a winter lookbook ft my 5 favorite books of 2017 (lots of representation!!)

I like clothes AND I like books. SO why not put them into one post? 

INSTEAD of doing a boring ol favorite books of 2017 post, I decided to compile it with some outfits I picked out and have been wearing so far this winter :D

wait wait. NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT? 

I CHANGED THE DESIGN AND I LOVE IT.

ok back to it

THE OUTFIT

cardigan: urban outfitters (my favorite store <333 when i can afford it lol)

shirt: gap

jeans: hollister

THE BOOK: always and forever lara jean by jenny han

my opinion: The Lara Jean has been one of my favorite book series since.. well forever? It's a lovely contemporary that is delightfully light hearted, but still brings a good serving excitement. A lot of people felt that it should have been a standalone, but honestly, I can never get enough of Jenny Han's writing :') ALSO asian representation <3

hits close to home: This book focuses a lot on college and stuff.. which is basically the only thing my friends talk about #nerds (kidding. maybe) so it was an enjoyable read. 

when i got it: I got this book for Eid 2017 ((a muslim holiday)) and WHEN I SAW IT WAS SIGNED I FLIPPED. This was devoured read on the way to NYC in July!

THIS IS BLURRY. why.

THE OUTFIT

sweater: forever 21 (you would think it's from hot topic. BUT NO. you were bamboozled.)

THE BOOK : carry on by rainbow rowell

my opinion: OK I actually read this for the first time in 2016.. BUT I reread it like... 10 times this year... SO IT COUNTS. It's basically a fanfiction... in a real book? WHICH IS WHY I LOVE IT. It's gorgeously written and to be honest... I liked it a lot better than Fangirl. Probably because of the fantasy and amazing LGBT representation. It's everything that I need in a book.

hits close to home: I enjoy reading and writing fanfiction, and this felt a LOT like a Harry Potter fanfiction, which is the only fanfiction I really read so IT FELT FAMILIAR. bless u rainbow rowell.

when i got it: Sometime in 2016 I believe? Shortly after I finished Fangirl. And this year I read it over Spring Break, twice in summer, and then again in October :')

THE OUTFIT

dress: express (this dress is absolutely gorgeous, and I SNATCHED it at an amazing 14 dollars in a black friday sale. bless u black friday)

THE BOOK : the entire wolves of mercy falls series by maggie stiefvater

my opinion: OK. I only actually own Linger in hardcopy, the other three I have as ebooks because I needed to read them IMMEDIATELY, and I didn't have time to go to the store. but OMIGOSH I love these books so much. I had read the first two earlier, but I finished the series in 2 days last month and OMIGOSH. I read Sinner over and over again because I love Isabel and Cole so much that I'm tearing up thinking about them. 

hits close to home: I live around a forest! We don't have wolves but we have coyotes. Of course they don't turn into humans, but you can hear them at night, so it's kind of close?? I think the real reason I love this series is just because of all the contrasts and gorgeous writing. SCREAM.

when i got it: I read Shiver and Linger in late 2015, but I finally picked it up again AS PROMISED in November. Best. decision. EVER.

sorry more blurriness :( BUT MY SWEATER.

THE OUTFIT

sweater: GIFT! The person that got it for me doesn't remember where she got it from :( BUT ITS SO CUTE

sweatpants: forever 21

THE BOOK: we are the ants by shaun david hutchinson

my opinion: AND IN SECOND PLACE. This book was truly eye opening and the writing was amazing. ALSO more LGBT representation <3 This book is an art form in itself, it's a perfect combination of sci-fi and contemporary, and the undertones and concepts are... too ... good. AND THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. yes. Click here for my full review!

hits close to home: The realness of this book really pulled me to it, it's all so.. real.. even when it's not (I'm talking about the alien parts hehe). It's just such a good book, SO GO READ.

when i got it: I got this around ?? August maybe? PROBABLY THEN. And I read it in September!

THE BEST BOOK AND BEST OUTFIT

THE OUTFIT

I LOVE THIS OUTFIT.

sweater: rue 21

skirt: asos (best thing in my closet)

tights: nordstorm rack

THE BOOK: the hate u give by angie thomas

my opinion: BEST BOOK OF 2017. If you disagree unfollow. KIDDING. DON'T LEAVE ME. This book. Yes. Too many yeses. I just. yes. If you haven't read it. READ IT. After I finish this post, I AM going to go read it again. Beautiful book. :)

hits close to home: My parents are 'activists' sort of? So I'm familiar with the Black Lives Matter movement and I'm a strong advocate for it! This book empowers people of color, especially young people of color, which is EVERYTHING I LOVE. diversity and representation. yes. yes. yes.

when i got it: I got this as a gift for my birthday! (best BIRTHDAY GIFT) and I read it almost immediately, and loved it. OF COURSE. And since then, I've read it three more times heheheh

What were your favorite books of 2017? Have you read any of these? What are your favorite books with representation? Whatdya think of the new design? ;)

peace out y'all,

noor

50 oddly specific OH MY GOODNESS NO bookworm moments

If I had a nickel for every time I screamed OH MY GOODNESS NO because of a book related situation.... I'd have a lot of nickels.

Being a bookworm is CRAZY and things almost never go our way. Maybe that's an exaggeration. A little one. But there are just a lot of stressful moments that come with the bookish life, so what better to do with my time than list them all out so you can relive the painful moment. ahem

ON TO IT.

1. Really really needing to read a book and then going to the library or bookstore and not being able to find it.

2. Spilling tea or coffee all over a book practically drowning in it in the scorching caffeine.

3. Reading a book that you thought would be amazing and it turns out to be a hotter mess than your spilled tea.

4. Not being able to find space on your shelf for your new book and then proceeding to evaluate all your life choices and ask yourself why you feel the need to spend all of your savings on books when you can just get it from the library or find some other way that doesn't drain all of your finances.

5. Using all your might to shove said book into shelf. It's like playing Tetris but less methodically.

6. When a book has tiny font and way too many pages. (unless you're into long books and if so then I wish I were you)

7. Losing your concentration while reading and realizing you missed out on like 20 pages.

8. Trying to figure out what books to bring on vacation and going into a crisis when you realized you packed too many and now your bag is too heavy.

9. Waking up in the middle of the night to see ten books on the floor because you put the new book in the wrong spot and all the books near it have collapsed. 

10. Having one book in the series that is taller or shorter than the others.

11. Having one book in the series that has a different cover than the others. (I'M LOOKING AT YOU CURSED CITY OF BONES MOVIE COVER) 

12. Watching the prices on your books rack up at the bookstore and wondering why you couldn't have gotten the paperback version instead.

13. When you're halfway through a book and you realize this is the exact same book as [INSERT EXTREMELY POPULAR BOOK HERE: ex: harry potter, lord of the rings, the hunger games, the fault in our stars]

14. When an author kills off a character for absolutely no reason *cough* JK Rowling with Remus *cough*

15. When a book's cover terribly reflects the story. Maybe this is why I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. BUT PRETTY COVERS.

16. Flailing over a book and knocking a lamp down and wondering how you're going to explain this to your parents.

17. The dreaded talk of explaining the broken lamp to your parents.

18. Feeling emotionally drained after writing a book review for a god awful book.

19. When you've read a book so fast that you didn't have time to absorb it in all of its glory.

20. Reading a really good book, then finishing it, and missing it and its characters to death.

21. Rereading said good book right after you've finished it and regretting your decisions after realizing how massive your TBR is. 

22. Just constantly regretting your decisions.

23. When you see a good book, see that it's not coming out for another two years, then grow grey and old in a rocking chair while you wait for it, and then you are slowly not so slowly consumed by your growing pile of unread books.

24. Trying to balance book life and life life and find yourself cooking dinner while balancing your book on a spoon.

25. Having the book being balanced on the spoon fall into your uncooked chili.

26. Deciding to try out new genres and then hating every book you read. ADVENTURE SUCKS.

27. Lying on the floor knowing you could be reading but you simply can't.

28. Realizing that your TBR will never stop growing. It's like Devil's Snare. Don't resist it.

29. When something or someone disturbs you while reading and then you lose your place so you have to travel through the gates of hell to find it.

30. Setting down your book for a millisecond and finding it on the floor, and you have YET AGAIN lost your place.

31. Dying inside when someone doesn't like a book that you recommended to them.

32. Knowing that eBooks are an option but REALLY LOVING NEW BOOK SMELL.

33. Coming across a difficult character name but ignoring it and pretending like you're saying it right but knowing inside that you definitely are not.

34. Hating a book but still keeping it even though the logical idea would be to donate it or give it away and that your shelves are literally overflowing.

35. Wanting to read 5598245047 books a year and telling yourself that it is definitely achievable as long as you read 15337657.663 per day.

36. Telling yourself that you can carry 10 books at a time but then regretting that decision when the books collapse on you crushing your small bookworm body. 

37. You regret all of your decisions. most of them.

38. Listening to music while reading and then your favorite song comes on and you flail so hard that your book flies out the window. 

39. Calling every good book your favorite book and then having to actually choose a favorite book one day and going into a crisis.

40. Lots and lots of crises.

41. Reading a bunch of 1 and 2 star books in a row and losing all faith in literature.

42. Being extra to set up your book photos when all of a sudden the sun has decided to take a vacation behind the clouds. CURSE YOU WINTER.

43. When you lend someone a book and they give it back to you looking like the book has just gone through a few wars, took a trip around the world by ocean, visited a few eruptions, and been submerged in some unknown substance. 

44. Showing up to the library/bookstore and seeing that it's closed. 

45. When the publisher puts stickers on the front of the book cover that you can't get off to save your life. I DON'T CARE THAT THERE'S A MOVIE ADAPTATION.\

46. Starting a book at one in the morning and being unable to put it down so you get approximately fifteen minutes of sleep that night. 

47. Running out of snacks during a heavy reading session.

48. Not having a blanket during a heavy reading session. CURSE YOU WINTER.

49. Getting paper cuts while turning the page and feeling like your life as you have known it is over. 

50. Wondering why you read even though it drives you nuts.

-1. Knowing that the reason why you read is because it fills you with the utmost joy and not knowing what you'd do without books because despite all the OH MY GOODNESS NOS, there are millions of OH MY GOODNESS YESES.

What are some of the reading related things that make you scream OH MY GOODNESS NO? Tell me what I missed! What's the biggest problem you face as as a bookworm? And hey, for some #positivity, what's the best thing about reading?

peace out y'all,

noor

a rather late welcome to december

I'm currently wrapped up in my holiday blanket, listening to Mariah Carey's Christmas album, with my fairy lights on. I'm ready.

HAPPY DECEMBER! 

YES I KNOW IT IS THE TENTH. YES I KNOW I AM LATE. Leave me alone.

I LOVE DECEMBER. December is the best month of winter. Don't attack me, because I'm right. No one likes January and February, get real. 

*wraps tinsel around you* let's talk about december!!

THIS MONTH'S EVENTS

YESTERDAY I had my very first high school DANCE. SCREAM. WHAT. It was tons of fun and everyone had a great time and WE SCREAMED OUR HEADS OFF to Shakira and the Spice Girls. Because what else would you dance to?

Needless to say, my throat burns.

I also have my orchestra concert on Thursday which is pretty cool and I love our songs because they're not too terribly boring :') We're playing a Karl Jenkins song so. YES.

ALSO HOLIDAYS?? I don't celebrate any holidays that are in December, but I STILL FREAKING LOVE THE HOLIDAYS. I put up a mini tree in my room and everything it's great. 

I am SO ready for the break. I need some serious time away from AP Euro. It's killing me, guys. Sadly, we're not going anywhere, but honestly, I don't mind some quality, lazy time at home.

TO BE READ

- THE HATE U GIVE / angie thomas

This will be a reread jUST BECAUSE I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. It is everything I need in a book, honestly, and I love everything that Angie Thomas does.

- DRAW THE LINE / laurent linn

I picked this one up a few months ago because I found it quite intruging, and nothing like I've ever read before. I'm not quite sure how I'll feel about it, but I am willing to give it a shot. RISKS ARE GOOD.

- MANSFIELD PARK / jane austen

Classics are something I've been trying to get into, and I feel like Jane Austen is definitely a perfect place to go. I've read a few of her novels, and my mom told me this one is very well written, so I'm excited to pick it up :D

- A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES / sarah j maas

I KNOW. I KNOW. Everyone and their mother has read this but I never found the heart to read it? I'M SORRY. It's time though, I need to hop on this train, and maybe hop off after I finish this book ahha. Throne of Glass wasn't really my thing, but hopefully this won't be like that??

GOALS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE ACCOMPLISHED

- DRAW TWO NEW PIECES EVERY WEEK

Something I've been neglecting lately is my art, which is quite sad considering it brings me so much joy. I just have SO SO much to do, that I don't seem to make time for it. BUT I AM DETERMINED TO DO THIS.

- EAT. BREAKFAST. 

I wake up around an hour before my bus comes, and it goes something like this:

6:00 - just 15 more minutes!!

6:15 - noooo

6:17 - ok fine i'm going

6:18 - washing my face is nice i'm gonna do this for 5 minutes straight

6:30 - crap

6:35 - outfit time

6:37 - I'M IN A CRISIS. NOTHING TO WEAR.

6:40 - this is good this is fine

6:45 - brush my hair now and throw on some mascara

6:50 - this outfit is terrible

6:55 - AHHHHHH

7:00 - CRAP

7:05 - ok i made my bus. WAIT I DIDN'T EAT BREAKFAST

I NEED TO EAT BREAKFAST. Solution? PICK MY OUTFIT THE NIGHT BEFORE. PLS.

- DRINK THREE GLASSES OF WATER EVERY DAY

My dad and I found so many health benefits to drinking water? IT'S CRAZY. I'm terrible at it, I probably drink a glass a day because I always forget :')

But I'm really going to try to bump up my water game because it's important. I WILL BE HEALTHY.

NOVEMBER NONSENSE

The first picture is of a watercolor painting I did of the LEGENDARY Finn Wolfhard for my art class! IT TOOK ME SOOO LONG.

Here are some of my BEST Black Friday purchases including a Funko Pop of LUCAS. SINCLAIR. <3333 and Pokemon Ultra Sun (nerd)

THEN a gorg picture of Washington Monument from our DC trip!

I take wayyyy too many pictures of sunsets but they're all so beautiful. heart eyes.

This is a picture of me at 49,900 words?? WHY DIDN'T I TAKE ONE AT 50,000. i'm so strange.

I TOOK A SELFIE WITH ONE OF THE STATUES AT THE WOMENS MUSEUM AT SENECA FALLS. i'm so strange.

How is your December so far? How was your November? On a scale from Scrooge to Mariah Carey how festive are you feeling right now? 

peace out y'all,

noor

washington dc: a travel log in bad iphone photos

HELLO EVERYONE :D

A few days (hours..) ago I went to D.C AND HAD A BLAST. IT IS SO SO PRETTY. Even in the fall. AND IT'S WARM. ah. i loved it.

We went to a few museums (which were all free?) and had tons of amazing food, and I took so many pictures.. so many pictures. I wasn't actually planning on posting this, but sadly, I don't have time for anything else, so enjoy!

All of these were taken at the Smithsonian American Indian Museum :) I found it interesting how the official name of the museum was American Indian, when they weren't actually Indians...

The second one is actually a recreation of the Mayan calendar! Their method of time and calculating the date was magnificent, complex, but so interesting. 

The entire museum was so calming :P, they had pleasant music playing and the ceiling was covered in constellations.

THERE WERE SO MANY NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES. WOAH. i was overwhelmed tbh

The second museum we went to was the National Air and Space Museum! It was actually more air vs space :P

The second photo was the ACTUAL first plane that the Wright brothers created! Those guys had guts. I would never fly a strange flying vehicle that would almost certainly plummet me to my death.

The third photo is a scale model of our coveted solar system! The sun is so massive that a model of it to that scale wouldn't have fit in the entire exhibit and it would have taken up almost the entire museum. TERRIFYING. 

These are some quick little snapshots of buildings nearby!

The first and second are ones of the National Art Gallery, which we actually visited, and the third is of the Capitol, which is actually super freaking gorgeous.

Also the sky was so blue that day?!?!? CLOUDS BEGONE.

Some of my favorite works of art from the gallery :P

The first one is a Monet, and the third one is probably my favorite because of the insane colors. Sculptures like the second one always amaze me because how the heck do you form such good detail out of stone or copper or whatever. TRUE TALENT. AH.

Not only was the art beautiful, but the displays and fountains they had were stunning :P 

The painting is by Van Gogh, and my dad told me I had to take a picture of it. I think he even took a selfie with it... relatable.

The final place that we visited was the Holocaust museum, which was completely eye opening, and full of information.

The first picture was part of a display that included every single photo ever taken of a Holocaust victim. We were on the second floor when this was taken, so it extends all the way down, and covers all four walls.

The second picture is of a tribute to Anne Frank, and it included excerpts to her diary. We noticed a few people crying around the exhibit, overwhelmed by how young she was when she died, but how much she was able to understand about what was going on around her :(

The third picture is a collection of drawings by children preserved from one of the ghettos that they kept the Jews in. Most of the drawings had nothing to do with the situations, but they did include parallels to the Holocaust. 

Many of the walls and floors that we saw/walked on were castings or actual parts of walls and floors from the Holocaust. The first two pictures are of the cobblestones that mimicked the ones from the ghettos. They were difficult to walk on, as some were elevated, and some were not/

The third picture was a collection of bricks from the Warsaw ghetto pieced together to form a wall. 

Have you ever been to Washington D.C? What's the BEST museum you have ever been to? What is your FAVORITE planet? AND how was your November?

HAPPY DECEMBER EVERYONE!! And I apologize for the terrible photos, my parents wouldn't let me bring my DSLR camera :P 

peace out y'all,

noor

i won nanowrimo! - how i bounced back from failing last year

On Wednesday, November 22nd, at 7:26 P.M... I WON NANOWRIMO 2017!

CONFETTI AND CAKE FOR ALL! It was a surreal moment and I was completely and utterly over the moon about it.

This year I worked my butt off. as of yesterday (I'm still going!), I've had five 3ks, one 4k, two 5ks, and get ready. ONE 8K.

I KNOW SOME INSANELY TALENTED PEOPLE CAN WRITE 30 THOUSAND WORDS IN ONE DAY BUT. 8,000 words in one day is a freaking ton for me!

Last year the most words I had written was 4,304 and on Thursday, I pulled a 5k with no problem, and I'm planning to do the same today (pulling my word count up to 60,000 AHH).

I'm feeling so confident about my writing and the novel is going so so well and I'm actually excited to edit it and hopefully write the second draft when Camp NaNoWrimo comes around in April!

ANYWAY, last year, I did a post about not being able to finish NaNo, which really took a toll on writing, and I stopped writing everything including fanfiction, which made me in turn lose faith in the blog, and well, it wasn't good.

It was really difficult coming back from that, and it took me a long time to figure out if I was even going to attempt NaNo this year, but here I am with 56k and 6 days remaining. SO HERE IS MY STORY.

warning: this may be the cheesiest thing you have EVER read.

Last November, I stopped writing at day 24 at 29,682 words. I was far far behind and I would have to write an insane amount of words every day to keep up.

I was not an optimist, and I didn't see reason in completing NaNo if I wasn't going to finish 50k by the end of the month. I had done it last year, when I was a year younger, so why the heck didn't I do it this year? Was I incapable of writing? Did I lose the drive I had to write? Maybe I wasn't cut out to be a writer.

I had promised myself that in January I would pick it back up again, and then I never did. I couldn't bring myself to do it. This had been a failed piece of writing that hadn't my expectations. I went back and read it, and naturally was revolted, so I suppose I just convinced myself that writing wasn't my thing.

Something I taught myself throughout this prosperous month of November was that giving up is not an option. Mistakes have to be made to find the right track of life, and I found it. I used the many mistakes I had made last year to set an example for my writing path this year. 

I set aside time for writing, I set aside time for 5ks, I helped to motivate myself, I did everything that I could to keep myself going.

And sometimes things don't go your way. I was a kid who immediately gave up when I didn't get what I wanted, or I didn't accomplish something. Which basically made me give up everything I tried to do.

News flash: life doesn't work that way! In October, I wrote an extremely short story that I improvised along the way to get myself into the groove and to see if I actually wanted to write. And it made me realize how much I enjoyed writing and wanted to do NaNoWrimo. Don't get me wrong, it was godawful and I knew that, I just didn't make myself read it. teehee.

I realized how much I enjoyed writing AGAIN on the day I wrote 8k (mind you, I was fueled by Starbucks, but that is unimportant. actually it's not, their chestnut praline lattes are SO GOOD.)

And I kept realizing it and finding more love right up until today, writing this post right now, staring at the scene cards on my bedside table, just wanting to finish this freaking post so I can write my next scene.

But wait. What if I realize that I'm just forcing myself to like something and I actually abhor it down to my core but I just don't know it?

Do what I always do, make a pros and cons list. Or, if you're not a list freak like me... do something you know you love to do. If you're trying to get back into writing, and you also love your violin with every cell in your body (no that is not about me psh wha), then pick up your violin and play.

Do you feel a certain way when you play? Yeah, that's called loving the heck out of what you do. Now go and write for a half an hour, do you feel similar? Or at least something that's not pain? That's also called loving the heck out of what you do. It may not be the same feeling, because they're different things, but you have a feeling! THAT'S GOOD. That means you probably don't hate it.

I'm like the worst advice giver ever but THIS STUFF WORKED FOR ME. It may or may not work for you since I'm almost 100% positive I'm from another planet. heh.

IN SHORT. Find a way to reignite your passions! But just remember that passions should come fairly naturally, don't force yourself to do anything you really don't want to do. Life is about choices, so make the one that is best for you. You don't have to do anything.

Except eat. and sleep. and drink water. DRINK YO WATER. And do what you love. That's all. 

What is one hobby that you've lost interest in but want to bring back? How do you bounce back from failure? What's one thing you accomplished this month?

apologies for the long and sappy post hehe 

peace out,
noor

how to avoid the dreaded writing burnout

NANOWRIMO IS ALMOST OVER. 

By almost I mean there are 13 days left, but that's simply not enough!

Some of us are in a deep panic, scrambling to find words. But others are relaxing with their wordcount far above 50k and their first draft/rewrite completed. (i envy you)

I successfully did my very first 5k last weekend and I'm attempting another one today :D (maybe even higher, I'm at 33k and I want to see if I can hit 40k :0) But one huge thing that I suffered with was burnout, in which I couldn't bring myself to write more than 2k because my mind would turn to LITERAL MUSH. 

SO this past week I've come up with a few tips for myself to avoid getting tired while writing, and they've worked for the most part! I SHALL SHARE WITH YOU SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER EITHER.

if i had a nickel for every time i used bath and body works products or lights in my photos..

do short sprints

YOU WILL DIE IF YOU TRY TO ATTEMPT A LOT OF WORDS IN ONE WRITING GO.

Break up your writing time into short sprints, whether it's time sprints like 5-30 minutes (you could do more than that, my attention span is short so I'd die if i tried an hour sprint) or you could do word sprints like 100-500 or whatever you wish!

THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER, sprints are your oyster!

After a longer sprint, take a quick break and stretch or get a healthy snack. Emphasis on HEALTHY. Filling yourself with sugar and too many fats can make you not want to do ANYTHING, and that includes writing.

Also try not to stare at your word count while sprinting. Keep your eyes on your words and just type type or write write until the sprint is over.

You could also use the Pomodoro Method which is something I discovered on Tumblr for studying! You work for 25 minutes then take a break for 5 minutes, and get back to work :D It works super well and keeps you productive. BASICALLY work your butt off for 25 minutes, which is really not a lot of time once you get working. 

Here's the Chrome extension for the Pomodoro timer if you'd like to use it.

use some resources

The NaNoWrimo forums have so many different resources that you can use to keep the writing train going! I am a huge fan of word crawls, I'm sure everyone has heard of them but just in case: they're like compliations of challenges that usually have a theme. I'm chugging through the Harry Potter ones, which are tons and tons of fun and help me get a lot of words done. There are ones specific for certain word counts, or ones just for fun.

If you're feeling particularly unmotivated, there's even a crawl for that! It helps you get around 3k, and it really doesn't even feel like 3k.

make your space nice

The worst thing you can do for yourself is write in a place where you're not comfortable. Prepare your space in a way that makes you ready to write.

Try to avoid writing in bed! I KNOW I KNOW YOUR BED IS SUPER NICE. AND YOU ARE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR BED. but. You will fall asleep or get tired and just want to turn on Netflix and chill. BUT YOU CAN'T CHILL YOU'RE DOING NANO.

I like to sit on my desk (at night, I'm a night writer lol) or at my dining table, throw a blanket over me, light a candle, grab some pomegranate seeds (I <3 pomegranate seeds they are the bessstttt writing snack) and churn out some words like butter (bad analogy? i think yes.)

If there's a particular scent that motivates you, FLOOD YOUR SENSES WITH IT. ok don't actually make your whole room smell like peppermint because it WILL get obnoxious.

I personally prefer writing at night, but if you do write in the day, use natural light! (if you can) It makes you feel more awake and ready to go.

In conclusion, don't sit in a square white room with no windows because it'll feel like writing jail. You gotta want to write.

motivate yourself 

This is going to sound so strange but I give myself mini pep talks sometimes.. DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT. it helps. okay. 

If you feel like absolute death while writing, and you're hanging onto a cliff by your fingertips screaming I CAN'T GO ON, then take a super duper quick break and pull out a journal or another document. Remind yourself why you're doing NaNo/this current project and why you like writing in general. Why do you want to be a writer? Why the heck are you taking time out of your binge-watching sesh to write this stupid book anyway?

AND JUST FOR FUN HERE ARE SOME QUOTES

This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and put one word after another until it's done. It's that easy, and that hard. - Neil Gaiman

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at a typewriter and bleed. - Hemingway

I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters I am not. I write to explore all the things I am afraid of. - Joss Whedon

Another thing I've been doing is thinking back to the day I hit 5k. I thought about how I felt when I entered my daily wordcount into the NaNo site and it said "Words Written Today: 5,000". Basically I felt like I had just defeated Voldemort, Sauron, Darth Vader, the Demogorgon, and the Huns in one blow. I felt inviscible. I call on that emotion regularly to prove to myself that I can do it. 

And then I go kick my novel in the butt.

don't read your writing. please. 

Everyone and their mother has told you this tip but you need to hear it again. If you are on your first draft, don't ever go back and read what you've written.

There will be tears and screams of horror, you will despise it, because it's probably bad. You'll think that what you're about to write is bad, and it might be. So it'll make you want to never write again and curl up in a ball and make a cup of tea and sob for eternity.

basically me to me when reading my writing

NO. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING.

I constantly have the desire to go back and write more of a scene but that involves reading the scene again which is a big no no. FIGHT YOUR STUPID WRITING DESIRES. 

always refer back to your outline - if you have one

If you are a pantser IGNORE THIS.

When I have burnout, I always tend to stray away from my outline and write a random scene that has nothing to do with my novel just to get the words in. Heck, I forget the outline even existed.

But when you're feeling tired, pull out that trusty outline and get your novel back on track, it can even motivate you to write the next scene. You were excited to write that outline, and you want to pour your heart into every scene, SO DO IT.

Even if the next part of your novel isn't so interesting, make it interesting! Use some vivid language to develop the scene, or just have fun! Chances are, if you think it's boring, everyone else is going to think it's boring. MAKE IT FUN. 

and remember...

Take some deep breaths. If you can't reach your word count for the day, it's okay! Life goes on. The Earth will not implode in your face, I promise. The most important thing is that you don't push yourself too hard. 

If you have other, more important priorities, take care of those first. Your novel will always be sitting here waiting for you when you need it. (just remember to save ;)) 

YOU GOT THIS. DON'T GIVE UP. YOU ARE A CRAFTER OF WORDS. YOU ARE A SLAYER OF DRAGONS. 

I BELIEVE IN YOU.

Do you have any tips for dun dun dun WRITING BURNOUT? What's your favorite writing snack? And how is your writing going? Have you experienced burnout yet?

peace out y'all,

noor

nanowrimo wrap up #1 + life updates - i only stayed up past midnight once!

SORRY FOR THE BRIEF ABSENCE!! I was getting caught up with my new writing schedule, so I just couldn't find the time last weekend to put out a post but here I am :D

NaNo has been going on for 11 hectic days but IT'S BEEN GOOD TO ME SO FAR!! I hit 20k today, and the day is not done so we'll see if I can maybe write 5k more :0 IT'S POSSIBLE!!

picture is mine!!

word counts

day one 

NaNo started on a Wednesday this year (strange how I said NaNo instead of November. NOVEMBER ISN'T A MONTH ANYMORE ONLY NANO.) So it was a tad bit awkward, middle of the week bluez :P

words written: 2025

total: 2025

highlight of day: eating all of my halloween candy from the previous night heheheeheh

day two 

1978 is close enough to 2k? right. yes. yes it is. Thursdays have slowly become my favorite day of the work week next to Friday because my day isn't as hectic lol

words written: 1978

total: 4008

best meal: this chili my mom got from a local cafe? so yum. i love chili.

day three - 5k!

I went out with my friends that night so I didn't get much writing done. But we went to bubble tea which is actually my favorite place in the world.  Coffee blizzards 4 life. I wrote a bit before and the passed out the second I got home HAHA, 

words written: 1305

total: 5308

amount of caffeine consumed: one black tea, two iced coffees, one coffee blizzard . oops

day four

My friend came over this day and we made some certifiably AWFUL soup. It was literally water, and then we threw in an assortment of spices and veggies. HEALTHY. And then to cleanse our palette we walked to Starbucks and collected leaves. And then I came home and wrote 3k. Whatta day.

words written: 3446

total: 8774

struggle of the day: trying not to vom from poorly made... soup? you can't even call it that.

day five

I DESPISE SUNDAYS. I spent the whole day in another town and then I pinned a ton on Pinterest. Because when you're sad, the best option is Pinterest. Pinterest: look at obscure DIYs and solve all of your problems.  But I did go to Urban Outfitters which is actually my favorite store in existence.

words written: 2013

total: 10787

pictures pinned on pinterest: i couldnt even tell you

day six

I wrote like nothing today because I had practice from 6-7 which is, in my opinion, the worst time because it basically divided up my work time. I did wear my shirt from Urban which was yellow and had a bunch of strange faces on it. I'm 100% sure it creeped people out, but honestly that's what made it 10x better. I also was forced to clean under my bed, and there were some unexplainable things down there. gross.

words written: 1213

total: 12000

times 'ew' was said: none, i was too shocked at the mess to speak

day seven

Tuesday is like the time where I recover from being sore due to Mondays practice but then have to prepare to get sore all over again for Wednesday. While doing homework, I suddenly felt a spark to listen to Vivaldi and I believe I had his Four Seasons on repeat for hours on end. SO GOOD. 

words written: 2028

total: 14028

times i listened to vivaldi's four seasons: at least 10. that's over 6 hours of vivaldi. what. 

day nine

YES I KNOW I SKIPPED 8 i just didn't write anything because I was a bad bean. My dad brought me oreos, which I almost never eat and I had half of the dang container while writing.... BAD BEAN. They're too good though WHYYYY

words written: 3024

total: 17052

oreos consumed: too many

random rambles about my novel and problems and blagh

It's actually doing pretty great, I'm just struggling a little with description, per usual. I'm only at 20k and already in my 4th scene... I have 10 scenes.... THAT MAY BE DISASTER.

Also development? I love it but I SUCK AT IT. 

Me while writing: Development? Idk her sorry.

Me while reading: I NEED ALL THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

My outline is working well! I only did a chapter outline for the first four chapters until I realized I only really needed my scene cards. #plansters for the win!

also snacks are very necessary. I think I would have died without my oreo fix. AND MUSIC. I couldn't write in the quiet :0 It's good to find an album that really fits the mood of your scene or novel, it inspires you.

The story is nice and the plot is going on well, I just feel as if I am straying from the central idea, but that could be because the particular scene I've been writing today doesn't focus too much on it. My mood about this novel changes every hour. #THESTRUGGLEISREAL

ALSO BLESS THE PEOPLE WHO CAME UP WITH WORD CRAWLS. They are my saviors and they're so much fun. 

I also am a faster writer than I thought? As in I can successfully write 1k in 20 minutes? Without making typos? What is this new found power??? 

How's the noveling going for you? If you're not doing NaNo, how is life? Do you have any new found every day powers? What is your guilty pleasure food? SHARE SHARE!

peace out y'all,

noor