Writing: NaNoWriMo - Week Four! (and other news)

My word count has surpassed 50k! I validated my novel at 50014 words but I have been adding to it and I am currently around 56k. It is incredible to be able to have the time and write every day. I know that I am lucky I don't have a busy schedule like a lot of people, it's just me and my writing and some studying most of the time.

In other news, I have almost finished Christmas Shopping! I do need to buy my Mum a few more things though. I treated myself to a Pandora bracelet and made my Step Mum hide it so I wouldn't wear it before December 25th.

That's it for now!

Kazia

Writing: NaNoWriMo - Week Three!

This week has been really productive! I have been writing at least 1000 words per day which isn't quite the daily word goal (1667) but it has been balancing out. I am currently on 35,047 words! Again, I stress that this is the highest amount I have ever written for one single project.

My storyline is going well, I know where I want my story to go and generally how the characters are going to get where they need to be.

I have been watching SO many YouTube videos of everyone's progress. I love virtual write ins and writing sprints. I created a Twitter account to keep track of my writing counts.

That's it for now!

Kazia x

Writing: NaNoWriMo - Week One and Two!

I thought I'd give a little update on my writing project!

I didn't post on Sunday because I was so busy with some personal issues and writing. My total word count on 5th was 5,052. I am really proud of myself because this is my first real NaNoWriMo where I've had a proper storyline and this is the most I've ever written.

I'll tell you a tiny bit about my story. It's about Piper and her experience in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt.

At the end of today (12th), my total word count is 13,202 so far. There's still 6 hours to go!

How are you all getting on?

That's it for now,

Kazia x

Writing: NaNoWriMo!

This year I want to complete the 50,000 word challenge that is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) Are you up for the challenge?

My project is a YA/contemporary about a girl called Piper who attempts suicide. I am currently on 2055 words which gives me a little head start but I haven't fully worked out what happens in the novel! I have been thinking about this novel for over a year.

This is just a short introductory post. I will be updating you all on my writing journey throughout the month of November!

Follow me as a writing buddy

That's it for now!

Kazia x

Travelling: Advice for train journeys

On Monday 9th October, I travelled to Peterborough with my Mum for a concert. Mum's favourite singer is Shane Filan from Westlife so we decided to get tickets for her birthday.

Here are my tips for travelling on trains:

1. Book in advance - booking online through comparison sites causes less stress and can allow you to find the cheapest tickets. ALWAYS ask people to move out of your reserved seats because you won't find another one, especially if, like me, you booked forward-facing seats because you can't travel backwards. Also because some of the other trains got cancelled on the way home and those passengers had to come on our train...
2. Pack lightly - Mum bought herself a rucksack similar to this one and I took an old suitcase. Mum only needed her purse, phone, iPad, chargers, clothes and toiletries. I needed the same plus my MacBook Pro and study books as my OU course started on 7th October. I ended up buying a new suitcase from Matalan because the old one just wasn't working and Mum needed to empty her rucksack because it gave her bad back pains after a while (She'd overfilled it with clothes!)
3. Remember headphones - I study with music and travelling to Peterborough takes around 1 hour 30 minutes which a good length for a study session. Mum and I both bought Bluetooth headphones which just need to be charged up beforehand and last up to 8 hours. It would have been a good study session had we sat in our reserved table seats... I fell asleep on the journey home because I had terrible toothache!! and I just didn't have the proper space to study because of the overcrowded train.

That's it for now!

Kazia x

Study Sessions: Freshers Week and Societies!

Being an OU student means that every year we get to attend a live video and chat programme called Student Hub Live. This is a wonderful opportunity to talk to other students, answer polls in the form of widgets and listen to inspirational speakers and tutors!

On Wednesday, I listened to a lovely Literature tutor called David. He was completely on my level and I found myself nodding along to what he was saying. Things like not aiming for 100% on every assignment but rather focusing on the content and enjoying the course, even if this means you get a lower grade, you can use your tutor's feedback to build on your weaknesses. 

As the Open University is almost entirely online there are not many opportunities to interact with your peers face-to-face (especially as a disabled student like myself) so we have lots of forums, Facebook groups and online spaces to get to know each other. 

One of the polls from Student Hub Live was "What societies and clubs would you like to have?" and the responses included Hoodie/Zoodie Club, Cake and Biscuit Club and Lunchbox Club. Lunchbox Club is an inside joke because last year everyone sent in photos of themselves with their lunch boxes - even my Dad sent one in and he won a goodie bag for the best lunch box! 

To support the OUSA (Open University Students Association) which every student is a part of, we have a shop and the hoodies look amazing! I have one myself and I hardly ever take it off.

That's it for now!

Kazia x

Study Sessions: Before, During and After

I usually study between 10am and 2pm because my boyfriend works nights. 

Before:

1. Organise your study area - don't deep clean as procrastination!
2. Grab drinks/food/snacks of your choice (Healthy snacks will help you concentrate for longer)
3. Choose a study playlist on YouTube or Spotify (I have a post coming soon!) if you like background music to study with
4. List all the study tasks you need to get done for the whole week - the OU week starts on a Saturday so that's when I write this list
5. Organise your calendar for the week with other commitments such as work shifts or after-school clubs where you have to pick up your children at a specific time
6. Add study sessions around your commitments - one study session should be 30 minutes study:10 minutes break:30 minutes study (You may have time for two or three study sessions a day depending on how busy your life is)

During:

1.  Prioritise the tasks you need to get done that day - 2 big tasks or 4/5 small tasks
2. Time yourself for 30-45 minutes and then have a break for 10 minutes
3. Repeat this until either the tasks are done or you have something else scheduled
4. You should only have two or three study sessions a day so that you can concentrate on each task sufficiently

After:

1.  Highlight/mark/cross out the tasks that you have completed
2. Transfer any uncompleted/partly completed tasks to the next day and prioritise them as tasks that need to be done before anything else
3. Review how successful the study session was and identify ways to improve - did you get interrupted because you were studying as the kids came home from school or it wasn't baby's nap time yet?
4. Don't forget that you don't have to study every day - depending on whether you are studying part time or full time and your course, you should be told the number of hours you are expected to study each week. Some courses are more intense than others

That's it for now,

Kazia

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