencies that it is ridiculous. So, I started working on the outline to another story that has been making its way around my brain for awhile. 
• Read it through, but don't edit it. Take notes on what you need to change, on how things can be improved. 
• Read it again, this time with a different format, be it printed out or on kindle or whatever. 
• Rewrite, edit, make improvements.
• Repeat the last three steps a couple of times.
• Let a Beta Reader (or ten) read the draft. 
• Make sure to use readers who are going to give honest critiques. If they aren't going to be honest, how can you improve? 
• But don't take what they say to heart. They want to help your work become better. Hopefully they aren't just tearing your work apart just to tear your work apart. They might make you feel as though you are the worst writer in the world, so bad in fact that you shouldn't even claim the title of writer. Don't let it discourage you. 
• Taking the critiques into consideration, do a few more drafts. 
• Repeat the last two steps until you feel prepared to face the cruel, cruel world of literary agents and their rejection letters.
• Create an incredible Query Letter. 
• Get a few (or a lot) of rejection letters. 
• From what I have been able to gather, if an agent responds to your query with tips, follow them. Most people just receive stock rejection letters. A personalized note is a good sign. 
• Get an Agent.
• Since I've not gotten to this point, I'll have to get back to you on what to do after you get the agent. 

Hopefully this has been at least somewhat helpful to someone. I'm going to continue to let my work rest, since I am nowhere near the point of letting my mind drift away from it. 

Until Next Time,

Shelby Hild

Top 5 Travel Destinations

This last week has been remarkably good. More so than I was anticipating. Not that I was expecting this week to be a bad week or anything.

Just a quick list of what occurred: 

• Dancing with the Stars --Mischa Barton went home. I, for one, am happy about it. It bothered me that she blamed Artem for her not being able to dance or do well when she acted as though she didn't want to be there. Why sign up for a show that you don't want to do? Granted I don't know a lot about her, so there could be more in there. If I cared more about her, I would do some research, but I don't, so I won't. 
• It was Pay Week, so I'm no longer broke. For the next like week.
• Outlander Season 2 Premiered -- I love this series, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon (which are also fantastic). Currently I am rereading the book that this season is based on (Dragonfly in Amber) and I enjoy it just as much. This is a book series I'd highly recommend for reader who like basically any genre because this book has it all. 
• My section at work started Full scanning yesterday, which always puts me in a good mood. Seriously. There is nothing better than spending the whole day just scanning every book in Kids, Parenting, and Religion. It gives the perfect time to reorganize things and anything that grants you time to reorganize in Kids is something to be thrilled about. 
• Hathor. That's really all I have to put there, she's the delight of my life. (Granted she is currently hiding under my bed because it is thundering and storms scare her poor baby.)
• My WIP is SO CLOSE TO BEING FINISHED. AHHHHHH 

That isn't all of what occurred, but it is close. And just add the fact that Game of Thrones Season 6 starts so soon, I can't wait, this week is bound to be just as good. If not better. 

Today's post is all about a specific section of my bucket list: Travel. 

Now, I know when asked where I want to go, I always say everywhere. That's true. I do want to go everywhere. But that is kind of unrealistic at this point in my life. Especially since I don't want to do all the tourist-y stuff.

I do want to do the tourist stuff, but I also want to experience places as the inhabitants do. 

There is also the fact that I've not been many places even in the US. Everywhere I have been, I can thank band. Go Frogs.

Anyhoo, here we go. 

1. Scotland -- Who wouldn't want to go to Scotland? Let me rephrase that. Of the fans of Outlander, who wouldn't want to go to Scotland? Pictures show such beauty there. And I'd love to look more into the Mythology and Folklore of the land actually in the land. And I have some Scottish Heritage.

2. Germany -- Speaking of places that my ancestors came from, I can't forget Germany. I've known many people who have been here and rave about it.

3. Mexico -- I live in Texas. I've lived here most of my life. and I've never been to Mexico. When I think of history, there is a lot there. This is a place I'd love to explore all of the tourist-y things without feeling too bad about being a tourist. 

4. India -- When I try to think of a place that's culture is drastically different than my own I think of India. Despite having a history minor, I don't know a lot about India and I would love to change that by going there. 

5. Ethiopia -- Although I want to travel all through Africa, for some reason. Maybe it is because when in school for some reason it was the only one I could continually locate when learning the Countries of Africa, or maybe it is because it is fun to say. Egypt is a close second on Countries I want to visit in Africa, so there is that too. 

Again, I want to go to all places, not just these five. And some day, when I'm done paying off student loans (yuck) I will eventually go traveling.

What are your top travel destinations, both places you've been and places you want to go? Feel free to comment!

Until Next Time,

Shelby Hild

Progress Report #3

Here I sit, watching Dancing with the Stars with my mother, and looking forward to the day I am on there as the first author on it known as an author. This week is the Most Memorable year and I keep having to pause writing to be sure I don't miss anything. (Oh my gosh, Doug's story and Waltz to the Rainbow Connection was heart breaking).

Anyway, today is my third progress report on this journey to a better me.

I am going to preface my numbers here with the fact my scale is doing weird things (either that or I manage to lose and then regain over twenty pounds in a week).

So, here we go.

According to my possibly malfunctioning scale, I currently weigh 147.3 lbs which is 2 pounds lighter than last month. That makes total weight lost in 1/4th of a year 12.7 pounds. It isn't as much as I'd like to see, but again it is still progress.

Where writing is concerned, my progress is moving consistently and I currently have 90,220 words written. I am in the process of writing the third act of my story and it is moving rapidly toward the climax and thus the conclusion. It is 100% absolutely and completely terrifying. I can't even express how anxious it is making me as I near the end of the first draft. The only thing that is keeping me moving forward is the knowledge that this draft is supposed to suck. Like it is so bad I'm pretty sure I can fertilize the entire garden in my backyard for twenty years. Maybe even fertilize the Keukenhof in South Holland.


I know this is a short post, but seriously. It is Dancing with the Stars time. 
At least I can say I haven't completely given up on my New Year's Resolution yet! Are you still working towards one? Or do you have something new that you're working towards? Feel Free to comment below,
Until next time,



Shelby Hild