My last post, I shared some of my favorite tools and items. It got me thinking about how fun it could be to really track and share my journey through what I read, watch, listen to, etc. in case you are looking for something new to try or have heard of something and would like someone’s opinion about it.

So, here are the things that I’ve been consuming this past month:

Watching

• The Umbrella Academy: this Netflix Original series really captured my interest with the first episode. Of course, I’d heard a lot about it when it had just come out and people were watching it, but I just hadn’t had the time. So, I sat down and binged all 10 episodes in like 2 days. I really enjoyed it. The super powers aspect, the dysfunctional family/team aspect, the twists and turns. It was pretty good. It didn’t end the way I thought it would (no spoilers), and I’m not sure if it is going to have a second season, but I liked it. There were some really great moments in there and some really hilarious ones as well.

• Naruto: My husband and I are anime fans (okay, more me than him), and we had started watching Naruto together years ago. However, we kind of fell off about 3/4 of the way through just because life was too hectic to read subtitles. But I had always loved the story of Naruto, how he tried to make his way from outcast and trouble maker to become the best of the best, and though he constantly got dismissed, he rose from he ashes to stay true to himself and what he believed it. I finally finished all 500 episodes (yes, it was loooooong) and felt really satisfied with the way it ended, which is saying a lot since I invested so much time into it. If you’ve never watched anime because of whatever reason, I strongly suggest giving a handful of episodes a chance (and if not this one, let me know and I can suggest some others that I really love based on your preferences). I think they’ve got a lot of potential about storytelling, character development, and pacing that authors should really look into (plus, they’re just fun).

• Heart Breathings: On YouTube, I’ve been bingeing Sarra Cannon’s Heart Breathings channel because she’s got a ton of information about plotting, editing, and just organizing your time and being productive. She’s also super sweet and successful as an indie author, so I’m taking notes on her journey in the hopes that I can learn how to make my own successful as well. She also has a seriously strong planner habit that I’m totally into. She’s a very detailed planner and some may see it as repetitive, but I think her process works for her and I am taking bits and pieces of it and making them my own in order to be more productive now that I’m on summer break and have no real schedule.

Reading

• Millionaire Success Habits: My sister-in-law invited me to a seminar and neither of us realized that it would be about selling real estate! However, we got this book for free as part of it, so I’ve been reading it and have absolutely fell in love with Dean Graziosi’s storytelling and thought process. I’ve been trying really hard to refocus my efforts in life to where I want to be instead of just where I am with the thought that if I only focus on where I am, that’s where I will always be. This book doesn’t deal much with real estate, thankfully, but there are examples, exercises, and great pieces of info that are really helping me shape a clearer vision of who I am now and who I want to be in the future, as well as how to get there.

• The Blade Itself: My dad has been really bugging me to read this and claims it is The Lord of the Rings of the grim-dark genre. It isn’t as grim or dark (yet) as I imagined it would be. It is a fantasy trilogy and has some great world building so far, but I stalled when the end of the school year hit and I’m going to be diving back into the second half of the book in the coming weeks. There’s some really cool magic and examples of rule following for world building in the book so far, and a ton of really complex threads being built so I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Listening To

• Writing Excuses Podcast: This is an oldie, but goodie as Brandon Sanderson and his team dive into different writing topics in about 15 to 20 minutes each week. It has been around for about 14 seasons, so there are a lot of really great episodes to dive into. I usually do an episode a day on my commute to and from work but now that I’m out of school, I try to listen as I fold clothes or cook dinner. If you haven’t heard of it and are a writer, I strongly suggest you check it out.

• Daring Living Podcast: This is a relatively new podcast, with only a handful of episodes so far, but I’ve found Shirley Huang’s voice, direction, and candor really refreshing and helpful. It is more a lifestyle type of blog, where she covers things like overcoming loneliness, how to create a vision for your life, and more. She also has a workbook about envisioning the future and creating goals to get there that I completed and found really helpful.

• Good Vibes playlist on Spotify: this is a go-to for me. I love the upbeat, fast tempo vibes that I get from the songs that Spotify curates for this playlist. At one point, it was the only thing I listened to as I wrote my WIP. I’m not a huge fan of the music on the radio today, so this has been a lifesaver for when I am not in a paying attention mode for a podcast and just need some fun beats to chug along to.

Other

• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery: I’ve been playing this almost every day, it is easy, relaxing, and although I have to wait to amass energy, I’m intrigued at the storyline. It is set years before the Harry Potter series and follows your character’s journey to figure out more about the Cursed Vaults that led to your brother’s disappearance.

• Words with Friends: Every year when we visit my parents, we have almost nightly Scrabble sessions. I’m gearing up to win as many as I can in the coming weeks, so I’m stretching my word building muscles early.
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• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite: This just came out on Friday and is basically the Pokémon Go for Harry Potter fans. You walk around and have to defeat things by tracing specific spells on your screen in order to replace items that are going missing and turning up randomly (to protect the muggles, of course). It is a little buggy still but pretty in depth and fun. You collect ingredients, build potions that can help, unlock portkeys by walking, and more.

• Trello: This was mentioned in a YouTube video that I watched about Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and it is basically an online/digital organizational method. You build boards, cards, notes, etc. and can share with others that you are working with. I’m currently using it to plan out my social media content in advance (as much as possible) and it helps that I can access it anywhere and don’t have to transport it everywhere or email it between my devices.

What are you currently into? I’d love to hear from you in the comments since I’m always on the lookout for new things to try!

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