Just What I Need to Track a Timeline

Many writers have to double and triple check to make sure the timeline is correct for all events in a single book or especially a series. I have tried many timeline software programs and have found that Aeon Timeline suits my needs the best. I know I have mentioned it and even shared information on it before, but this time I'm going to talk only about Aeon and how many things work.
When you go to open up a new project you get a screen that has many options including; Fiction, Basic, Project Management, Legal, Daily, Historical, Numberline.

I have only used the fiction. In the fiction setup you can change fix the beginning to end times, Number & name of months, number & name of days and how many hours in a day. This is great for world building. Below are examples of these.

 As you can see, it has great customization features. For those that World Build, you have the ability to create your own times and adjust the names to go along with your stories.

 Here is where you change the skin and set up what you want to show in the inspector. It's really easy to set up and use. You can always go in and change everything if you want it different after awhile.
Managing the Entities is simply.         
 On the left you see the timeline settings. Here you can add and delete Arcs and persons (entities). You can change the colors if you wish. 

Below you can see under "Manage Entities" is where you see, add and change your "Arcs" and "Person". When creating a character, make sure you set up an "Event" for birth and link it in the this section so you can keep track of age and use the participation & observer function. 

To add an event you just fill in this simple form and click add event. As you can see here is where you can add participants and observers. You can always add them later is you're not sure yet. Here is the place to set the duration of the event. I have several that last days and some that last just a few hours. Setting what time it starts it will automatically set the end time at the start time. This is what I usually do as long as I add a time.  The title can be whatever you want, the color is whatever you have chosen for the project, I have several for my series. Leave "Parent" alone until you learn more about it. I haven't figured out a way to use it

with my situation, so I don't. Clicking on "Arc" you can place the event in any "Arc" you have set up. 

Once you have it all set up and "Events" in place your "Timeline View" will look something like this in the light skin:

Here is what it looks like in the dark skin I usually use.

 You can see all the different Arcs on the left. The color lines & dots show the Arcs in my "Global"arc. At the bottom you see the different colors I have chosen for my arcs names. I did that under "Settings" and "Colors". It helps me keep track of the arcs. Now I don't use arcs the way many others do, I use them for each book in the series.  So, you can see here I have four books in the works and the "Global" one that shows everything, last I have births & deaths.

There is a great feature I love and that's the "Relationship" view. If you look below you can see that the arcs or for me books are listed to the left, then you have the events. Looking to the top right you see names, character names that is. Now, look down from those names and you can see the participants and observers. Look even closer and you can see their ages at the time of the event.

A closer look at the left side also shows you the time between events. Like this...

There you have it, my experience with Aeon Timeline. There are youtube videos on how to use Aeon but I found them to be too simple. Feel free to contact me on Twitter ( @jesdeh2o) if you have questions. I will always try and help. 

HAPPY WRITING!

What Time Is It? NANO Time!

Ahh! November is almost here. The one month that gives me great joy and great sadness. Sadness is due to the fact my mom will have been gone for 15 years this year. The great joy is what this post is all about.

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a non-profit.
Their Mission Statement
National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page. -(from their site).
If you wish to help support NaNoWriMo your donations are tax deductible. Donate here.

What is NaNoWriMo all about?
Well, the best way I can describe it is, you write 50,000 words in 30 days. You think it sounds really hard, it is sometimes. For me it's a breeze. Yes, that's right, I have finished every year and the last 3 I have hit 50k in 13 days.

On many social medias you may have seen "Prep-tober" This is related to NaNoWriMo. Prep-tober is October for us Wrimos (NaNoWriMo participants). Prep-tober means a month long planning, outlining, plotting, researching and pulling our hair out month.

I plan meals and snacks more than anything else. I don't outline in a traditional way, my plots are usually thought out months if not years before. So, what do I plan for meals & snacks? At least 20 crock pot freezer meals, recipes can be found on my Pinterest, click on the link to the left. I stock up on Halloween candy all of October, make rice krispy treats, puppy chow, brownies and ranch oyster cracker. In October, I make a bunch of cookie dough and freeze it in balls so I just pull them out and pop them in the oven.
As for my outlines, I said I don't do them in the traditional manner but I sort of outline. I use Aeon Timeline to get the event in order. With it I can even have the event timed out, as in it lasted years, 3 hours or 12 seconds. This helps when I'm doing 2 point of views (POV). It is also what I keep all my events for the series in. Each series has it's own file. If I didn't have Aeon I'd never get anything in the correct order. Between books events happen and I can look and say "She did that months ago." if it is brought up in a future novel.
This is what mine looks like.

Yep, that's my outline stuff... Now, what do I use to write? Scrivener! It has everything I need, no hopping over to another window or screen. I keep my inspiration photos, notes, names, rules, definitions, etc. No need for individual programs for it all. They say it's a typewriter, scrapbook and ring-binder all in one. Take a look for yourself...

You can see on the left is my binder , the middle is my writing space and the right is my scrapbook... Yep just like their website says. I used to use Microsoft Word but after trying Scrivener 5 years ago, I can't go back to it.
I bet you wonder what I do when I have an "ah ha" moments, well I carry pen and paper everywhere.

The last week of October is my "try not to write" week. With all the preparation I do it's really though not to. My brain keeps saying "WRITE!" when I can't. On November 1st my manic state will kick in and I will write starting at midnight.

This year my 13 yr old neighbor girl is joining me NaNo through the Young Writers Program. It's for all kids under 18 years old. This year she asked about it and we got her started. I am amazed how into it she is. Asking all the right questions and she has more planned out than I do. I love seeing young ones get excited they was she has.

SO, what are you doing this October? What's planned for November?

Why? Why? Why?

Today I was sitting here and found out I have many questions about many things. Most start with "Why?", now I've found some answers. I'm going to express them here.

Why do people think PTSD reactions are only caused by loud noises?
      Most think of only veterans and war. The form of PTSD I have is from extreme abuse in my childhood. I suffer from PTSD and most noises don't trigger a reaction. Mine is more certain words and smells, though the neighbor brats slamming the doors all the time have been making me jumpy. Another thing some people don't know, night terrors are a form of PTSD. This is my main issue, after 20 years without them, they popped back into my life. I have went 10 years without symptoms, you never completely recover from PTSD. It can spring up and surprise you at any time.

Why do people think I'm lazy?
     This is pretty easy to answer. I have increasing anxiety, bipolar, rage issues, PTSD and some physical troubles. I can't do much of anything, even checking the mail and running to get milk is hard. I haven't been like this all my life, I've worked 30-50 hours a week for years, raised 2 kids (running them, shopping), and if I could I would work. I hate staying home 24/7. Since the night terrors came back, my anxiety is more easily triggered. My neighbor, Ann, has been wonderful. She and her kids have been getting my mail, running to the store, carry my groceries, visit me, and take my trash out. I only have to leave the house for appointments. If this makes me lazy, then so be it. My damn doctor's refuse to even let me try and work.

Why do teenage girls cause more trouble than teenage boys?
     This I haven't found an answer. My son was the one I thought would cause me trouble, but no. He never got into trouble, always home on time, no drugs, no alcohol, no sex. My daughter on the other hand has been causing so many issues, having sex, lying to, running away and pushing every single one of my buttons. If you have an answer to this please leave a comment.

Why do people have their phones glued to their eyes?
     Not sure about this one. This generation relies on electronic connections, mine didn't. When you wanted to call someone and they weren't home you dealt with it. If you wanted to play games with your friends, you had to go over to their house and ask them, usually playing outside with balls, sticks, rocks, and action figures. Most kids my kids' age don't know how to research without GOOGLE. huh! Mine do, they can use a card catalog, look in books for answers and everything. Damn electronic age!

Why is the sky blue?
     This is a science question. We all know why, but to a kid that's not an answer. My son kept asking why, so I said "Someone named the sky blue." He replied, "Why didn't they make that color purple?" I have no idea why a color is named what they are. Another unknown answer.


Why don't you share your "Why" questions.

The Cocky Story

I was not going to post about this but I feel I need to. If you haven't heard of #cockygate here is a rundown.

An indie author, Faleena Hopkins, has published many books (19 if I read Amazon correctly) in a series. Which was originally named "The Cocker Brothers of Georgia" and "The Cocker Brothers of Atlanta". As you can see below. You can find the original here.  Every book TITLE has the word "cocky" in it, not the series name. These are the 1st eight books in the series.

Ms. Hopkins has had the "Cocker Brothers" series out to read since June 16th 2016 when she released "Cocky Roomie". The last one in the "Cocker Brothers" is book 19, "Cocky Mother's Day: A Holiday Novella". That was released on May 12th, 2018. If you compare the covers from the above photo to the following, you will see that the title hasn't changed on the cover just the listing.

On April 17th 2018 the Trademark office granted Ms.Hopkins a trademark for the single word

"cocky", in a romance title, romance series and the stylized or font of the word as well. As it has been mentioned on Twitter the font is owned by Set Sail Studios. In the purchase contract (as far as I understand) states you can not trademark it.

Why is this all important?

Trademarking a single word that is a descriptive word will set a precedence for all future trademarks. Lets say I trademark the word "and" in the any genre of books, that would mean no one could use it. Soon, there would be no words left to title a book. It would not have been a big deal if Ms.Hopkins only trademarked "The Cocker Brothers" as a whole. A three word series title probably would not have stirred up so much trouble.
If the trademark does hold soon movies and songs and even names would be up for trade marks. Someone posted on Twitter (I'm paraphrasing) "If the word Star had been trademarked then we wouldn't have "Star Wars" Add to the, "Stargate", "Stargate SG1", excreta.
The precedence would begin to eliminate every word that is in the dictionary. The word "cocky" has been around since 1800 circa.  No one can forbid someone else from using a word that has been used for centuries. Now if it's a completely made-up word then MAYBE. I repeat MAYBE.

Next...

A few authors received cease and desist letter though e-mail. Jamila Jasper (Twitter @JamilaJasper ) shared hers on Twitter. Here's what it looked like.

If you read it you can see there is no way any lawyer would suggest or allow their client to send something like this out. My favorite part is "win all the monies" Do you know how much it would cost to re-brand, re-cover and order all new swag? It's a lot. Just think, one book cover could cost $200-$2000 depending on the quality. Indie authors don't make tons of money. Many have full time jobs and families to care for and writing is a hobby.
On May 7th Tara Crescent received a notice from Amazon telling her that her "Cocky" books were being pulled due to the trademark that Ms.Hopkins was given.

RWA (Romance Writers of America) got involved and Amazon decided to wait until the trademark issue was resolved to pull books. Tara's books were back up in a few days.
Meanwhile, Kevin Kneupper (Twitter @kneupperwriter) a retired lawyer now author came out of retirement. He filed a Petition of Cancellation for the "cocky" trademarks on May 7th 2018. You can read the entire petition thanks to Kevin. READ PETITION NOW

Shortly after that Ms.Hokpins decided it would be a good idea to Facebook live a 1:42:00 video. In it she plays the victim. You can watch it here, The Rant. Shortly after she pulled it from Facebook, then proceeded to have youtube to remove all copies of it. Did she not understand that once you post something on the internet it is there forever? If you watch it be prepared for long dramatic pauses throughout.
After the rant many authors posted their own thoughts on youtube. Here are a few I personal watched. YES, there are many links here.

Bianca Sommerland:
Cocky Copyright by Faleena Hopkins
Cocky Continued
Trademark Trolls and the Cocky Rebellion (And yes, I'll comment on the rant)
#COCKYGATE NEW LOW-Faleena Hopkins

Jessica Fry

Response and Open Letter to Faleena Hopkins #CockyGate

Elizabeth York

Let's Talk

Hanleigh Bradley

Thoughts On COCKYGATE

Sasha White

Trademark Cocky, and more

#CockyGate Update

More Cockyness from Faleena Hopkins, and news on the #CockyGate battle

Cocky bits, and Kindle Worlds :(Rumour has It)

#CockyGate author pisses off everyone with a new low

Some of those links are on topics I'll get to next. 

Ms.Hopkins reasons for filing the trademarks were"to protect her brand & so her readers don't continue to buy books with similar titles" (paraphrased that). 

Now in the last 14 days Ms. Hopkins filed a SLAPP temporary restraining order(TRO) on Kevin Kneupper to get him to stop the trademark challenge, Tara Crescent to take down her books to re-title them and Jennifer Watson on infringement of trademark "cocky" having to do with the "Cocktale Anthology"

Kevin Kneupper's part was dismissed and allowed to continue with the trademark challenge. Watson and Crescent still have a long road ahead. Though the TRO has been denied. You can read the court record of the hearing on June 1st 2018 thanks to Courtney Milan who paid for it. Court Doc.
After reading through the court record I looked around to see what else Ms.Hopkins has not put "cocky" in her series title. This is something that she said was easy to change yet she hasn't done it herself.

LOOK! "The Cocker Brothers"







My take on all this as an unpublished author that plans to help-publish is this is a cry for attention. The majority of readers had no clue who she was when this all started. I read all kinds of romance and I never even came across her name. So, it's a publicity stunt or not. I'd say probably. Once #cockygate quieted down she took people to court. Yep, once again I think she needed more attention, or at least she thought she did.


This has been a rough post for me. Too much information to fact check, which I did. I would like to state that in no way shape or form is the title of my post about a prowess male or even female. All pictures were published publicly and I claim no rights to them. All "The Cocker Brothers" photos are from Faleena Hokins' own sites. In no way do I wish to harass or harm anyone with this post.

Thanks for bearing with me in all that I stated. In the next few days I'll be posting all the wonderful authors I have found and met because of #cockygate.

Living in Iowa

Living in Iowa gives you all sorts of weather.Like this week, we had days of 50*F temps and now a massive snow storm is hit us late last night and today. Each weather season you need different things to be prepared. I'm going to share my preparations for winter and tornado season.
With the storm rolling in I went to the store yesterday to stock up. We received 11.5 inches of very wet snow.
My shopping list was short because I had many items here already so I'll list everything I always stock up on for ugly snow/ice storms/

• Water- bottled or gallons I do bottles (1 case for each person)
• Milk
• Eggs
• Bread (three loaves)
• Peanut butter
• Canned chicken & tuna
• Fresh vegetables & fruits (non-perishable)
• Blankets
• Backup electric supply (I have portable solar chargers AND yes they work when it's cloudy)
• Crackers
• Candles
• Camp stove (use outside or in well ventilated place)
• Refill all medications a day before the storm
• Bleach (in case water main breaks and a boil order is issues and no electricity)
• Soda or you favorite caffeine (instant coffee)
• Bottles of juice (for my kiddos)
• Batteries
• Flashlight
• First-aid kit- bandages, rubbing alcohol, peroxide, ace bandages

Other things you need to know is where water shutoffs are at and how to shut them off in case of a pipe breaking. If lights start to flicker, shut down your computers. Power surges can kill it. 

Remember these are just things I have in preparation for a snow/ice storm. You may need to add more if you have an infant or elderly person living with you.

Time for Tornado Preparation

I do not have a shelter where I live so I must go across the street to a friend's. This is what I pack:

• Laptop & charger
• Solar chargers
• Birth certificates, car titles, Social Security cards (all tossed into computer bag.
• Backup all computer files to Dropbox
• Save important things on computer to flashdrive

In Back packs:

• Two bottles of water
• Tablet & charger
• Phone charger
• Ace bandages
• Regular bandages
• Gauze
• Medical tape
• Peroxide
• Rubbing alcohol
• Razors
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Tylenol
• Ibuprophen
• Aspirin
• Ice packs (instant kind)
• All medications
• Travel toothpaste & toothbrushes
• 2 cans of Soda
• Crackers
• A change of clothes, flip flops (we wear tennis shoes so we don't slip on wet ground )

That is all placed in 2 backpacks. My kiddo grabs her computer and chargers and clothes.  

It may seem a lot but an EF-5 tornado came through here 10 years ago. I have also been a first responder so I know what is needed right away. A simple thing like aspirin can save someone who is having a heart attack, or at least help keep them alive while waiting for help. I am also certified in CPR and First Aid. My friend across the street as a back-up generator for my elderly man that needs his oxygen machine charged and all other items like our phones.  Many here in town are scared of tornado season, I however; love it and I'm prepared for almost anything.

If you have a shelter or basement keep a case or two of water and canned foods.

Please be safe in all weather no matter where you are.

It's That Time Again

I finally finished Dalara a few weeks ago. My beta readers have it. I also completed the novella that come after it. Yes, I've been busy. The novella needs a few changes but will be off to the beta readers soon. You would not believe the feeling I got when I finished. I was excited and jumping up and down for a few minutes. Then I dove into the novella, Tasmina. The the anxiety hit, I really sent Dalara off to others. Someone is reading it and OMG! What if they hate it and I suck? So, I decided to get ready for CampNaNoWriMo, takes place in April. With CampNaNo, I can work on current projects or new ones, unlike NaNoWriMo in November. I have completed transferring over the information from Tasmina over to Naleena. I do this so I can keep track of character changes and places added. It's so simple with Scrivener. All I have to do is drag and drop from one project to another. Then I set up a new parent group on Aeon Timeline. For this all I had to do was a few clicks and some words. With Aeon I have all the projects of the series  there, as you can see here.

You can see that each story of assumed story is lined up in order of when I think they should happen. I will probably change them around or change who is involved with those after Naleena. Each event that I write about will get placed in as below shows for Dalara.

I have a few notes written out and ready to go but this is what my desktop looks like.

 

Now I just need words on the page. Remember to sign up for CampNaNo during March. I usually do it around the 7th.

I support all third party software and apps I share but am not compensated for sharing or reviewing them.

It's February!

As we enter into the second month of 2018, I'm looking at what is to be done. Being bipolar with anxiety and arthritis this month sucks. January I completed only a few tasks out of 25. I managed to read A book, cook meals, kept up with dishes and folded laundry when it was brought home. Things I didn't get done that NEEDED to be done: read 5 books, write every day, lose 2 pounds, cut back on soda, drink more water, cut down on smoking and staying calm when kiddo-2 acts out.

I know what you are thinking, I wanted to do more than I should have. Though I think all were reasonable. I'm not too upset I didn't complete January's to do list. This month will be better I hope.

Mental Issues
1. I went to therapy and just bitched about kiddo-2's behavior. Mainly the fact that when I try to remove myself from the situation she follows me, even outside. Therapist had no ideas for me, as usual.
2. I saw my shrink. We decided that I could go 2 months between visits rather than 1. I was also given the go ahead to wean myself off the primidone. That means dropping from every night to every other night for 2 weeks then off them completely. As I have said before my shrink has the confidence in me to control my meds myself. I tried to go off  keppra, but that didn't work well. That means I am staying on it. So far the primidone cut hasn't given me trouble.
3. I managed to socialize with my neighbor, lets call her P. P had an incident that I know will effect her forever. I went through it a long time ago. We hadn't talked much other than the hello in passing. Now we talk 4-5 times a week. She has bipolar, OCD and anxiety too.
4. I made several healthy dinners and made sure there was leftovers to take to my other neighbor, the shut-in. Lets call him S. S doesn't like being around anyone and he doesn't cook other than toss it in the oven crap. I just knock, he answers and I hand him the container. That's it. I go home... walk 3 steps to my door.

Writing
I didn't even come close to me writing goals. I started Midnight Whispers over and am stuck. I tried to edit Dalara and just couldn't get into it. I had hoped to have at least 10,000 words done. Though with everything going on I understand why. When I'm stressed I can't focus and I'm trying something new with Midnight Whispers. Oh, and I've been sick for 2 months or more. Now that I'm better focus should come soon.
Here is my February goals:
1. Re-setup Scrivener for Midnight Whispers
2. Write 15,000 words of Midnight Whispers.
3. Edit at least 2 chapters of Dalara.
4. Get Inevitable Destinyz off to a beta reader & editor.
5. Research self-publishing again
6. Get Aeon Timeline set up for Midnight Whispers


Reading
I finished "When Darkness Comes"  by Alexandra Ivy. It's the 1st in her Guardians of Eternity series. I have read it several times and I love it more each time. This month I plan on reading the next 4 in the series.

Other Goals
1. Make freezer meals (Feb. 2nd & 3rd)
2. Cut down o soda
3. Drink more water
4. Keep the living room clean
5. Crochet a bit

That seems a lot but it really isn't. I know if I set my mind to them all I can get them all done. Remember, when setting goals make them small and simple. Even 1 small thing completed will make you feel better.

The New Year

Today is the first day of the new year. Many are planning on making changes in 2018 & hoping for things to change n the world. No matter what we do 2018 can be a start of something different. I have never done a New Years Resolution but this year I'm going to try.



Writing/Reading

• Write 150 words daily (2017- 250 words)
• CampNaNoWriMo - April & July 25k words each (2017 completed)
• NaNoWriMo- November 50k words (2017 completed)
• Blog at least twice a month
• Goodreads Reading Challenge 100 books (50-100 yearly & make it)

Eating Habits

• Eat healthy with more home-cooked meals (2017- too much pizza & chips)
• Cooking- Make crock-pot freezer meals every month (2017- Only 2 months)
• Drink more homemade fruit infused water (2017- drank too much soda)

Hygiene/ Mental Health

• Take showers every other day (2017- bathed every night but washed hair once a week)
• Take medication every day (2012-2017 completed) Medisafe app helps
• Keep all therapy & shrink appointments (2015-2017 completed)

Cleaning

• Do dishes every day (2017- once or twice a week)
• Vacuum once a week (2017- twice a month)
• Fold laundry when it's done (2017- folded once a month)

As you can see my goals are not to hard for normal people. I'm not normal at all. With bipolar I have a hard time doing things like housework and cleaning. Add to it that when I don't clean for a day I get anxious and have no idea where to start or I start something (like dishes) and never finish them.