Book Review (in vlog form!): The Distance Between Us

Recently, I finished The Distance Between Us by Kasie West, and I absolutely loved it.  I felt it was the type of book that might get looked over, but that I thoroughly enjoyed, and wanted to spread the word.  I also recently decided to start a Youtube channel.

So I decided to mix the two together.

Below is my (spoiler-free) review of The Distance Between Us.  (Click the link.)  My YouTube channel won't just be books; it will include other rants, creations (of art and non-art), and vlogs of adventures.  (There are a few other videos already up, if you're intrigued to take a look.)

Let me know if you've read it, what you thought, or if you've read Pivot Point (because I absolutely loved that book too!)

Fangirling: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West | Book Review

What Does Done Really Mean?

On Saturday I sent the latest revisions of my MS to some CPs.  I've revised this manuscript so many times that I've lost count.  But each time, it's gotten better.  So naturally I'm thinking, if I keep revising, it will continue to get better.  But will it?  There is such a thing of revising too much.  So when is a MS done?  That's something I'm still trying to figure out.  When is good enough, good enough?  And do I really just want good enough and not good?  What's the difference?

It's these things that run through my mind as I sent my MS off to *fingers crossed* the last set of critiques.  I'm hoping, except for a few tweaks, that this might be it.  That I'm done.  That it's good.  Or good enough.  Or something.

I've never queried, and frankly, the thought kinda terrifies me.  I don't want to put something out there that isn't close to being ready.  But I think it's really hard to be so subjective with your own work.  There's always something that could be revised again.  Just a bit more tension here, a few tweaks there.  Can always keep working on the same piece.  And as a perfectionist, that's what I tend to do.

But at the same time, if it's done, it's done.  I shouldn't prolong it because of nerves, that could lead to over-editing.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to query at some point, but also terrified.  And I want the MS to be the best that it can be.

This where I have to trust my gut, I think (and my CPs).

How do you tell if your work is good enough? (Whatever that means.)

New Year's Resolutions A Day Late

So it is officially 2014.  *woohoo*

2013 was decent, but I never ended up querying like I thought I would.  And I'm totes okay with this.  I saw someone tweet the other day reminding herself it's not a race, and I had to remind myself of that too.  I saw another tweet that said don't query before you're ready just because of some goal you made, "to query before the new year", and I thought that was a really good thought too.

In 2013 I decided to shelve my first MS because it needs a total re-write and I just didn't have the energy to concentrate on it anymore.  I'll go back to it someday.  I concentrated on my second MS, THE DISLOYALTY OF COLORS, which I hope to query at some point, and wrote a "draft zero" of a third (which I will get back to after TDoC).  I learned a lot about myself writing wise and in life.

But now it's time to push forward, and that means resolutions.

I've been toying with the idea to start a vlog/YouTube channel, to kinda keep track of my experiences (in life and writing).  Writing is such a solitary endeavor that sometimes I forget just to go outside and do things.  So I thought vlogging/videoing it would be an interesting way to kinda remind myself to do things and also to create other art when I can no longer look at a screen.  I just want to make sure it doesn't fall apart when I get busy.

So those are my resolutions: write, read, video and create.  (Maybe throw some exercise in there too.)  What are yours?