Reality Sucks

Over the last few weeks my life has taken a turn for the worst. Income has decreased and I'm behind on bills now. I just caught them up. And of course the teens in my house are being teens.

My depression state is trying to inch it's way back into my life. My house is a mess and too slowly getting cleaned. Then of course we have NaNoWriMo coming up and research is getting behind. I have the kitchen done and hoping it stays that way with the kids.

Slow-cooker freezer meals for the month are ready to assemble. 20 peppers of all colors, 10 onions and mushrooms sliced, diced and chopped. TIP: If you put your onions in the freezer for 10 minutes of frig for 3 hours, the element that makes us tear is less effective. Dinner is taken care of for tonight. Now if I can keep up this pace all week, I will be good.

My boy finally got his wisdom teeth pulled this last week. He thought it was gonna be easy with no pain... He now knows different. Lesson learned...Mom is always right. Ha Ha Ha!!!!

A good thing that has happened this last month....
My ex bought our son his 1st reliable car, fixed the few things on it and took care of his senior pictures(clothes too). This is the first time in 13 years he did anything for my boy. Now we have a reliable car and a broken down van.  Wish a 'Fix the Van' fairy would visit. I hate not being able to just up and leave. My son takes his car to school along with his sister.

I now have my days and nights fixed. Lets see how long that lasts. Probably til November when I do NaNoWriMo. 50k words in 30 days is gonna be crazy but I did it last year and I will do it again.

Camping 1st Week

I haven't gotten much accomplished on my WIP-Naleena this week. I do plan on busting my butt this weekend to get ahead of my word count because I will not be able to write 2 more days this month.

Excerpt from 'Naleena' my CampNaNoWriMo WIP.

Takoda ran his hands over his face; he had missed an important meeting and now regretted it. “My orders?” he finally asked.
“None. You have not shown you are ready. You shall continue to run the bar and be Beta. That means you must act as Beta not a low ranking pack member.” Drewdon stated in his formal tone.
Shame fell over Takoda and the Council could smell it. “In time Young One, you shall take your place in the changes. Sooner than you may think.”
Drewdon was always cryptic, as was all of Council. Zane was more blunt most of the time. “That means what?” he looked at them. “If I may inquire that is?”
“Time will show you.” Zane said and Council just walked out without another word. They were known for not saying good-byes or telling anyone the conversation was over. It frustrated everyone that wasn’t older than a hundred. How did the thousand years old deal with that kind of stuff when it was the way of life? Well that was one question that was never going to get answered. He packed up some papers and went home for a shower and food. 

 I am loving Camp and I'm meeting tons of new people with things in common. I'm keeping a 'camp' journal here online. As you can see I still have tons to do. I forgot to add finish making up the freezer meals. I still have about 5 to do.

If you noticed I need to get male MC (Takoda) to express his feelings and as all women know it's hard. At least I have figured out the flashback parts and have lots of notes on that. It will make the 2nd part fly out of my fingers fast.

One thing that has had me to procrastinate is my son has informed me he is taking a Creative Writing class that he will have to write a book next school year. He keeps coming to me asking all kinds of questions so I have written out several steps he needs to take before writing. Now he's working on characters... 'Mom, can he have white hair and be 26 years old?' I told him his characters can be and do anything he wants but they may have a mind of their own at times and not get pissy about that.

Now I am off to kick Takoda's butt and get him to do what I want him to.
Have a wonderful weekend full of reading and writing.

Back To The Beginning

So, after NaNoWriMo I realized that I needed to rewrite the first novel in the series. Basically delete 3/4 of it and make it flow better. That's what I'm doing. It is a long process but I am getting to it little by little. I really hate when my characters decide they aren't going to go along with what I had planned for them.
I have a title for the book but not for the series yet. The first book will be "Dalara". She is the main female character (MFC). She has had loss but yet is strong and independent. A family secret comes to light and she is courageous to embrace it. Along the way she finds love and tragic events.   Learning that she is Coveted by many and feared by most, she must learn not to let it go to her head. In "Dalara" we get a sense of a new world that is hidden to humans, yes Lycans or more like werewolves.

Here are the titles I have so far, though I have no idea what order they will be in.
Dalara
Tasmina
Naleena
Zakaira
Zacharius
Drewdon
Lucas

Any suggestions for a series title is much appreciated. Leave a comment or ask other things in order to get a better idea of what a good title would be. I think I will do a giveaway to the one with the title I choose. Not sure what's gonna be given away yet. Stay tuned to see.

1st Week of December!

As I sit here and wait for the 5th I am thinking back over what I accomplished in November. Though it is the hardest month of  the year for me, I wrote 3/4 of a novel hitting over 50k words. I won NaNoWriMo! I never thought I could do it, but with the support of @TheSprintShack, @WriteChain, @FriNightWrites and many others within them, it would take forever to list all that helped and are still helping me. Always pushing me to sprint and get those words out of my head and on the computer screen. You guys *ROCK*.
As I have not completed my NaNo novel, I have begun finishing up the PREQUEL to it.  It is a shorter process after doing 50k+ in 30days. I am so glad I took the challenge and if I hadn't won, it still would have been awesome.

With winning I get to purchase Scrivener from Literature and Latte at 50% off on the 5th. Along with AEON Timeline. Both helped me so much I would never had made it without their NaNo Trials. With Scrivener I had everything from places, character bios, and relationships all in one place. I didn't have to open another program. Aeon Timeline allowed me to track the timing of each event and I never forgot what day it was in my novel.

There are tons of tools for writers and these are the only ones I have tried and I don't think I will try anything else. This is it for me. Each writer has their own way of doing things and Scrivener and Aeon Timeline is what I need.

With all that said I will definitely be participating next year in NaNoWriMo! I only wish I could make a financial donation this year. If you wish to help out the non-profit organization of NaNoWriMo please do so on their website (Link is above). Thanks!

Half-Way!

Today marks the halfway point for NaNoWriMo! I am well past halfway through the 50k words. I passed 38k a little bit ago. I can't wait to hit 40k. I'm getting really excited.

A Bit of background on me:
My mom passed away 10 years ago the 28th of this month. Yesterday she would have been 57yrs old. She was my life and the only one who ever supported me throughout my life, no matter what I did wrong or right. I usually have a really rough time but since doing NaNoWriMo this year it seems my ghosts aren't so inclined to haunt me. Yes, I had a crying spell but it was short. I am dedicating my NaNoWriMo piece to my mother. She was an avid reader and I know she would be proud of her dyslexic daughter working hard on a story. I thought of doing one she would love to read, but sci-fi really isn't my cup of tea. So, werewolves it is.

As for my NaNoWIP, well it is going to need a lot of rework once I am done. I have tons of notes about things I want to change. Though, not as many as I thought I would have.
Zared and Tasmina and even Azri are going to surprise readers. Twists and turns of their lives will not be seen until it happens. I'll post a excerpt later this weekend.

Again I need to thank @FriNightWrites (Twitter) for all the help and encouragement you give me. And this week @NaNoWordSprints for the help with MC. Without you he would not feel.

NaNoWriMo Day 12

Here it is Day 12 and I am just over halfway to the finish line with 26,866 words done. My novel is taking shape and getting interesting, well more than it has.  Another excerpt for you:

“I know that I also know she has a tough choice to make very soon. Her first heat is upon her.”

“She knows?”

“Yes we have talked about it. Now it is up to her to decide what she will do.” Zared explained hoping it would let Azri know that since he gave up his claim he had no say in what she does.

“I see, and I suppose you offered to help her through it?”

“No, she asked if I would if she chose that route.”

Azri was shocked by the look on his face. “She asked, even after all she’s been through? You know she may never be able to carry.”

Wow, Zared thought. Azri was really trying to keep him from being with Tasmina. “It is her choice and I will accept it no matter if she chooses to be alone or another male. You gave up your claim. She could rightfully be yours if you hadn’t. Now you say things that would have a male rethinking about her request? What the hell gives you the right?”

“ENOUGH!” Someone shouted. Turning they saw it was Eldest. Crap they were in trouble now.

“Eldest.”

“Yes, it is I. What is going on in here?”

“Azri was trying to keep me from Tasmina.” Zared stated.

“I see, Azri you have no claim. You refused it. Zared has every right to be around the pup.”

“She has asked him to mount her during her first heat.”

“That is her choice, Azri.”

“Yes, of course, Eldest.” Azri stated.

Males are always causing trouble with the order of things, even in real life here in Iowa. 

About Tasmina, she has a horrible past. Not much different than my own. Which is making this novel rough to write. Somethings are just hard to deal with and writing them out is harder. I have learned a lot about myself as I write of Tasmina's life. 

Now, working through plot twist 1, thinking maybe a total of 3. That is if Tasmina lets it happen. She has already had me make changes to what I intended. Yes I do not know what I will write, my characters have a tendency to take over the story.

NaNoWriMo Day 7

Today is day 7 of National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo for short. I am impressed by how well I am doing and the fact I am sticking to it. I hit 15k and am still going. Just look at the progress at the upper right side of this page. Many of my NaNoPals are pushing their little fingers to the keyboards as much as I am. Today I did  1k1hr, 1k words in 1 hour, with one and did over that. The sprints at #NaNoWordSprint is keeping me going... Here is a list of the sprints I partake in:
@TheSprintShack, @FriNightWrites, @NaNoWordSprints

What is a word sprint you ask?

Well, you get together on Twitter with buddies and challenge yourselves to improve your word count. There are many different places I do word sprints and it keeps us all on track. @FriNightWrites we sprint for 30 minutes and take a 10 minute break. There are writers from all over the world that join in.
Times:
UK: 7pm-7am
US EAST COAST: 2pm-2am
US WEST COAST: 11am-11pm
You can always jump in to any of them, whatever your schedule allows. I am there off and on during the day here in US Central and a lot at night. There we use the hashtag #writeclub and the #StatsGuy keeps track of how many words for each sprint. It is quite amazing to see the numbers pop up.
Want to learn more about FriNightWrites check it out, Write Club @FriNightWrites

Is there anything I couldn't live without during NaNoWriMo?

Yes, Scrivener. I love the software from Literature & Latte, it has made writing and keeping track of facts, characters, ages even. It's all in one place and easy to access. I downloaded the free trial version and loved it. Then when I signed up for NaNoWriMo I found they offer a special free trial to NaNoWriMo participants. It got even better, if I complete my 50k words I can buy Scrivener for 50% off.

I have just found out how helpful their split-screen is. I now can look at a character sheet and type at the same time without leaving either. There are tons of features I have not worked with and can't wait to buy it after NaNoWriMo and find all the wonderful things I can do with it. It has definitely made NaNoWriMo experience easier and less stressful. I think once November is over and less frantic I will use Scrivener for my blogs and all my books.

I also couldn't live without my kids running up and down the stairs when I am in the middle of a sprint and need a fresh soda or some snack. They are the best in helping me out and not fighting with each other. Being 16 and almost 12 it amazes me as I wait for a fight and I hear them talking with each other rather than at each other.

Now it's time to get back to my story but before I do here is another excerpt:

Tasmina started crying once Azri left. She didn't understand what she was doing. He had caused the challenge and could die. That would probably get her sent back to Johnathan’s pack and to her father. The Warrior had told her that Azri was a strong fighter and would do well, at least that’s what she got from the conversation they had. Why was Azri risking his life to protect her? Why does he care so much when no one else had. Her mother watched the abuse and did nothing while the other did as they pleased. If only she had someone she trusted to answer her questions about Azri, but there was no one.  Someone that knew about males in a way she didn't.

NaNoWriMo Day 3

NaNoWriMo is going great. Especially with the help from my friends on Twitter, @TheSprintShack, @FriNightWrites, @NaNoWordSprints. They are doing an awesome job keeping us Wrimos going. 

Here is my synopsis...

Tasmina, a young one of 18, is shy and a bit introverted. Her life is going great, she started college and has a good job. Then the Council plans a gathering to allow mates to find on another and that's when her life falls apart. Her past is back and haunting her. Unknown to her she will have a knight in shining armor come to her rescue. After that she will experience the unknown.

Azri is a warrior and protector but doesn't have ant females looking to mate because he is always looking mean and scary. Like someone you'd warn your kids would come and punish them for misbehaving (the boogie man). Not looking to mate but the thought to mate after his first one died has crossed his mind a few times. He faces though choices and decisions when it comes to protecting.

And an Excerpt: 

The water burned as Azri had settled Tasmina into the tub. She had forgotten the pain and feelings after each bout with James or any of them. She had lived in fear all her life until she came to Sage’s pack. Now it began again. It would be worse if James got a hold of her. Escaping always made it worse. Tears fell as she wished Azri wouldn’t have found her. Tasmina jumped when she heard a knock on the bathroom door.

“Tasmina the doctor is on his way.” She heard Azri say through the door. 

Great, another male, just want she was afraid of. Martin was going to look over her entire body and would know what had happened. No way was there any way to hide now; Azri made sure of it. Slowly she climbed out of the tub and dries off; not bothering to put clothes on, just her robe. Martin would have he remove clothes and it was too painful to do. She avoided the mirror cause the pain was always worse when she looked in it and saw the wounds. The signs of it all would be gone in a few days. She healed as all wolves do, quick. Not wanting to go out into her room she sat down against the door and pulled her knees to her chest. Even that hurt.

“Tasmina, Martin is here. You need to come out.” She heard Azri. It amazed her that he hadn't tried to get her to come out before.

Opening the door she saw not only Martin and Azri but Sage, Takoda and Dalara. She turned and slammed the bathroom door shut. There was no way she could face all of them. It was bad enough Azri had seen her and Martin had to see her. As she sat against the door shaking and trying not to break down and cry again. Tasmina could here the others talking in her room but wasn’t paying much attention; though it was about her. The sound of her bedroom door closing got her attention.

“Tasmina sweets, they left, it’s just Martin and I here. Please come out. If you are healing too fast he may have to re-break something.” Azri told her through the door.

Again she opened the door and saw he was right; it was just the two males. She hobbled over to her queen size bed and sat at the edge wincing in pain. 

There were no gasps or comments about how she looked, which made her a bit more at ease.


So, what do you think?????

Preparing For NaNoWriMo!

NaNoWriMo is starting in less than 7 days. Stressing about it. This is the 1st year I have participated. 50,000 words in 30 days seems to be a lot to me. Though I usually write 2000 words a day and 5000+ a day on the weekends.

What I've done to prepare:

• Have characters bios done
• The beginning and ending figures out
• Several scenes ready on note cards
• Notebooks full of causes and my thoughts on outcomes
• Scrivener installed and info inputted
• Twitter set for hashtags : #writing, #wordsprints, #writeclub, #FriNightWrites
• Set up with Twitter groups for motivation: @FriNightWrites, @SprintShack, @WriteChain and many more

I am not an outline person so all this prepping is a bit stressful. If you participate in NaNoWriMo please feel free to as me as a buddy, my pen is jessmarkley. 

I am Back!

Finally feeling better. Enough to start posting again.

NEWS:
This year I am participating in NaNoWriMo; in November I will attempt to write 50,000 words of a new novel. It should be interesting to do. I am hoping I succeed. I am now actively on Twitter @jesdeh2o. I participate in word sprints with several other writers on Twitter. If you want to push yourself with your writing come join the sprints @FriNightWrites, #WriteChain and several other. Look for hashtag #wordsprint, #writeclub #writingsprints .

I am now finally editing 'Inevitable Destinyz' and working on a series(not sure what it's called though). For those who haven't seen snippets of 'Inevitable Destinyz' it is a YA paranormal romance about witches and vampire come together and save their races. New novels are about lycans. Typical paranormal romance with adult content.

Most posts here will be about NaNoWriMo until December. Maybe peeks into my work as well. We will see.