Category: Writing Adventures

Blogtober 2019 – Mid-Month Roundup

Posted October 16, 2019 by Fictional Fox in Writing Adventures / 0 Comments

It is officially day 16 of Blogtober. I’m so happy to have made it this far. To be honest it hasn’t always been easy to find time at the end of the day to write. Finding topics to discuss within my time constraints has also been a challenge.

Today I kinda have an excuse not to post (a few not so good things have happened) but I am not going to give in. Especially considering I’m halfway through. I am going to make to the end, one way or another. No question about it!

I am quite proud of the content I have produced so far. I’ve done reviews, discussions, tags, memes and personal entries over the past fifteen days. I hope to continue that way for the next half of Blogtober.

Looking forward, I want to post reviews of Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner and Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer-I have lots to say about both of them so those should be fun to write. I also want to post a discussion about child characters gaining agency in novels. In the final week I should have my new glasses so I want to take photos of bookish autumnal looks to feature in a post.

Before we move forwards, though, I want to take a moment to reflect on what I’ve posted for Blogtober so far. So let’s pause. Relax, sit back with me, and browse away through any of the posts below that tickle your fancy.


  1. THE ART OF STARTING A STORY
  2. “THE FOX FOUND A WAY OUT”- REVIEW OF KING OF SCARS BY LEIGH BARDUGO
  3. “I STILL HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING FOR YOU”- REVIEW OF WOLF CHILDREN BY MAMORU HOSODA
  4. A LETTER TO MY DOG
  5. “EVERYTHING IS A STORY” -REVIEW OF CARRY ON BY RAINBOW ROWELL
  6. DEAR DIARY #1
  7. ‘I HAVE A HEART FOR EVERY YEAR I’VE BEEN ALIVE’ – REVIEW OF TO KILL A KINGDOM BY ALEXANDRA CHRISTO
  8. TEN QUALITIES I LOVE ABOUT MAIA DRAZHAR FROM THE GOBLIN EMPEROR
  9. THE AUTUMN TAG
  10. BOOK INSPIRED LOOKS
  11. MY UNIVERSITY ESSAY ARCHIVE: THE SHAKESPEARE ONE
  12. MY HISTORY WITH SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH
  13. WHY I WILL BE TAKING PART IN NANOWRIMO THIS YEAR
  14. GETTING COSY: MY PLANS THIS AUTUMN
  15. TOP TEN TUESDAY: RANKING THE BANE CHRONICLES BY TITLE

Have you been taking part in Blogtober or would like to next year?

Lauren x


Why I will be taking part in NaNoWriMo this year

Posted October 13, 2019 by Fictional Fox in Writing Adventures / 0 Comments

NaNoWriMo, if you haven’t heard of it before, stands for National Novel Writing Month. The main event occurs every November, starting on the first of the month right through to the 30th. The aim is to write 50,000 words of a novel over the course of the month.

Today I will be going through my reasons for taking part in NaNoWriMo this year.


I want to continue with my new habit of writing every day

I mentioned in a previous post that I have been writing these Blogtober posts off the cuff each evening.  Blogtober has forced me to spare some time to think creatively every day and commit to a project. I would like to keep this habit going next month but transfer it from blogging to writing fiction. Hopefully this habit will stick after two months of daily writing.

I don’t want to procrastinate anymore

I have a ring-binder on the go with separate sections for one of my story ideas (I have two in my head at the moment). A lot of prep work has been done. Now I need to commit to actually writing some scenes rather than just planning them. I feel like I’ve put so much work into the ideas that I’ve missed out the most important step of creating a novel: writing.

I want to finish a writing project

I have tonnes of half-finished stories on my computer. This year I want finally finish a first draft. I might not finish it all during NaNoWriMo but 50,000 should allow me to make a good dent in it then hopefully I can finish it in December, ready for editing in the new year.

Having a creative outlet is a good way to de-stress

I have stressful days at work sometimes (my dog can attest to this as she listens to me rant when I come home). As the days are shorter now it’s hard to feel like I have a proper life outside of work. Dedicating time to a personal project like writing helps me feel like there’s more to life than my day job.

Most importantly, I’m doing NaNoWriMo because writing is fun for me.


Are you planning on taking part in NaNoWriMo this year or have you done it before?

Lauren x