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ANSWERING IT ALL | Where I’ve Been and Goals for the New Year

Elizabeth Yuen

For those who have been following my social media accounts, you know I’ve essentially been MIA for the past year. I was getting into the groove of things — working on my writing career, diving into my YouTube channel, and building up my blog. All of that stopped when my husband and I found out I was pregnant in December of 2022.

While I was so grateful and excited for the new addition to our family, pregnancy came with a lot of aches and pains that I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with. It was all I could do just to roll out of bed in the morning, get to work, walk my dog and then promptly fall asleep as soon as I was done for the day.

After all of the pregnancy symptoms and exhaustion, I had a beautiful baby boy this past summer. It’s been such a whirlwind ever since.

But now I’m back. Totally and completely back.

I’m recommitting myself to my writing, YouTube channel and this blog. I plan on using YouTube and this blog to keep me accountable for reaching my goals in the coming years.

As we approach the new year, I’m laser focused on three major goals surrounding my health, family and writing. In 2024, I want to get my strength back. As I mentioned, my pregnancy really took it out of me. I used to go to workout classes, weight lift, and run. I lost that when I was pregnant (and then recovering from birth). I want to get back into it slowly and steadily. I already aim for 10,000 steps a day just by walking so I am working up to my exercise routine.

I also want to focus on my family life, being present for my loved ones and taking the time to enjoy motherhood. My son is growing quickly and I look forward to getting to know him and spending more time with him.

As for my writing, I want to become a published author (or well on my way to becoming one) by end of 2024. YouTube and this blog will help keep me accountable as I move forward in my career.

I’m really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Young Adult

“The Glittering Court” Young Adult Book Review

elizabethannebritton

A countess of Osfrid is torn between duty and destiny when she is presented with an opportunity to escape for the wild and untamed land called Adoria. Stealing the identity of one of her servants in order to flee from an arranged marriage, Adelaide joins the Glittering Court.

The Glittering Court is where young women of impoverished backgrounds come to transform into ladies who are eager for wealthy marriages in Adoria. Adelaide, having grown up as a countess, struggles to hide her identity from her new friends, Tamsin and Mira.

The only one who knows her true identity is Cedric Thorn, son of the owner of the Glittering Court. Things get complicated when both Cedric and Adelaide acknowledge thepexels-photo-235909 forbidden love growing between them, and a powerful governor wants Adelaide for his own. In this young adult tale of love and identity, Adelaide and Cedric fight against all odds to be together.

“The Glittering Court” is a fantastic start to a trilogy about all three of the girls we come to know and love: Adelaide, Tamsin, and Mira. The first book, “The Glittering Court” focuses entirely on Adelaide’s journey as she leaves the familiarity and comforts of high society to pretending she is an impoverished girl and working hard to get by in a world that thinks nothing of her.

The book is by Richelle Mead, author of “The Vampire Academy,” and her writing skills show in this fantasy book. She takes the reader to a new world where women are considered inferior to men and do not have a say in their own destiny. Mead creates a sense of desperation and need to escape in not only her main character, Adelaide, but the reader as well.

heart-2945406_960_720Imagine being one of the descendants of a man who helped found Osfrid, getting a strong title from being a descendant of that man, but then being unable to act alone with that title. That title brings in suitors with wealth and ability to make change in Osfrid and in Adoria. That title also brings powerlessness to Adelaide. With everyone watching her every move, Adelaide is unable to become an independent woman with her own thoughts and opinions. This is the power struggle that Adelaide faces on a regular basis. It is a juxtaposition to have such power while being completely powerless to change her own destiny until the opportunity of “The Glittering Court” presents itself.

Toward the end of the book, the writing purposefully becomes vague when referencing Tamsin and Mira’s fates. The ending relies wholly upon the reader turning to the second and third books in this trilogy to find out more specifics about characters being introduced last second in “The Glittering Court.” For this reason, the argument can be made that this book is an excellent start to the trilogy, but it is not a well-written stand alone book.

That being said, if you’re into young adult fiction series, I strongly recommend picking up a copy for yourself. The writing talent that Richelle Mead shows in the first of the trilogy is exemplary and gripping.

I fully intend to read the other two books. Keep a look out for my reviews for those books as well!

 

 

 

career

Stuck in a Rut? Ways to Conquer Writer’s Block

Elizabeth Yuen

Written by Liz Britton

Who here is guilty of writer’s block? I know I am. Anything from trying to write an essay to getting the words out for a blog post or working on your next epic novel can conjure up writer’s block.

And let me tell you: it is the worst. Especially when you have a deadline.

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Spongebob experiences writer’s block

Which is why I decided to attend a meeting led by Gail Z. Martin, author of The Chronicles of the Necromancer, that would address these issues. After sitting down with some fellow writers to discuss how to get out of a rut, I wanted to share a few ways you can over writer’s block and get back in the groove:

Take a Break

I know it seems like the world is ending and your work was due, like, yesterday, but taking a much needed 30 minute walk outside is good for you and for your writing. When you are stressed, you may suffer from lack of sleep, brain fog and other consequences that can derail your success.

Even taking a fifteen minute break to focus on something else can help jog your writing juices.

Exercise

According to the American Council on Exercise, just by exercising you can boost your work performance. Exercise comes with the benefits of re-charging your brain, allows you to do your best, focus more on the tasks at hand and gives you an edge in the work place.

One study showed that a supervised, pre-planting season exercise program among reforestation workers reduced injury rates from 22% to less than 5% — and increased productivity.
A daily supervised 10-minute stretching program among assembly-line workers showed significant improvement in joint flexibility, fatigue, anger, depression, and overall mood.

A nine–month study of 80 executives showed that exercisers experienced a 22% increase in fitness and a 70% improvement in ability to make complex decisions compared to sedentary peers.

A study of railroad workers showed that 75% of employees reported improvement in on-the-job concentration and overall productivity.

On top of helping you burn calories, exercise helps your concentration. So get your workout in today and reap benefits ASAP!

Work on Something Else

Yup. Step away from the laptop and go tackle that DIY project you’ve been meaning to get writingto for the past few months. Have laundry to do? Get it done while painting your nails. Go grocery shopping. Do something productive other than what you are trying to write.

One suggestion from a fellow writer was to “write in another dimension”. In other words: if you’re writing non-fiction, try a fictional world for a change. If you’re working on poetry, try short fiction. The point is to shock you out of your daily routine so you can get back into the work flow when you return.

Come back to work after an hour or two of doing something else, and you might be surprised what you are capable of accomplishing.

Walk and Talk it Out

We’ve already mentioned some of the benefits of exercise when it comes to your writing, but discussing your rut with a friend might help. Gail Z. Martin explained that whenever she is having trouble, she and her husband go for a walk to talk out where she is stuck in her writing.

By talking about it and processing it out loud, you will be able to work through your issues and even get an idea or two from your friend, partner, or coworker.

These are just a few of the ideas that were tossed around by myself and other writers. Leave a comment sharing what you do to get out of a writer’s rut!