What The Hell Is NaNoWriMo And Why Is It So Amazing

Welcome to a new post!

Today's one is a little different to my recent posts, as today I want to focus on one of my biggest passions: writing. When I first found out about this weirdly named thing called NaNoWriMo I got so exited I came up with the whole plot in less than a week even though it was the middle of July.

Some of you might have clicked on this blogpost, not having any idea what to expect or what the hell NaNoWriMo is. So let's clear this up first. NaNoWriMo stand for National Novel Writing Month. Each November millions of writers from all around the world make it a challenge to each write a book of at least 50,000 words in 30 days.

If you think that's easy you've either written way too many books already in this time or you have got no idea. Life loves getting in the way during these days, but it's honestly the most amazing thing to do besides studying, working, socializing.

It's an opportunity for writers to finally write that one idea they might have had in their head for month, others that just have that one topic they always wanted to write about, others perfectly plan out their story and plot beforehand,  and then there are the panters that go into NaNoWriMo, with no clue what they are going to write about. 50,000 words in 30 days equals about 1,667 words a day, which is totally manageable.

I've already done NaNoWriMo twice before, and won both times (winning in this case means getting those 50K in before it hits December). Even though I usually have a lot of school stuff happening during this time, and I really thought I couldn't do it, I still found a way. That ended up in a lot of late night writing, but it's gives you such a nice feeling to still have been able to manage to create something like this at a busy time.

So why the hell is she writing this in October? Because it's what participants call NaNo Prep month/time. The people that don't "pant" it, start coming up and prepping their ideas in order to know what they are planning on doing. If you plan on participating, and you've got quite a busy schedule, I recommend you doing this, as it will take a lot of pressure off of you if you actually get competetive about it. But that is all up to you.

What's also really lovely about the whole challenge is, that due to so many people taking part of it, there's a huge motivating community. I personally love going through the hashtag on Instagram and Twitter to motivate myself, especially when I don't feel like writing at all that day. There's also a NaNoWriMo website on which you can count your words, get your winners certificate, special offers when you win, find writing buddies on, as well as prepping and writing helps, and soooo much more stuff. I don't think I would have fought through it if I wouldn't have seen other people's process, struggle and participation to motivate myself to keep going.

But to be honest in the end you will also need to motivate yourself from time to time. You need to remind yourself why you want to do this. Why is it that you want to write this story? What motivates you? Would you like to publish your stories one day? Are you doing it to explore something new? Are you doing it because you want to spend time with someone and learn about their interests by trying them out yourself? Any reason is right. There is no wrong reason why you want to write. You need to keep that goal inside your head, put it on a piece of paper and out it up somewhere in your room if you feel like it will inspire you to keep on writing. There's always a way.

It's not an easy thing to do, because 30 days can turn out being preeeetty long when you are trying to get a certain amount of words done each day and still want to it to turn out well and have a life beside all of that writing. Life will get in the way on some days, writers block will kick in at some points, the feelings of doubt and failure when you aren't happy with your result or you haven't reached a certain goal. But guys, that's okay. That happens to all of us, whether you write or not.

This month of writing is not about writing a book that is perfect and ready for publishing. This is about creating a shitty first draft that will then hopefully lead to a perfect story that is ready for publishing afterwards if you end up editing it and perfecting it. It's all about getting those words out of your mind onto paper and having a first storyline. You don't edit during this month. You simply write down everything that comes to your mind, as shitty as those words and the plot may sound to you. Editing starts in Dezember. November is the time that you sprinkle your whole fantasy on the paper without rethinking everything that you just wrote and thinking you are most terrible writer this world has ever seen. Because you are not. If you wouldn't enjoy writing, there's a pretty low chance that you would actually start NaNoWriMo anyway, unless you are being forced to do so, I guess.

If you have any interest or passion in writing, I truly recommend you to try this out. Me and millions of other people on this planet have found it to be so rewarding, even if it can be tough from time to time, and I'm pretty sure you will think so as well. If you still aren't completely convinced or you've got any questions, I will leave a few links at the end for you to check out to find out more and get inspired and motivated to take part.

I'm really really sorry if this whole post is a complete mess because I've been writing it over a few days with breaks in between, and my thoughts often get really messy when I'm passionate about something. I also just plotted a whole background story that will play a huge role and includes coming up with a fictional war, so my thoughts are all over the place right now. I'm really sorry if you don't even get what the hell I am talking about. If you have made it till here, I congratulate you. Here's 100 dancing sprinkles to you! :D

Basically what I am trying to say with this post is, that it's an incredible for any people that have any interest in writing to live out that dream. You don't need to force yourself for years to jot down that one idea you had once upon a time and really liked, but keep putting off to write, and keep stopping whenever you've done a little something. It's the perfect opportunity to finally motivate yourself to write and get that idea out of your head and onto paper.

NaNoWriMo has lead to the success of many authors, such as Rainbow Rowell for example. Whether you are doing this for fun or because you really want to earn your money by writing books one day, November is the perfect time to do it. Now get the hell off of this probably very boring blogpost and get writing! Let your creativity flow and let's create masterpieces together!

I will link my NaNoWriMo profile HERE which you can check out if you want. Here is also a list of my favourite places to find inspiration and motivation on.

Website:

http://nanowrimo.org/

Pinterest:

https://de.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=nanowrimo&rs=typed&term_meta[]=nanowrimo%7Ctyped

https://de.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=writing&rs=typed&term_meta[]=writing%7Ctyped&remove_refine=nanowrimo%7Ctyped

WeHeartIt:

http://weheartit.com/dashboard

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/nanowrimo/

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/nanowrimo2016/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/search?q=nanowrimo&src=typd

Youtube:

Shaelin Writes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb-wzF6DrSslXq3qE61YL7A

Katytastic https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsOUDYZWyeI7u6rzZCexkw

Little Book Owl https://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBookOwl

NaNoWriMo https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTNHbhIfLSpx_JN_1whC13Q


I really hope that you enjoyed this post, and that you learned something new and now feel inspired to take up that challenge of writing 50K in November. If you have decided to do so, whether you already knew about NaNo before or not, let me know! :)


Have an amazing week ♥


Love, Jacqueline Xx

About 30 Facts About Me

Welcome to a new post!

Today it's time to get to know the person behind this blog a little better - me! :) I feel quite selfish to be writing this post, but I guess you just have to accept that from time to time as a single blog owner. I personally love finding out more about the bloggers and youtubers that I follow and enjoy, as I feel like it draws a closer connection and I actually know them a little better. This is just some general and pretty weird information, so if you are not the one for facts this one is probably not for you. Wow, I really can't put any structure to my words today. Sorry if that sounded really confusing :D. I better get into it, before you fall asleep and I haven't even properly started this post yet haha.

1) I'm going to be 18 on the 23rd of December.

2) I've got a phobia of eyes.

3) I basically love everything British (not everything everything but still) 

4) I bloody hate bananas.

(Source)

5) I've been loving to write ever since I can remember being able to.

6) I regret not doing a year of school in the UK because of FOMO (Fear of missing out) and the thought of failing at school in Germany afterwards.

7) When I empty the dishwasher, I have a certain order in which I do so. 

8) My favourite foods are cheese, Jägerschnitzel and a thing called Zucchinipfanne.

9) I've not had any meat in school since I started year 11 last September.

10) I don't like Halloween and other scary stuff.

11) I used to say that I hated a lot of

foods purely because of their looks/smell etc. Now I actually love a lot of these foods - kiwi for example!

(Source)

12) My favourite season is Spring, as I love the kind of Shirt and Jeans weather.

13) I would love to da DNA test to

find out where all of my ancestors came from, as I only know about German family. 

(Source)

14) I've been trying to teach myself some Swedish for the past few months. 

15) I want to become an Au-Pair for at least year when I've finished my A-Levels.

16) I'm very stressy about time, aka very stereotypical German at that point. I'd rather be 2 hours early than 30 seconds late.

(Source)

17) I keep everything that is a memory - from pictures and tickets to coffee receipts. 

18) I often write down my dreams, when there's been a good one, as I often feel like they would be a great inspiration to write about.

19) I expect a lot from myself, and I love challenging myself, as long as I'm not being forced to do so.

20) I'd love to spend my life giving people everything from my 'Presents' Pinterest board.

(Source)

21) I love interior design.

22) I'm quite picky, especially when it comes to things I design, decorate or write - even with the clothes that I get.

23) I'd to love to one day earn my money from blogging, travelling, inspiring and writing and publishing my own books.

24) I've never been an A* kind of person, and even if I hate studying, I love learning new things.

25) I bloody adore everything Behind The Scenes from films, tv shows, book writing process etc.

(Source)

26) I basically know every documentary about Joanne K Rowling on youtube, as I once did a huge Harry Potter presentation in year 10 and I absolutely adore how deep the story goes behind the actual series.

27) Julian Morris' accent is probably my favourite one ever.

28) I had to give up Chemistry, and I hate it, even though I would have never done a job that included it anyway.

29) I often don't ask or do certain things as I hate confrontation and I don't want to bug anyone.

30) Give me some Hot Chocolate with cream in a Christmas mug, a big sweater and a good TV show, and I'm happy. I mean, who doesn't like that? ;)


Wow, that was a huge mix of topics I guess, and pretty boring as well. You probably didn't want to know any of this anyway but yay now you do :D. If you made it till here, here are 100 dancing points for you. Thank you for reading.
But before I end this blogpost, I would love to find out something about my readers as well. Tell me something about you. :)

Have an amazing day ♥


Love, Jacqueline Xx




P.S. I do not claim any copyright for the pictures above. All rights go to their owners! I don't use them to gain money, I use them for fun and inspiration only!

The Autumn Make-Up Bag

Welcome to a new post!

Hot chocolate, big sweaters, candles and dark lips. It's finally getting autumnal outside, and I am SO exited for it! I mean it's not as cold and drainy outside as I would like it to be, but still. I thought it would be the perfect time to put some Autumn in my make-up bag and share it with you, because who doesn't love a good autumnal make-up look, when it's finally time for dark shades on both lips and eyes?

Sleek - A New Day Eye Shadow Palette

L'Oreal Miss Hippie Mega Volume Mascara

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

Tanya Burr - Enchanted Forest Lipgloss

Urban Decay Rush Lipstick

As Sleek is finally available in German drugstores now, I obviously had to get myself something. I treated myself to a new eyeshadow palette by them. I already own one, but 'A New Day' is much more of a year round palette for me compared to my other one. It contains lovely shades of brown and also a few highlighting glittery shades that are really beautiful.

Then there are the obvious things that I have always got in my bag, talking about the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer and the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, which are the bomb!

Also one of the most recent mascaras by L'Oreal, which is the Miss Hippie one. It is a really beautiful mascara and definitely VERY waterproof because not  even my best make-up removers get it off easily at night, which can get a little annoying when you are quite tired, but in the end, it's pretty amazing.

Last but not least, one of the most important bits, especially in Autumn - Lips! I picked two options, one dark and one neutral one. Firstly Tanya Burr's Lipgloss in Enchanted Forest, which I am not sure whether you can still get it, as well as the Urban Decay Lipstick in Rush, which are both really lovely lip products, depending on your mood.

What are your Autumn make-up favourites? Do you have a particular look you prefer during this season? Are you ready for Autumn yet?

I hope you have an amazing day, and a good start into the new week ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg #BOOKREVIEWS

 Welcome to a new post!

 The people of you that follow Zoella aka Zoe Sugg will probably know that she has recently published the sequel to her bestselling book Girl Online, called Girl Online On Tour. 

I finished Girl Online the day that I got it in November last year, and if I wouldn't have had to study I would've probably done the same this year. To sum up my review about the first book in one sentence - I LOVED it! 

(Disclamer: If you don't want any spoilers, you should probably stop reading righ now!)

I didn't completely know what to expect from the second book, but I could tell that it would include a bigger conflict, since otherwise it would've gotten boring at some point throughout the story. 

It did end up as I expected it in that case, but I feel like it could've been 'bigger', if you know what I mean. I feel like it is the kind of conflict that I would write in one of my fanfictions, not technically in a book like Zoe's even though it is a very fanficiton inspired story, in my opinion. It is this typical fanfiction conflict, where the character(s) overreact about something smaller, where there really isn't much reason to react that way (not that that would never happen in a 'normal' novel). I think that could have been made a bit different and more like an adulty type of conflict, because it makes Penny and Noah sound even younger than they actually are. 

That doesn't mean I hated the story though, just to clarify that. Maybe it was written that way, so that it will also appeal to younger girls. That is my theory anyway.

I've been feeling like mine and Zoe's writing style are quite similar at some points ever since I read the first book. I'm obviously not saying that I could write a bestselling novel (though I would love to haha), but I feel like I would have made a lot of choices about the story line and what sentences to write at particular points, nearly the same as Zoe did. But that is just my opinion, I don't know if that is true.

I am not really sure either, wether parents would let their 16 year old daughter, who also suffers from panic attacks, go on a Europe tour with her boyfriend on her own. That's another point that kind of reminds me of fanfiction, but it's not technically a bad choice to write, since in a few cases this actually could happen, who knows.

A huge point that I've been loving about the whole Girl Online story, is that Zoe talks about a lot of things that happen or could happen to teenage girls and boys nowadays. 

For example how her best friend Elliot is gay, but especially his fathter won't accept it (until book 2). Then he gets a boyfriend who hasn't come out to his family and friends yet, which also leads to a lot of problems, because Elliot obviously wants the world to know that he is in a happy relationship. I don't think that in this century this is only a problem that a book character expierences. 

Another point that Zoe talks about is that Penny is suffering from panic attacks. The best example for that in todays society is Zoe herself, who has been talking about her anxiety a lot! 

Also growing out friends, going through a heartbreak or finding out who you really are and what you want to do with your life, are all things that teenagers nowadays expierence. With points like that she also put in a lot of inspirational sentences, which I always love to read, and I find really helpful even if I'm not in the same position as the character.

To sum it all up, my conclusion is, that Girl Online On Tour is an beautifully written book which includes a lot of things that nowadays teenagers will be able to indentify themselves with, but I feel like the plot is a bit to fanfiction like at some points, and people that are a bit older might not be able to love it as much as someone my age would, for example. 

Congrats to Zoe though, for creating and writing an amazing story! You did an amazing job, and I'm very proud of you (not that I think she'll ever read this, but a girl can dream, you know *hiding monkey smiley*)! 

Have you read Girl Online and Girl Online On Tour yet? If so, what did you think of it? :)

Love, Jacqueline Xx

Chatting: Autumn Fashion

Welcome to a new post!

Especially if you are a blogger, you will probably know these moments when you just want to sprinkle something out of your fingers about a certain topic. Most times these are inspirational and quite personal topics. I love reading this type of blogposts, and thought I'd start a little series, where I can just chat to you about certain topics that are on my mind. I hope you're okay with that.

Today's topic is actually not really that inspirational as I would usually make these posts, but I thought I would talk about it anyway. You will probably have already read in the title already, that this post will be about Autumn fashion.

I am someone who goes through a lot of phases, which means that one day I will be really passionated about fashion for example and the next one all I will think about is wether I should go vegan or not. I just love so many things, today is defintely one of those fashion days, though. 

I could just spend the whole day trying to create different looks with the pieces in my wardrobe, or surfing through the internet for inspiration and also new clothes and accessoires. I would probably be broken though, if I would always order what I pop into my basket. We all know that feeling, don't we?

At the beginning of Spring I said that Spring fashion is my favourite one, because it all suddenly gets colourful again, and the weather finally gets nicer, but it isn't too hot either. I just honestly love Spring.

But now that it's Autumn I have also really found my love again for cozy and autumnal clothes. I guess I just prefer the seasons where there is a bigger change in the weather, for some reason.

I love going through weheartit at the moment and just looking at what other people wear. I used to hate Autumn fashion, because I always felt like you didn't have much variation in what to wear. But to be honest, I now know that I just wasn't really confident or adventurous with the things that I got. I would literally wear the same 5 outfits until it was Spring, even though I hated it. 

Now I am much more confident with my style, and I have started wearing a lot of things that a few years ago, I never would've thought that I would ever wear or put together a certain outfit. Now I just love mixing the pieces that I own, and I sometimes spend 2 hours picking out things of my wardrobe, trying on different pieces in different variations, to see if I could wear that. I honestly love doing that. It just so sattisfying when you notice how much you can actually do with a wardrobe, that seems to be so boring and with the problem of 'no clothes', when there's actually plenty of them that can be pared together and make a really nice outfit.

If you feel like you are bored of the pieces that are in your wardrobe, I want you to get up after you've finished reading this post, put on some music, and then either search the internet for inspiration first or, you go straight to your wardrobe. In the back of your mind keep the things that you usually wear at the moment, and now have a look at the things that you keep not wearing, but still keep because you like them or used to like them. Just give it really deep thoughts, and look at every single piece that you own. The stuff that you think might not work well at with each other, might end being your next favourite outfit! Try on as many outfits as you can, until you have found a few new outfits out of the once 'boring' stuff in your wardrobe. This might take some time, but let me tell you, it is worth it! Don't do this to procrastinate while studying though...:P

Autumn fashion has a very different colour theme compared to Spring for example. Mustard, brown, red, burgundy, olive, black, grey, beige...all colours that express a warm feeling when you look at them. Black and grey are great colours, but try being a bit more experimental. That's what I have told myself this year, and suddenly my wardrobe has gone from being nearly completely dark colours, to a more than half-full of colours one. I now love wearing differnt colours, and I am so exited to go shopping soon to get me some new autumnal pieces, since I didn't really have time for that yet.

I personally love dark reds and purples, apart from black and grey of course, in Autumn, but I am also really desperate to try mustardy and rosty things. I just really want to be more experimental, and wear more of the things that I honestly think look nice. 

I'll sometimes stroll through a city, or even in school, and just stare at people with nice outfits. I then think, I really wish I had their style. But you know what, all we have to do is get out there and go for it. If you usually only wear jumpers and jeans, but you really want to wear a skirt and a leather jacket, but you don't feel confident enough to do it, I dare you to now either get these things out of your wardrobe or order them if you don't own them, and wear them tomorrow. Just go for it. Be experimental. Try new things. Just don't forget to be you whilst doing that.

If you like a certain person's style, that's amazing, but don't completely copy them and wear whatever they wear, even though you might not feel confindent and like yourself in everything. Put your own touch to it, even if it's just wearing converse instead of some fancy shiny Chelsea boots. 

My favourite places to look at for clothing are probably H&M, ASOS, Forever 21, Mango, Brandy Melville, Topshop, Boohoo and Primark. But I also really like trying out new brands, or going back into shops that I haven't been in for years. You might fall in love with it, even though you never thought you would. The most boring looking shop, might be your new favourite one. Try out new things.

I feel like this has gone from being about Autumn fashion to fashion in general a bit, but I hope you'll forgive me. If you would like to see some autumnal looks, or outfits from other people that I got inspired by or something similar. Let me know. I will do my best to make whatever wish you have become reality! 

I hope you liked this kind of post!

Also let me know, what your Top 3 Autumn fashion essentials are, and if you have any ideas what I could call this series :)

Love, Jacqueline Xx

Autumnifiying my Make-Up

 Welcome to a new post!

Since I've been totally feeling the autumn weather so far this year, it only felt right to put those pink lipsticks and light eyeshadows back in my drawer, and get out the autmn colours.

I'm usually not really a fan of the autumn wether, but so far it's been such nice  weather, even though it's Autumn, so I'm absolutely in the mood for it.

In autumn I'm absolutely loving everything copper, browny and purply toned, wether it comes to make-up, fashion or my nails. It just makes everything look so much more cozy, I don't even know how to describe it.

Starting off with my Sleek au Naturel palette, which is a very warm toned palette in my opinion. I bought this when I was in London last March, and didn't end up using it a lot, since I prefer lighter colours on my eyes during spring and summer. I did keep it though, because I knew I would get use out of it, as soon as it would get colder again, and I was right.

The palette consists of four glittery shades and eight matte shades, and they are all beautifully creamy, though not all of them are super pigmented. The glittery shades are probably my favourite. There's a dark red/purpely toned shimmery colour, the first in the second row, which is probably my favourite shade out of the whole palette. It's so pigmented, but it looks so nice even if you blend it out for a daily look. I put it on a 6 in the morning, and when I came home from school at 4 pm it still looked absolutely stunning. 

Apart from the palette, I picked out one other eyeshadow, which is technically an all year round colour. It's the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'On and On Bronze'. If you read a lot of blogs or watch youtubers, you will probably have heard a lot about this product, but it's really such a nice and stunning eyeshadow. It's a cream eyeshadow, with the most lovely texture in a goldish, browny colour. It looks so so beautiful on the eyes, and it stays where you put it for hours and hours! Check the Colour Tattoos out, if you haven't yet! They really are worth their money!

One of my favourite Blushes is probably my Rimmel Blush in the shade '050 Live Pink'. It's a really nice fresh pink tone with a nice suttle shimmer, that really brightens up your face. I wouldn't have thought that it would be that good, because I had never heard anyone talking about these before I picked it up in London in March.

 I also love using a bit of highlighter during Autumn and Winter, so I've decided to get out my essence highlighter again. I feel like essence is a very underrated brand in the UK, since they sell so many nice products for such low prices! I don't know any german blogger or youtuber that doesn't love essence! The highlighter is in the shade '10 look on the bright side', and it's a really nice creamy highlighter in a creme white colour.

 

 Autumn literally screams for dark reds and purple toned lipsticks and glosses! I've probably gained this love for dark lips by obsessing over the one and only Zoe Sugg aka Zoella. 

I picked out two products. One a lipstick and one a lipgloss.

The lipstick again is by essence, and it's in the shade '03 dare to wear'. It's from their long lasting collection, and their lipsticks are so nice and creamy, and you can get them for like 2 Euro!! The colour is a really nice slightly dark red, and I love it!

 For my last product I have chosen Tanya Burr's lipgloss in Enchanted Forest. I am not sure wether you can still get this in shops, but have a look at amazon, they sell the old packed lipglosses for such low prices in some countries! This shade is the perfect mix of dark pink and a dark purple in my opinion, and it looks absolutely stunning on! Definetely will be my go to lipgloss this Autumn!

I'd love to find out about your autumn make-up essentials down below! :)

Love, Jacqueline Xx