Hello again! A blog/life/writing update.

Hi! Long time, no read? This blog has always been an inconsistent publication at best. If you know me, then you know that's not unusual for me, but I've always wanted to create a more organized place to share my writing. Like a lot of people who write for fun, I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to it but it's my favorite hobby and the most personal thing I do.

Lately, I've made a few decisions about what I want to do with my life, myself, and this blog. It's been 8 months between this post and last. I feel like a completely different person, and I know my goals are different too. Here's some of the things I've been thinking about lately (in no specific order).

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Writing more.

Besides sharing little poems here and there, I haven't written much. Anything I do write is shoved into a notes app and forgotten. I've got page after page of material that's completely "unsharable" because I haven't done anything with it. Anything I write feels too personal or not good enough. I'd absolutely love to get back to writing for a zine. It spurred me to write without worrying it wasn't good enough work. I'd also love to start posting my poems on social media again.

Reading more.

For the first time in a few years, I actually met my Goodreads reading goal in 2022. It was such a good feeling to not only cross that finish line but to exceed it. It's led me to reconnect with some of my reading friends and also feel smarter, as silly as that sounds. It's nice to have a healthy hobby that isn't extremely demanding.

Reviewing ARCs.

I really liked using NetGalley to review ARCs. It made me hopeful that someday I might submit my writing for someone else to "try out". It also felt a little like a secret club to get something from a new author before anyone else. I found some favorite books through that!

Sharing my book thoughts.

I see book content creators constantly sharing lists like "what I'm reading", "book thoughts on (genre/title)" and "my (month) reading recap". It's always fun to see what other people are reading and talking about. I'd like to do that too, especially with how much I've been reading lately.

Future Blog Post Ideas:

• Monthly book recaps.

• Weekly poem drops?

• ARC reviews

• How I set my 2023 reading goals

• My annotations and review system

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If you've gotten this far, thank you for sticking around! I'm hoping to start posting more regularly. Either way, happy (belated?) new year! Here's a picture of Ivy because no blog post or writing session is complete without her.

-Mars!