Ally Aldridge Carpe Diem, Page Layout, Planner, Stickers

My new Carpe Diem planner

I saw a great deal at Craftelier and decided to treat myself to a new planner.  I was choosing between Happy Planner and Carpe Diem.  The Happy Planners in my price range were dated which meant the first few months would be useless.  It is such a waste.  So, I went with Carpe Diem (undated) as I would be able to use everything and it came with co-ordinating stickers to start me off.

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I have used it for the first time for planning May.

Month spread

This is my spread for the month of May.  I love the stickers that come with the planner as they colours look beautiful and compliment each other.  It is so pretty.

What I am not keen on is the week starting on a Sunday?  It kept throwing me and I kept writing things on the wrong day.  I used stickers to cover up my mistakes but someone on IG recommended I buy Frixion pens as these can be erased.

I do like that these pages are undated.  This means the months that I have not used for this year (Jan to April) can be used next year.

This Month

This page is an overview of the month ahead when you can add important reminders like birthdays or important dates.  You can set monthly goals and To-do-lists.

I’m not sure how useful I will find this page.  I tend to set myself weekly targets and quarterly targets.  I also would rather a daily to-do-list than a monthly one.  If something needs to be done I’ll do it as soon as possible, I couldn’t wait a month.

Week schedule

This page has plenty of space to write what I have planned for each day.  I have decided to use the Notes section as my weekly to do list.  This is my favourite page and I need to get better at decorating it.

Thoughts so far

I love how pretty this planner is.  I am enjoying it more than my previous planner.  I would like to get some dotted paper so I could do some bullet journal style pages too.

I will definitly look at getting the erasable pens as I get really upset when I make a mistake.  I would like to get different colours so I can use it for social media plans and writing plans too.

I need to get more stickers so I dont feel so precious about using the ones I have – at the moment I feel a little like I am rationing them.

I already feel more organised. Even though I had things saved on my mobile calendar, I was still trying to remember it all.   Pysically seeing what I have planned and what I have achieved makes me feel like I can relax.

Have you any tips for me?

I am new to planning and know I have a lot to learn. If you can help me out with tips or people to follow for inspiration or good planner supply stores, please let me know.  Many thanks.

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Goals: Progress since Jan 2019

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 14

I’m really impressed with myself for getting another chapter edited and posted on Wattpad tonight and it was another 3.5k chapter!  My word count is soaring today.  

I have added a note to check it again at a later date as I changed a lot of tenses and I want to make sure my grammar is correct.

 

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 13

The new chapter has taken a few days to edit. Here are the challenges I faced whilst editing this chapter.

The main delay was due to changing the role of Ana in the story.

In the original version, she goes away to see a specialist doctor in America to get help with her sleep disorder. This resulted in her being away for most of the story.

In my current rewrite I have decided Ana will have a bigger part to play. She doesn’t go away, Mariah confides in her and together they experiment with magic. I’m enjoying writing the new content but it is slowing me down.

In addition, chapter 13 is 3.5k words long. This is long for me as my chapters generally tend to be half that.

The last delay on this chapter is that Aria is going through a nocturnal stage so I’m spending more of my evening settling her than working on my novel.

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

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Ally Aldridge Goals, Novel, Writing

Camp NaNoWriMo Diary (middle to end)

Here is the last half of my Camp NaNo diary, covering mid April to the end of April. It will also include whether I am a winner or not. If you would like to read the first half of my diary, click here.

Update 6

https://www.instagram.com/p/BweNpIXnfYB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Update 7

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwjMfdHH1Pm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Update 8

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwpzZONHlYd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Update 9

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwu5QSYHHGK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Update 10

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw0E4dYHptZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I am so pleased that I achieved Camp NaNo. During the Easter Holidays it felt so impossible I almost quit. I guess it goes to show what perseverance can achieve.

I like Red Dresses more than my November project and will likely return at a later date to finish this novel.

What’s next?

As soon as Camp NaNo was over, I got straight back into editing Jewel of the Sea. My goal is to try and edit three chapters a week to get it query ready.

You may have noticed that recently I have begun sharing updates on my blog with links to Wattpad as I finish editing. If you are on Wattpad, follow me, I follow back.

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 12

I’m really impressed that I managed to get a chapter edited today. Aria has refused to nap all day so I am shattered but I really wanted to get another one done.

I think the next chapter will be tricky because I have changed the role of Ana in the new outline. This will impact the next chapter as I will need to add in some new content to make it work.

I find editing really hard but I will write a post soon covering the methods I use that make it a little easier. But, I would love to hear the methods you use?

If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.

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What theme is heavily portrayed in your story?

Do you keep notebooks of story ideas?

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Ally Aldridge Novel, Writing

Jewel of the Sea – Chapter 11

My main time to write is in the evenings. I started working on this chapter on Wednesday but since then there have been a number of personal distractions.

One of my best friends is in hospital with her baby and I wanted to do something to cheer her up. I gave up an evening to work on creating her a special letter and gift. Another evening was lost to looking at my families finances and trying to work out how we will afford everything this month as I am no longer bringing in any money on maternity leave.

Today, I have taken every chance I have had to get some writing done and I have finally finished editing the chapter to post on Wattpad. If you have time to take a look, please do give it a read and let me know what you think.

How are you progressing towards your writing goals?

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Ally Aldridge Blogging, Books, Fiction, Novel, Personal, Review, Writing

YA Author Spotlight!

Look at who got featured!

Author CL Walters was looking to feature writers from Instagram on her blog and I got picked. You can read her post about yours truly by clicking here.

She is the author of two novels that can be bought from Amazon.com:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvhOTJGnKw_/

Swimming Sideways by CL Walters

“What do you do when your world has fallen apart, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to put it back together? Abby Kaiāulu (Kaw ee aw oo loo) gets the chance to start over when her family relocates from Hawaii to a small town on the Oregon coast. But she’s hiding a secret. Leaving the past and the cultural lessons of her Hawaiian grandfather behind, Abby redefines who she is to hide it. There’s Good Abby – she makes and follows the rules – and there’s Bad Abby – she always questions them. But both leave Abby wondering: which one is she really? Her road of self-discovery takes her on a journey where she must discover the truth of who she is as a daughter, a sister, a woman, a Hawaiian and as a friend. But just when she thinks her world might be coming back together, it falls apart all over again. “

https://www.amazon.com/Swimming-Sideways-Cantos-Chronicles-Walters/dp/172408710X

The Ugly Truth by CL Walters

“ Seth Peters has been angry for a long time. Living with an abusive, alcoholic father has that effect. But when he wakes up in a hospital – outside of his body – due to an accident that he doesn’t remember, Seth is no longer angry; he’s terrified. When his memories begin to return, he is confronted with a legacy of lies he’s constructed to survive the pain of his own life. Realizing he’s no different than the man he’s loathed his whole life, Seth’s learns that his choices have set into motion far-reaching and terrible consequences for the only true friend he’s ever had, Gabe Daniels. Challenged with wallowing in the pain or confronting his fears and admitting to the ugly truth about himself, Seth must decide if facing what he fears most to save his friend’s life is worth the risk of losing his own. “

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1520940459/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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