Being scared and doing it anyways... (Patreon)

Hi friends! I'm finally back from Japan!

I'm drafting this at four in the morning because my sleep schedule still hasn't adjusted, but oooooh boy, do I have so many stories for y'all!

Between the earthquake and tsunami (we were very fortunately on the other side of the country at the time) and the plane crash in Tokyo, the adventure to get back home was.....a little hectic. Do people still do "story time" videos?? Because that's what I feel like it deserves bahaha. After about ten cancelled, delayed, and rebooked flights and forty-eight hours of travel, we finally made it home.

Let me just say, ignoring all that, the trip was INCREDIBLE.

Stuffing myself full of as much ramen and udon and sushi and 7/11 snacks as I could stomach? DELIGHTFUL.

Seeing Mt. Fuji from a bullet train? SO COOL.

Walking the crowded streets of the Higashiyama District? DAZZLING.

Discovering and trying vending machine hot corn soup? HYSTERICAL.

Seriously, I had such a wonderful time. I didn't get in as much writing as I'd initially wanted, but only because I was very happily in the moment. A worthwhile trade! Plus I did gather tooooons of inspiration and took endless notes and video logs, so I think I'll be ready when the writing does come (once I've caught up on sleep, lol).

I also crocheted my second little amigurumi while on the flight there, and promptly took it everywhere with me bahaha. I had a blast photographing and recording it in various places across Japan. Once I cobble together footage, I'll share the completed vlog, complete with the unnamed ami as our guide. 👀

(Quick side note, if you're wanting to learn to crochet, I highly recommend the Woobles! They break the video tutorials down into super easy mode and it also kickstarted my confidence to take on other projects. If you excuse the extra stuffing coming out of the little ami because I couldn't make up my mind on whisker placement on the dark plane ride -- it was a BLAST. I ended up with something so cute and it kept me busy for most of the long flight. 10/10, would recommend, especially if you're just starting out.)

With the ample thinking time that travel encourages, I did give myself a talking to about DOING things. Things on my list I've wanted to do for a while, that I've kind of just chickened out on.

Number one being going to an in-person book club meeting at my local indie book store. I sure have been talking about this for a while, telling myself I'm totally going to go, but have I? NOPE. I just get so anxious meeting people for the first time. And it's so silly, because book people are some of the NICEST and KINDEST people, and I knoooow I just need to push past that.

And so I'm going this week! Not only does the book sound so fun and like the perfect mash-up of some of my favorite things:

But also I will have you guys to hold me accountable!

Because this month is JanuWriMo and, as promised, we are going to get A TON of sprinting in!

(I'm jumping in late to this challenge, obviously, but I'm excited to push myself. I'm getting that itchy, antsy feeling when I've been working on projects for too long and just need them OFFICIALLY off my desk and into beta reader hands. So I have a hunch this big JanuWriMo jolt is exactly what I need.)

Here's our "Double Stream Day" / JanuWriMo streaming schedule for the month!:

Friday, January 12th at 10:15am CST
(Perfectly timed for the day after the book club, so I really will have to tell y'all that I went or if I chickened out again WHICH I WON'T.)

Wednesday, January 17th at 1:15pm CST
(This is also right after a craft club that the same book store hosts, which I ALSO want to go to, even as a novice crafter. Plus if I can pump myself up to go to one, I'm sure I can go to another. I CAN DO IT. NO FEAR. Bahahah.)

Tuesday, January 23rd at 6:15pm CST 

Monday, January 29th at 7:15am CST
(**this will also be our book club chatty time at the end of the stream! Don't forget, we're reading THE LAST DRAFT: A NOVELIST'S GUIDE TO REVISION this month. I'll put up a poll about halfway through the month for next month's craft pick.)

Quickly speaking of the Craft Book Club -- Crafts & Drafts, maybe?? -- let me know what y'all think about the timing or if y'all would prefer these to be on a set day each month, etc. Also I do want to send out a little "questionnaire" for those of you who do end up reading the book to get a quick gauge on what y'all thought.

Okay, okay, I think that's it for now. My still-tired brain is pumping into overdrive as the sun's starting to rise. (Still tired Editing This Post Kate says it's good enough, lol.)

I hope you had a wonderful start to your New Year!! Let me know if there's anything you're pushing yourself to try, that you've always wanted to try, but that fear has held you back from. Maybe we can all encourage each other. :)

Talk to you all soon and happy writing!