NaNoWriMo: Day 8 ~ Take A Break

We're just eight days into a month of writing and I don't know about you but I am exhausted. I met my word count goal yesterday—barely.

I plan to carve out some extra words over the next few days, though, because I want to take time this weekend to read.

Everyone knows that reading is the best way to get better at writing. But I also know my time is crunched right now. Which is why I chose three new releases for middle graders that have something in common with my NaNoWriMo story.

This way, I'm not only reading for pleasure, I'm reading for research.

Like GHOSTS by Raina Telgemeier. This year, my story features a friendly ghost—kind of like Casper. Check out the blurb on GHOSTS:

Catrina and her family are moving to the coast of Northern California because her little sister, Maya, is sick. Cat isn't happy about leaving her friends for Bahía de la Luna, but Maya has cystic fibrosis and will benefit from the cool, salty air that blows in from the sea. As the girls explore their new home, a neighbor lets them in on a secret: There are ghosts in Bahía de la Luna. Maya is determined to meet one, but Cat wants nothing to do with them. As the time of year when ghosts reunite with their loved ones approaches, Cat must figure out how to put aside her fears for her sister's sake — and her own.

Sounds right up my alley!  You can add it to your To Be Read list here.

And then there's BETTER OFF UNDEAD by James Prellar, which is pitched as The Walking Dead meets The Mysterious Benedict Society. Yup, you had me at zombies. Here's the official description:

In the “not-too-distant future,” a seventh-grade undead boy has to adjust to middle-school life as a zombie, and with three unlikely friends, he navigates a mystery involving global warming, disappearing bees, and billionaire developers... and more zombies.

Something you'd like to read, too? Check it out on Goodreads here.

And finally, another spooky-ish book—OPEN IF YOU DARE by Dana Middleton I love the character's first name—Birdie. Ha ha. This is what the book is about:

Like Birdie Adams didn't have enough problems this summer. But Birdie's Birdie. And if a long-buried box has "Open if you dare" written on its lid, then Birdie and her best friends, Ally and Rose, are going to open it. (Sounds like me!)

And now, along with everything else that's going on—Ally's pitching slump, Rose's banishment to Britain, and Birdie's annoying younger sister being, you know, annoying—the best friends are caught up in solving a mystery planted by a dead girl forty years ago. Find it on Goodreads here.

Obviously I won't get through all three books this weekend, but I'm hoping snippets from them will inspire my own project—which is coming along very nicely.

Gotta jet! Let me know which books should be added to your TBR for inspiration. Maybe I'll make December a month of reading!

~ Chase Superman Duffy

Word Count: 1231