Monthly High Points: October

Well, I feel like everything had gone pretty crazy the past few weeks.

I took my first SAT on October 1, 2016 and I was so stressed. I think that I got like only four hours of sleep. I didn’t feel like I did really well, but I felt like it was pretty good. Then I got my score back just a few days ago and I got 1270/1600!!! So…I wanted higher, but I’m a perfectionist (and that was a good score, definitely above average).x

So I told myself that I had to finish writing my dystopian book before NaNoWriMo. For about two weeks I wrote 1,000 words everyday. Then this last week of school was terrible. I took so long that every night when I finished I just wanted to watch tv. I only got a few hundred words done.

Then Friday and Saturday happened and…

I FINISHED WRITING MY SECOND BOOK, This Ensuing Torment! It’s at 84,719 words. I started it July 1st. #ThisEnsuingTorment#amwriting

— Gabriela Paige (@GabrielaPaige99) October 29, 2016

And this dystopian book has a title and mock cover.

Here’s my title (and a little mock cover) to the project that I’m working on right now… *drumroll* #GPsbook #ThisEnsuingTorment pic.twitter.com/BNdGRBq0z5

— Gabriela Paige (@GabrielaPaige99) October 26, 2016

And no, my first book that I finished last month does still NOT HAVE A TITLE.

1.) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter: Book 8) by J.K. Rowling

This was really good. I can understand why some people won’t like it. It’s very different, but it still had that Harry Potter feel that I love.

2.) A Minor Raven Boys Holiday Drabble (The Raven Cycle: Book 0.4) by Maggie Stiefvater

Ah… This totally got me into a Christmas feel. I loved reading about the Raven Boys again.

3.) 300 Fox Way Holiday Piece (The Raven Cycle: Book 0.3) by Maggie Stiefvater

This is a very short story, but I found it online and it was good to read about Blue again.

4.) Avalon (Avalon: Book 1) by Mindee Arnett

I really liked this. But it was slow at some points and fast at others and I felt like there were just too many big reveals.

5.) Cinderella by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

I did not realize that the original Cinderella story was like this. It’s kind of violent.

6.) The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

A short story for Literary Analysis class. Interesting, but I didn’t care for it.

7.) Railsea by China Miéville

Extremely bizarre. The writing style was very strange. It’s a retelling of Moby-Dick, which now I guess that I need to read it for this I enjoyed.

8.) The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe

I listened to an audio version of this because I felt like doing nothing else. It was nice for a re-read.

9.) Conversation Piece by Ned Guymon

The shortest detective story. Just look it up and read it. A whole book could be based on it. Actually…that would be a neat writing project.

10.) UnDivided (Unwind Dystology: Book 4) by Neal Shusterman

BEST BOOK THAT I’VE READ THIS MONTH. AGH!!! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE OVER?! I’M TRAUMATIZED FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. These characters are some of the best characters ever.

11.) The Convergence of the Twain by Thomas Hardy

A poem that I had to read for my Literary Analysis class. Kind of sad poem about the Titanic.

12.) A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell

A short story that I had to read for my Literary Analysis class. Very intriguing.

13.) Bloodline by Claudia Gray

I love STAR WARS. This was really good. It made connections from the Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens. It was just pretty slow though and I wasn’t as into it.

14.) A Valentine by Edgar Allan Poe

As you can see, most of the stuff that I read was short stories for school and such so I feel like I haven’t read much at all.

I’m currently reading:

• One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
• The Iliad by Homer
• The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower: Book 1) by Stephen King
• Born Again by Charles W. Colson

One Thousand Gifts: It’s almost been a year since I started this. But I didn’t read any this month.

The Iliad: Again, no. I didn’t get to this one either.

The Gunslinger: I’ve only read a little bit of this, but I am enjoying it. I’m excited to see how it turns out!

Born Again: One of the more interesting nonfiction books that I have read. It has made even politics seem interesting.

God, our Friend

God wants to have an relationship with us. He wants to be our friend. He cares for us, and there is no great love than His.

Book Review: Unsouled (Unwind Dystology: Book 3)

Oh, oh, oh. It felt like only a chapter of the whole story, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! GO READ THIS SERIES NOW.

Purposeful Pages Link-Up: October

Once again, I participated in this link-up. I love it!

Why I Love Captain America: Civil War *In Which I Flail About Bucky*

I totally went just a “little” insane in this post. I love Bucky so much. EEEEE!!! And watching this movie a second time got me into the mood to write this post.

Q & A Tag

Wendy tagged me for this and I really loved doing it. It was immensely fun.

When Frustration Creeps Up on You

You can’t let frustration control you.

So I was so frustrated that I wrote a post on frustration. It actually took my frustration away. Ha.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter: Book 8)

Ahhh… It was so great to get back into the Harry Potter world. I only wish that I could see the play.

When You Doubt Yourself

We have to remember that God is in control. That He’s saved us. That He loves us.

I totally related to Amanda’s post about longing to be enough.

Again, Amanda was totally speaking my mind in this post about wanting to make a difference. That’s where I’m at right now.

I totally understood Aimee’s post about when you feel like your writing sucks and I agreed with it wholeheartedly.

So…there will probably not be too many posts this November because I’m participating in NaNoWriMo. This will probably be the most busy month of the year for me. Since I have school, prepping for doing the SAT in December, writing for NaNoWriMo, and dog sitting.

So…wish me luck and hope that I don’t die.

How was your October? Is November going to be crazy for you? I’d love to hear about all that it going on!

-G. Paige