Stop time. Stay just this way.

Sara Mazariegos

Thirties vs. Twenties. Amy Poehler briefly touched on this in a recent Good Hang episode—yay, Amy Poehler!—but I was already thinking about it. I’m coming to the end of my thirties, and realizing that my thirties were much easier than my twenties in a lot of ways. Sure, I’ve had a lot more responsibility and stress in my thirties, but in my twenties I was also very stressed because I was trying to get my first job and figure out who I was. I graduated college and lived with my sister, then lived with our parents. It’s a tale as old as time for people who graduated around 2008/2009/2010/2011. Recessions aren’t fun. I was twenty-four when I met Luis, and then we slowly started finding enough success to be able to get a place together. But we didn’t get married until I was thirty. My twenties were filled with a lot of uncertainty. Things are still often uncertain, of course, with the way things are in this country, but we also have more stability. So I hope people in their twenties realize that things aren’t always going to be as hard as they are for them at their age.

Globes that are golden. Speaking of Amy Poehler, I was so happy to see her win the Golden Globe for Best Podcast. I would’ve turned it off if she hadn’t won. I’m still annoyed about Ricky Gervais winning Best Stand-Up Special. It should have been Kumail Nanjiani. Luis and I saw many of the nominees, most of the winners. I really want to watch Adolescence. I like watching these award shows because they help me find new shows and movies to watch that I may otherwise not hear about. We got pizza for it, and I had a tasty at-home Redbull Sunrise (since the Buffalo Wild Wings near us closed, we’ve started just making them at home.)

It was jarring not to see an In Memoriam segment, especially with how dramatically sad some of the famous people’s deaths were last year. But it made the show shorter by not having it, so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Divisiveness feels like gaslighting. If you’d told me when I was in high school that we’d be living in a time where our own government thinks it’s okay to shoot a woman three times in the head in broad daylight and then lie about it and try to vilify her, I would have told you that you were crazy because that’s Nazi behavior and America is not Fascist.

What’s been some of the most terrifying, crazy stuff to me is the fabrication of the truth. Nineteen-Eighty-Four is invoked all the time, but lately the quotes from it are so apt they’re painful. We were all supposed to learn from it how to be better, not how to copy Ingsoc.

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

– George Orwell, Nineteen-Eighty-Four

Struggling with books. Firstly, I’ve been struggling with my copy of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold because it was nearly pristine when I got it off a little free library shelf, but now that it’s been traveling in my purse every day, it’s slowly falling apart. I fear that, by the time I’m ready to put it back in the little free library, it will be a stack of paper barely held together by glue from the 90s. I don’t know how it’s happening but every time I put it out of my purse, another bit of the front or back cover has fallen off. I’m not violent with it; all I do is put it down into my purse between my cell phone and my wallet. It’s nothing crazy. It’s kind of funny, but I feel bad.

I’m enjoying reading it. It’s not my usual thing, but it’s good. My favorite character is Liz. I have a bad feeling she’s not going to make it.

The other book I’m reading, Seeing Other People, continues to make me feel disappointed in some ways. It’s well-written and sweet, a lot of the time, but the name is so punny and the cover looks more light-hearted and youthful than it feels to me. Something about the tone has been throwing me off the whole time. I’m reading an ARC copy, so I wonder how much it changed in the final version. I just thought it would be funnier than it is. It’s mostly sad. Beautifully written, but not easy to read at the end of a long day in our currently bleak world.

Literary update. I’ve been slowly working through the edits of my It’s A Wonderful Life-inspired novel, using the notes my dad gave me. I’ve been feeling less motivated to edit it, mainly because I’m excited to move on to writing the next story draft. But I’m doing it. I also sent the story to some friends to read, just as a little present. No feedback required.

I want readers. My main reason for wanting to be a published author is just that I want people to read my stories and enjoy them as much as I enjoy creating them.

Buy time, don’t lose it.

Sara Mazariegos

New Years. We had a fun New Years this (last?) year! Luis met me at my office and I showed him the holiday decor I put up. We took some snacks the building gave my office, then had a nice stroll to an English pub called Duke’s Grocery. It was decorated with gingerbread men and gumdrops. It was very cute. I had a delicious peppermint espresso martini. The first of a few fun drinks to celebrate the occasion. We also went to the movies after Duke’s Grocery, so we did end up doing something else fun instead of going straight home! Later that evening, I had a homemade espresso martini care of Luis’s sister, and a rummy egg nog around midnight, while watching Ryan Seacrest bemusedly pretend to care about a Tiktok rapper.

Then on New Years Day, we went to Outback Steakhouse and I had a gingerbread cookie martini and a wallaby darned. The gingerbread cookie martini comes with a little koala glass stem-hugger dressed like a Christmas elf, so he lives on my shelf now. Luis named him Cookie. I love Outback’s drinks. The one near us closed, but this one is still around and about the same distance as the one we used to go to. I’m so glad! They also have a blue cheese pecan salad I’m obsessed with. #NotAnAd

THEN, at nearly midnight on New Years Day (Night), who should show up on our porch camera but a raccoon? John Green manifested this for us. I called him Reginald. He checked out the water dish we leave out in the car port for any wayward critters, and then he skipped along into our backyard, where I hope he lives. What a great sign for the New Year. 😊

Marty Supreme and Hamnet and Taskmaster. On New Years Eve, we saw Marty Supreme. We enjoyed it! It features a cute dog, and Pamela Adlon’s daughter, Odessa A’zion, who sounds enough like Bobby Hill that we were smiling. She was in the movie more than I expected, and I liked her a lot. I wonder if it will win any Oscars. I think it was my favorite Timothy Chalamet performance that I’ve seen.

Last weekend, we saw Hamnet. I have a feeling it’s also going to be nominated for Oscars. Especially Jessie Buckley, who is amazing in it. It’s difficult to watch that movie with dry eyes. Luis pointed out that it’s about William Shakespeare and his family (but moreso about his wife Agnes/Anne) but they avoid saying his name until near the end for some reason. It’s not really a surprise, but I guess not everyone knows Shakespeare had a son named Hamnet who inspired Hamlet. That’s not a spoiler, though; it’s just a fact. Paul Mescal looked just like young William Shakespeare in it, and I’d never thought he looked like him before. He was also very good. It’s definitely a movie that engrossed me, making me feel like I was watching the actual people in the actual situations. It’s a more traditional Oscars nominee (they loooove Shakespeare content,) but that doesn’t mean it’s any less worthy.

We also watched the Taskmaster New Years Treat last weekend. Rose Ayling-Ellis is super cute. I was shocked at how anti-word-nerd Greg Davies was. I think it was more that Susie Dent reminded him of how annoying Alex Horne can be. 😂 I always wish there were more episodes, but I understand the people on these specials are available for a more limited engagement than during a regular series. I’m looking forward to seeing Kumail Nanjiani on Taskmaster! My lucky day! I was just writing about him, wasn’t I? I wonder if he’ll win or if he’ll be terrible at the tasks. Either way, I’m sure he’ll be fun!

Writing Goals & The Sims. My dad read the draft of my It’s A Wonderful Life-inspired novel (and skimmed it a second time, to write helpful notes for me!) It’s touching how quickly he read it and how much thought he put into helping me out. He doesn’t usually read books very quickly, but he focused on this one for me. His notes are really good, too. I’m relieved, because I can’t tell you how many times friends have given me only “this is good!” type notes instead of actually giving me some constructive feedback. It’s not that I want people to be mean to me, but it’s more helpful for me to be told what’s not working, what should be tweaked, etc. I appreciate that my friends like my writing, but I know it needs editing!

I’m still taking a break from writing, but I plan to start writing my next draft version of my Nerdfighters-inspired novel in February. I’ve worked on a new plot outline, keeping certain elements from previous drafts, and I’m excited to play around with some new ideas.

Since Luis updated my Sims 4 for me, including all the packs and everything, I’ve been playing a lot during my free time. I took a long break from playing because my game files needed updates and I wanted the new stuff, so now I’ve got it all and I love it. I’m going somewhere with this, hear me out*. The first thing I did with my newly-updated and installed game was create the FMC and MMC from my Nerdfighters-inspired novel. It’s giving me some fun inspiration for my story as I think about the characters and how I want them to interact, work, and be as people. I love being able to “see” my characters by having computer-animated versions of them. I can put actual faces to the faces in my head, if that makes sense.

The new Romance skill in The Sims make the love story more of a challenge to play out, and their relationship feels more real because it takes effort and keeping up with. I love it! They currently are madly in love with each other, and they’re engaged. I’m not rushing their wedding, because I think it will be better with more time and experiences under their belts. They’re way ahead of the characters in my novel, considering that I haven’t started writing it yet. But who wants to play The Sims slowly?

I did make the couple have a baby, which is not something they will do in my novel. Because I also wanted to play with the new Infants pack. That’s also quite challenging, but the game is more fun if it’s at least a little challenging. Don’t get me started on those damn gnomes, though. I turned them off as soon as I learned how. Well, Luis helped me figure out how.

Here’s a picture of my cute Sims family. I plan to only play as them and expand the family, because that’s always fun. I wonder if they’ll be able to roleplay some of my novel’s plot eventually, too. Baby Charlie is dressed like a raccoon, yes.


This is a terribly nerdy post. But you already knew I was a nerd, didn’t you?


* Read me out?

This will be our year. Took a long time to come.

Sara Mazariegos

Christmastime. We had a really great Christmas this year. We were so organized, it never felt like we were rushed. In fact, everyone showed up a little late on Christmas Eve, which was fine. We forgot eggs for our sweet potato casserole, so Luis’s mom brought us eggs and we put it in the oven once his parents arrived. I also drank probably too much egg nog over the last week, but ’tis the season!

We played a fun card game Luis invented and then it was midnight and we opened presents. I got a snuggly “Biscuit Bandit” hoodie with Meeko the raccoon on it. I’m wearing it even as I type. Luis’s sister gave me a martini glass and a bottle of fancy espresso so I can make my own espresso martinis at home, since I like them so much. My dad gave me not one but TWO Beatles calendars this year. That’s his silly tradition. My sister got me an ice skating Barbie and Ken doll from the early 90s. I haven’t seen them since I was little. So Luis and I might have to make them skate around our dining room table once the table cloth has been removed. All of the presents were very nice and fun. One thing that’s good about being older is there’s less of a disappointed, “Aww, I wanted x” feeling after the presents have all been opened… Mostly because I’m already spoiled.

Luis’s big surprises. We were already planning to go to Disney World for our anniversary in 2026, and I was eagerly waiting for December 27th to book things with Luis. He told me we would wait until then. Nevertheless, his big present for me, which he put in a McDonald’s Happy Meal box (along with a toy Mirabel from Encanto and Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles), was a print-out confirming our one night in the Contemporary Resort, plus four nights in the Art of Animation Resort, plus four days of park tickets!! He booked all of it himself, using our loose plans document and calendar!

He said he booked it all so I wouldn’t worry about it. 💖 I told you I was spoiled.

Now we just have to worry about getting good dining reservations, but why worry?

Luis also got me a big update for my Sims 4 so I have all the game packs I didn’t already have. He’s been busy this Christmas. I got him some Guardians of the Galaxy figures he asked me for, and when I asked him what he wants for his anniversary gift, he told me we could just use the money toward booking another nice dinner at Disney. 🥹 He’s the best and I love him.

John Green told me not to. Anyway, enough gushing about my husband. Time to gush about John Green. This weekend I had a dream that we were hanging out with John and his brother Hank, and I told them I wanted to adopt a raccoon. Dream John and Dream Hank were very supportive of the idea, which is amusing because in real life they wouldn’t be. So I shared it on Threads, and who to my wondering brain should write back?

As much as I love raccoons, I know it would be crazy for me to adopt one. They are not pets. The fact that he wrote back to me at all – during the holiday break, no less! – makes me happy. I laughed out loud when I saw his comment. And I’ve been getting tons of comments and likes ever since. I didn’t think my silly little post would get so much attention. I even got a comment from Mychal Threets!

Like I said: I’m spoiled. 😊

New Years Plans. At my job, we work a half-day on New Years Eve, so Luis is going to meet me at my office and we’ll go out for a nice lunch. I found a fun-sounding English bar and made a reservation so we wouldn’t lose out like we often do. It’s hard to make New Years Eve plans in DC if you don’t like staying out late and you’re not looking for a big crowd. We usually go to the zoo, but this year is a change of pace. We’ll probably be home by five p.m. and watch a New Years-themed movie. And of course check in later on Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen to see how drunk they already are.

I can’t believe the year is at an end. 2025 has been a rough one. I’m looking forward to a better 2026. *crosses fingers* I certainly have a lot of things to be excited about!

Ahaha, I just remembered we saw John Green twice this year. That was a highlight for sure! And our amazing trip to California. Wow. Luis definitely makes my life happy. Everyone should be so lucky as to have their own Luis.

Happy New Year! 🎉

“Hmm. Well, it needs work. I have to go.”

Sara Mazariegos

Daily Prompt: Describe a man who has positively impacted your life. It’s probably just the way this month/year has felt, but this question almost made me cry. I’ve still been thinking a lot about Rob Reiner and how huge his impact is.

But on a personal, real-answer level, Luis has positively impacted my life, of course. He’s kind, thoughtful, smart, funny… He makes me happy. My dad has also positively impacted my life. He’s the reason I like a lot of the things I like, and I quote a lot of the things he quotes. 🙂 I reference this in my It’s A Wonderful Life novel; a movie I wouldn’t have seen without him showing it to me yearly. We quote it to each other often. It may seem like a small thing, to be given movies and music to enjoy together, but it is personality-shaping.

The bad reviews of Ella McCay. When I first saw the trailer for Ella McCay, I was excited to see Julie Kavner in a movie. I recognized her voice right away, and I knew what she looked like. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her in a movie. I wanted to see this one right away, because of her. The rest of the cast is also awesome, but I have a soft spot for the cast of The Simpsons.

We saw it last Saturday and… I give it a C. It has good moments, but the writing is not great. It feels a little too late. The trailers didn’t really showcase that it’s about politics, and they made it look funnier than it actually is. It’s political but in 2008, so it feels worlds different from how things are now. It should’ve probably been made back then. But you know who was in it and who was my favorite character? Kumail Nanjiani!

Kumail Nanjiani and Night Thoughts. I’ve been a fan of Kumail Nanjiani for years. He’s so funny and he seems so kind. I learned he’s also a cat person, which makes me like him even more. His new comedy special is really good, but it did also make me cry. I recommend it, if you have tissues. His beloved old cat, Bagel, is a focus of the special and she unfortunately passed away before it was released. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know about my cat Boo. Her fourteenth birthday was the other day. She’s a cancer survivor. We love her and spoil her, and she was in Luis’s lap while we watched the special. It made me want to cuddle her, but I know she’d rip my arm off. 😅

He also talked a lot about mental health, and how his talking about mental health made people make fun of him. It made me wish I was suddenly jacked with Eternals muscles so I could fight them on his behalf.

You should watch the special. I really enjoyed it. He hosted SNL the day Luis and I got married. I can’t forget that. We watched it later, of course, but it felt like an extra gift. Maybe I’m silly.

Reading The Good Part together. Luis and I finished reading The Good Part last night. I don’t usually read as quickly as I did with him, but it’s partially because I was more motivated to be in the same place as him and also I’ve read it before so I wasn’t inhaling the words as often as I usually do. It was fun to read something together and react to it. He didn’t get as teary-eyed as me, but I couldn’t have expected that. Even the acknowledgments make me teary.

Christmas Eve Eve. Today is “Christmas Eve Eve,” something I’d been calling it without realizing it was a Friends thing. (I’m not really a Friends person.) After today, I’m off work until Monday. Yesterday was crazy at the office, so I’ve earned this nice holiday vacation. Hopefully my work won’t be insane when I get back.

Tonight we’re going to watch It’s A Wonderful Life, that movie I’m constantly talking about. It’s that time of year again. 😊 I’ll probably cry.

We’re going to host Luis’s family for Christmas Eve at our place again, with our cats and music and gifts. It’ll be nice. And then we’re with my family on Christmas. And then we spend the weekend recovering. We’ve been fairly organized and on top of things this year, so I don’t think we’ll have too much to stress about. I even managed to receive all the ordered gifts early, which rarely happens.

I hope you have a happy holiday season. I’d say “see you next year,” but who am I kidding? I’ll post next week. 😉

“My way’s not very sportsmanlike.”

Sara Mazariegos

Rob Reiner. I cannot believe this happened. I wanted the news to be untrue and wrong, but unfortunately it’s true. He directed so many movies we all love. Luis and I still need to see Spinal Tap II… It feels like only yesterday that Rob Reiner was on all the talk shows promoting it. Not only was he not that old yet, no one should die the way he and his wife did. It’s just awful.

In his honor, I wore my Princess Bride shirt that my sister gave me for my birthday this year. 😢 We watched When Harry Met Sally as an impromptu memorial holiday movie on Monday. We’ve been thinking about him and his family and all of his friends this week.

Hanukkah has been very tragic so far this year.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. On the 14th, we went to the special, airplane hanger part of the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum. We saw the Enola Gay (we each saw it a long time ago, when it was crammed into the other facility) and several other cool old planes. We also saw the Discovery space shuttle and a docent was in a live video chat to answer questions, so Luis asked about the heat-resistant material and the emergency exit markings. It was very cool. We also did a motion simulator of flying, which scared me a little because of the claustrophobic conditions. I kind of liked firing the plane’s gun at the “bad guys” but I didn’t like whenever the simulator moved…

I don’t think I’m ever gonna go to space or be a pilot, guys. Sorry.

Holiday Get-Together. Last Friday evening, we went directly from my office to my best friend Kat’s holiday get-together. A few of our other friends were there, too, and it felt very much like a college hangout, in a good way. Kat made dinner and then we chilled and watched the newest Knives Out movie. I may have fallen asleep in a few places, but I’d been awake since 7 am! It’s always nice to spend time with friends. It’s harder to do so now that we’re older and we all have jobs and lives of our own.

I’ve been friends with Kat for twenty-four years. 🤯 Our friendship would be a young adult, if it was a person.

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Do you ever start reading a book and it takes a bit for you to get into it and care about what’s happening? When I first started reading The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, I was a little lost. The main character is such a (heh) cold person, and he says a few highly judgmental, bigoted things within the first 20 or so pages. But then I started being interested in what was happening. He’s a spy, and he’s living this life that’s made up for his mission. He even goes to prison. It’s kind of intense. I’m interested in seeing the movie version after reading the book.

I started reading it because it’s cold outside, so the title matches. But it’s not actually about the cold at all. Well, it’s The Cold War. And it’s also a term for being a secret agent. You “come in from the cold” when you’re finished. I didn’t realize that I’d seen a related movie before, about George Smiley (a mentioned but so far unseen character in this book.) I saw Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy over a decade ago. But the name George Smiley jumped out at me. That’s pretty fun. It’s hard to forget a name like that.

I like spy and mystery novels when they’re well-done. I’m not all romance 24/7. Just most of the time. 😄

Won’t you be in Nerdfighterlike with me?

Sara Mazariegos

My Nerdfighter story. Strap in. This is going to be a long one.

Continue reading “Won’t you be in Nerdfighterlike with me?” →

These are the things I can do without.

Sara Mazariegos

Christmas Eve Vacation. I requested the day off after Thanksgiving, and my boss ended up giving it to all of us anyway, so I asked him if I could use that extra vacation day for Christmas Eve. He officially approved it! So I will only have to work Monday and Tuesday that week, then have the rest of the week off. It’ll be good, because we celebrate Christmas with Luis’s family on Christmas Eve (Guatemalan tradition.) I may prefer Halloween, but I do like the time off for the holidays, and watching the specials and movies. And, hey, I wrote a Christmasy novel! I can’t say I hate it.

Snow already?! On Friday, it snowed in the DC area. The forecast said “flurries” but there were quite a few. They filled the air and hit me in the eyes repeatedly as I walked to the office in the morning. Luckily, the ground stayed walkable. I’m hoping it won’t get so bad that I can’t come to the office one of these days this winter, but we’ll see. Winters can become a bit intense here, especially in January and February. I think I’ll be able to work from home if it’s ever impassable. I wouldn’t have much other choice, and no clients would be visiting our office if it’s too nasty outside. I like watching snow, but I don’t like being in it. I hate the cold.

Merrily We Roll Along and Stephen Sondheim. We saw the filmed version of Broadway’s Merrily We Roll Along last weekend, and it was so good. My favorite character was Charley, as played by Daniel Radcliffe. I’ve loved every Sondheim musical I’ve seen/heard so far. It reminded me quite a bit of Company, and the book was written by George Furth, the guy who also wrote the book of Company. (He was also in a few episodes of The Monkees, so it’s fair to say I’m a fan of his, too!) Richard Linklater is apparently going to make a movie version over the actual course of 20 years… It doesn’t sound as good. He’s such a stunt director. I recommend the recorded Broadway version. Hopefully it will be streaming soon.

Five Nights At Freddy’s 2. This weekend we’re going to see the sequel to Five Nights At Freddy’s. I know I wrote last week about how there are too many sequels and some are okay, a lot are unnecessary. I think this one is necessary, because the first one was the setup and this one looks more like the game series. It’s getting pretty bad reviews from critics, but the audience score is great, because movies like this are made for the fans more than anything. They’re not trying to win any awards with this. But I hope it’s as fun and creepy as the games are. From the trailers, it even looks like my favorite character is in it (Mangle.) I hope I like it.


I also hope we can actually see it. Sometimes our movie theater moves out movies before we even get the chance to see them. Like they think, “Gotta make room for a bunch of old Christmas movies instead of playing new things. No one wants new things around the holidays.”

Writing/Reading update. It’s been nice to take time off from actively writing. I’m slowly working on an outline for the big rewrite of my Nerdfighter-inspired novel. I’m going in a different direction while still staying true to the general theme I had before. I like that there are many angles to play with. I’m also thinking of the characters more and more as their own people instead of facsimiles of people I know. It’s easier to create without real life dictating how things should be.

While I’m taking this nice break, I’m reading a few books. I finished The Cat Who Talked To Ghosts and now I’ve started The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. I like reading more serious books on the Metro, and the sweeter stories at home. Luis and I are reading our way through The Good Part together. He seems to be enjoying it as well. I love that book so much. Just have to try not to let it make me cry in front of him.

Brenda and Eddie had had it already by the summer of ’75.

Sara Mazariegos

Thanksgiving mini recap. Wow. We basically had three Thanksgivings the past several days. We had regular Thanksgiving on Thursday (with the parade and dog show and everything) with Luis’s family, then we had Thanksgiving II on Friday at my parents’ house with even more turkey legs for Luis! Then we went to a friendsgiving dinner on Sunday. We got leftovers from all three dinners, so we’re going to be good on food for a while.

I got some ideas for future novels during all of this, so that’s fun. I’m taking a break from writing for the holidays now, so of course I’m plotting new things.

Zootopia 2 and the barrage of sequels and remakes. As we were going into the theater to see Zootopia 2, I commented that the row of “Coming Soon” posters on the wall were all sequels and remakes. It’s obviously not the first time I’ve noticed that so many movies are not original anymore, but it was interesting to see them in a row like that. I like certain sequels and remakes can be okay, but I do miss seeing the latest Disney movie and having it be the latest Disney movie and not a continuation of something. The second Zootopia was good, but do you know what was even better? The first Zootopia, when it was new and different and special.

I can’t believe there’s going to be a fifth Toy Story. Of course I’ll see it, though. Conan O’Brien is in it.

But I also plan to support the crap out of Hoppers. Hopefully our theater will show it for longer than a week. It didn’t give Elio a chance. We still haven’t seen Elio. 😦

Violence near my Metro stop. Harsh transition ahead. Last week, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, there was a shooting of National Guardspeople* near the Metro stop where I get off to go to work. It was during the afternoon, so thankfully I was already safely inside my office. But the commute home was scary because the station entrance was blocked off and there were police and TV cameras everywhere. While I was walking, I thought it was a bunch of police guarding the area, which would make sense I suppose, but then I realized it was a lot of media covering what had happened. They were blocking the corner where I usually cross, so I had to be on the other side of the street.

We live in scary times.

Writing/Editing update. My main update is that I finished editing the latest draft of my It’s A Wonderful Life-inspired novel! Now I have to wait and see what some new beta readers think.

In the meantime, I’m working on some new story ideas and making an outline. I’m planning to start writing this new story project in March (after my birthday) so I want to take the time to really think things through and have a good idea of what I’m doing before starting to type out a fresh new story draft. I’m excited to see where it takes me. I did something I don’t usually do with this one: I created Sims 4 versions of the romantic leads. It might sound silly, but it helps me think of fun ideas and imagine them as real people a little more.

I’ve also started a fun “book club” type thing with Luis. For a sort-of Christmas gift, I asked him to read The Good Part by Sophie Cousens and I’m rereading it as well, so we can discuss it. I love that book. I think he will, too. And then he’ll understand the kind of novels I’m going for when I write.

I still can’t believe it’s already December.

* It was one man and one woman, so “Guardsmen” feels wrong.

Is that the autumn leaf falling?

Sara Mazariegos

Thanksgiving again. It’s hard to believe it’s holiday time again. I was telling Luis that once August comes, everything starts to happen so quickly. I wonder if every year has felt like Halloween came and went before I knew it, or if it’s more like that this year because I’ve been working such long days and haven’t had as much time to catch my breath. My brain is still in New York on our anniversary in some ways. And remember when I had jury duty? That was a month ago. Unbelievable.

No Rest for the Wicked. Last weekend, we saw the second part of Wicked. My immediate response was it should have just been one movie with an intermission, like the musical. It’s also not really my thing… It’s such a cynical fan fiction. Much of it doesn’t make sense when you actually think about it. The best parts are the songs and the costumes. I still have the book, and I still haven’t read it. We’ll see if I ever do. I’m glad I haven’t seen it on stage.

We saw the new version of The Running Man last weekend as well. The two movies have similar themes, but I preferred The Running Man. It was much less annoying.

Even clips from It’s A Wonderful Life make me teary-eyed. The other day, Luis thought a TV show character sounded like George Bailey from It’s A Wonderful Life, so I went to YouTube to track down a clip of George yelling a lot and see if Luis was correct. The clip I sought was from the end of the movie, which is the most Christmasy part, so I felt silly watching it before Thanksgiving. I asked him if he meant “My mouth’s bleeding, Bert!” but he said it was something George says to the kids, so I had to check in case I’d forgotten a bit of dialogue*. Hard for me to imagine, given that I’ve seen it at least once a year my whole life.

Watching the clip—even though it’s not Christmas yet, I have the movie memorized, and it was only the last ten minutes—made me teary-eyed. It’s such a heart-warming movie. I love all the characters. As I read through my novel inspired by it, I find myself feeling similarly, which is a good sign.

Comparing my writing to others’. A big part of writing is reading, especially in the genre you write in. It’s a great way to learn what works and get inspired. A drawback I’m finding, though it’s a minor one, is that I compare my writing to the books I’m reading. I also compare my writing to the writing of authors I really like. But it’s not kind to myself, because authors like Sophie Cousens and Ashley Poston were agented and published a long time ago. I want to learn how to write better like them, but it’s unrealistic to think I’m going to magically be at their level without putting in the time and work.

That being said, I’m reading through my latest draft of my It’s A Wonderful Life novel, and I’m enjoying it even as I edit things. I’ve got a good story here, I just need to make it shine as much as I can before attempting to have agents read it.

I’m considering following the lead of Philip Van Doren Stern and gifting the finished draft to a few of my friends this Christmas. Not to critique, just to read and enjoy.

We’ll see if I get brave enough to do that.

* I’m pretty sure it was “There they are!” as said to Bert, that sounded a little bit like the character Luis was talking about (Bobby on King of the Hill.)

“It’s not your job to be as confused as Nigel.”

Sara Mazariegos

Frankenstein and Predator: Badlands. Last weekend, we saw two movies I really enjoyed. I’d been looking forward to seeing Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein ever since first hearing about it. It’s very faithful to the book! I wish it came out in more theaters; it deserves to be seen on a big screen. It’s beautiful and sad. And then we saw Predator: Badlands in theaters on Sunday and it was better than I expected. I like all of the characters in it, and the message of found family and working as a team instead of trying to do everything alone.

How is it almost Thanksgiving already? Next week is Thanksgiving. I’m still in a Halloween mood, but now I’ve got to think about spending time with people and eating too much. My job doesn’t give us the day off after Thanksgiving; I took it off so we’ll still be able to spend Thanksgiving with Luis’s family and then Thanksgiving II with my family. I’m looking forward to the days off, though they don’t really feel like vacation days, because we do so much socializing and cooking and stuff. I can’t just sit and read for hours. I don’t even really sleep in. Wah-wah. It’s nice, though. I just wish it was still October.

Any novel can be a comp novel if you try hard enough. A lot of people have a difficult time finding comparative titles for their novels when they’re in the query stage. I feel like I have a different problem; I find that every book I read could be a comp title. I notice little things the stories have in common with mine. They’re not usually big things, they’re usually subtle. But I think it’s because my novel is still being molded, so I’m imagining ways each book I read could shape my own story, and I shouldn’t do that because my story already has a satisfying shape. For example, I really enjoyed reading The Love of My Afterlife and finding little ways it fits with my story, but I think most people would think it’s a stretch for me to have it as a comp. There’s nothing supernatural in my novel. There’s no death or deadlines (heh.) But, then again, I’ve heard that comps don’t have to have all the same story elements as long as they have similar themes or worlds. So who knows? My story is also about self-discovery, found families, community, taking care of others, enemies to lovers… So that book could totally end up a comp of my story!

This blog is about my writing process, so here’s a glimpse at that thrilling part of it. 😅

Self-imposed deadlines. Speaking of my writing process, one thing I tend to do is assign myself these signposts to reach in order to keep myself on track. I aim to be finished editing my novel draft before Christmas so I can enjoy the holidays, and then I’m thinking of asking for another reader or two for their feedback. My big deadline for this story is the end of March so I can start sending out query letters.

But let’s see if it actually goes like that. I’m a writer, so I imagine and plan and have ideal situations in my head, but life rarely does what I want it to do.