Monday 17 April 2017

Switching Blogging Platforms

Dear Readers,

I have an announcement to make! I am moving my blog from Blogger to Wordpress. Although I won't be deleting bethgadsby.blogspot.co.uk, I won't be updating it anymore. Instead, you can find my new blog posts at bethgadsbywriter.wordpress.com. You'll find all my old posts from this site on there, along with all the new ones I post from here on out. You'll also find shiny new Home, About, and Contact pages, plus more!

If you'd like to know why I chose to make this change, you can read this post, and if you'd like to know about the switching process, you can read this post.

Since I'm already finding Wordpress to be a much better fit for me, I'm a little surprised to say that I am going to miss this blog. I've spent a lot of time updating it and improving its appearance over the four years I've been using Blogger, so it is a bit strange to think I'm never going to use it again.

Anyway, that's quite enough sentimentality! Go follow me over on my lovely new Wordpress blog, where I'll be updating my blog as usual!

See you there!

Beth.


Wednesday 5 April 2017

Caraval: Book Review

Caraval by Stephanie Garber is a young adult fantasy novel concerning two sisters, Scarlett and Tella Dragna, and the magical annual performance, Caraval, where the audience get to participate in the show - or, more accurately, the game. Scarlett and Tella have been enchanted by the idea of Caraval and its mysterious ringleader, Master Legend, ever since their grandmother told them stories of it as children. But when they finally receive invitations to Caraval, just days before the event, Scarlett is just days away from marrying a man who promises both herself and her sister a secure future away from their abusive father. Going to Caraval would mean putting their future and their safety in jeopardy.

Tella, meanwhile, has other ideas. Despite the risk of missing the wedding, she tricks Scarlett into going with her to Caraval with the help of sailor Julian, before promptly disappearing upon arrival. Scarlett quickly realises Tella has been kidnapped by Legend himself: Tella's whereabouts is the mystery that this year's participants must solve to win the game. She vows to find her sister in time to return for her wedding, but soon discovers that Caraval is less harmless than she imagined. While it might just be a game, Scarlett cannot risk that it isn't, and that something sinister really is going to happen - or has already happened - to her sister. Not only must she figure out the clues that Legend has left for them, but also who to trust - including whether she can trust herself.


Saturday 1 April 2017

March Writing Update

At the beginning of the year, I set myself monthly writing goals for working on my novel The Secrets The Dead Keep, which should hopefully leave me with a finished manuscript by the end of the year.

My writing goal for March was to finish Draft Three edits. Leftover from previous goals, I also wanted to work on characterisation more, and start finding critique partners.

I started the month with eleven pages' worth of edits I wanted to make. I quickly realised, however, that many of them were unnecessary or two detailed for what is still an early draft, since I haven't finalised my plot yet. So, I made a new list, which I am very happy to say was only a page long. It included ten new scenes to write, plus six to revise due to plot changes, and five to edit if I got chance.

One page of edits makes it sound like March was an easy month. Unfortunately, nothing is ever as easy as you think it'll be.