It's Been Months

This will be short today; I'll just be updating a few things.

Breast Health:

I had my follow up mammogram and everything is great. After the biopsy all of the fluid cysts have seemed to disappear. There is NO trace they were even there. The DNA test for all kinds of hereditary cancers were NEGATIVE! I will now be back to every 6 months for mammograms until 2021. After that It'll be every 2 years if things stay good.

Mental Health:

My anxiety has been better since the downstairs neighbor passed away and her kids moved. I know that sounds bad but it's the truth. Another neighbor that caused some of my anxiety has also moved. I'm able to get my mail more than I used to.
My bipolar is still under control and no rage episodes for a few months.
My depression has been on and off. Like anyone else I have those ups and downs but I'm able to cope for now.
PTSD night terrors have settled down a bit. They appear at least three times a week instead of every night.
OCD is causing some anxiety. With the depressive days I can't seem to clean. I have been getting some if not all the dishes done which is one of the hardest things for me to do.

New medical conditions:

COPD has hit. I had a major flare up the 1st of the month. A 36 hour hospital stay, 4 nebulizer treatments every day until yesterday (now twice a day), steroids and new twice a day inhaler. My second follow up Monday was great. I'm back to 97% oxygen stats. I have also cut back on smoking big time. I was at about 35 cigarettes a day, now it's about 8 a day. Steroids were finished a few days ago. I seem to be better but I am keeping track of my breathing and adding 30 minutes of meditation breathing every day.

Other News:

Kiddo-1 has been a great help. After several months of ignoring me he has called twice a week and brought his new girlfriend over the other day. I even got to spend his birthday (22nd) with him for dinner. 

Kiddo-2 has been frustrating. She's back to not wanting to go to school again. I took her to her therapist in hopes that would get her to go only to find out she skipped yesterday. At 17 she is still getting good grades I just wish she'd get her butt to school. Planning Homecoming is happening as well as the Winter Formal. If you don't have or haven't had a teenage girl, trust me dress shopping is the worst. Trying on 15 dresses for both trips sucked.

I have started planning my NaNoWriMo 2019 project. I'm excited since it is the beginning of a new series. I have completed book 1 of my 1st series and hoping to publish in 2020. The 2nd-4th books are planned. I'm finishing up the 1st draft of the second and restarting the 3rd. The 4th is planned and even the 5th has started popping into my head.

I think that's it. Tell me about your health and adulting in the comments. I love seeing it all.

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?

NaNoWriMo Time!

It's that time of year! NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is almost here. I have been preparing for it for the first time, in detail that is. Here are the things I have worked on so far. The title is Midnight Whispers. The is a permanent one thanks to my Twitter friends.

Here is the logo for my main male character's business, Thegrot Security. The do a wide variety of services from home security systems to secret body guards, internet security and child recovery. 

The logo was created at Free Logo Design.

They have many vehicles but he one below is the most used. All are bullet resistant and have several features of protection. 

Yes I have done tons of prepping this year. I still can't believe I've done so much. 

Next up is Elyan's (main male character) personal vehicle and yes it's a typical guy car. Porsche 718 S.

You want to know how I found them? Well, I went to the car websites and built them. This means I customized everything and have every detail about each car. Now if I need to describe the stereo system I have it. It was kind of fun. It was easy since I'm a car girl.

On top of all that research I have done I have worked on my Scrivener. I have all the characters so far, their DOB's and a few have cars and habits. I still have far to go with their bios but that usually comes as I write. I never know what their favorite food, music, etc. until I get to know them a bit. My 2 main characters have a bit more than the supporting ones have. Adding to that I have places and their descriptions of the exterior and interior. I have the security firm, strip club, bar & grill, a popular local bar, a pizza place, the hospital where my main female character works and her apartment. I'm working on my main male character's home now.  Here's what it looks like now.

This is the first time I captured Scrivener with the inspector open. As you can see I have my main characters set as photos instead of a words. This help if I need a quick reminder of their appearance while writing. When I come across a picture I find I like for the other characters I'll do the same thing.

Another aspect of Scrivener I normally don't look at or use is the Outline section. This year for NaNoWriMo I started to and I think it helped a tiny bit. Look and see. Yes I'm sharing my outline, at least what I have so far. You also see how short my scene splits are. I use each one for a single event such as meeting, seeing or an interaction. I haven't met anyone that does it besides me, not that others don't. Each scene section can be anywhere from 500 words to 3000 words. I also split them into each character scene. Say Elyan sees Caitlyn and his emotions are described the next one could be Caitlyn feeling him watching her and her fear.

My Aeon Timeline is started as well. I have the first 2 events in it and the beginning of the species creation. All the characters are entered with dates of birth; making it easy to see their age in each event. With the places in there it helps with keeping track of where everyone goes and how much. You can see below, the ages of Elyan and Caitlyn when the events occur. 

I have finally found out how to use the length of time per event. This has been a wonderful option. I now know how long it takes a character to get home from work or how long they stay at a place. Here is an example of using the duration option. In the inspector to the right of the picture you see the options.

I thought about using Scapple with this project but I can't seem to get at it. I used it for another project but I don't think I'll use it for this one.

Another thing I'm doing for NaNoWriMo is making a menu and shopping list. Here's what I'll be making:

Beef fajitas (crock pot freezer meal)
Sweet-n-sour chicken (crock pot freezer meal)
Meatloaf
Spaghetti
Beef stew (crock pot freezer meal)
Sub sandmiches
Chicken-n-dumplings (homemade)
Flank steak (crock pot freezer meal)
Mongolian beef (crock pot freezer meal)
Tacos
Salads
Roasted veggies

Now for snackies:

Rice Krispie treats with chocolate frosting
Spinach/artichoke dip
Reese's peanut butter cups
Kit-Kats
A bunch of different chips
Chocolate chip cheese cake
Homemade cookies

So, preparing for NaNoWriMo isn't just preparing for writing. I love getting food all ready on the 3rd of the month.  I'll write all day on the 1st, grocery shop on the 2nd & prep food on the 3rd. I'll have all freezer meals done, snacks prepped and cook up taco meat & spaghetti meat. Dicing all veggies for everything... this make tacos easy, just heat up the meat and toss the pre-cut veggies on. The same go for the salads. I'll end up cutting 12 peppers (different colors), onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, and anything else needed. Before you ask, yes I do this every month. It makes parenting life easy. Just pull out what you want the night before and toss it into the crock pot in the morning. Sometimes my daughter will do it both. 

If you want ideas for freezer meals search Pinterest. I have tone of them on my boards.

Prep-Tober Time!

What is prep-tober you ask. It's the October which is the month to prepare for November's NaNoWriMo (50,000 words in 30 days). This means I will be setting up my NaNo project, researching and planning all kinds of other crap. It's also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which my mom died from breast cancer. So, STRESS is going to be high. Then add in kiddo-2's issues and kiddo-1 constantly getting hurt by accident (torn ACL, car accident & spraining his ankle). I'm gonna split up each issue in this post.

Prep-Tober

I have begun to get my characters in order with names, DOB's, likes, dislikes, etc. Aeon Timeline is started as well. I have the start of my species and DOB's put in as well as the start point of the story.  Next step is to set up my Scapple mind-mapping.
This story is going to be about non-sparkling vampires and shifters mixing with humans. Always fun. I'm not really sure how the species are going to mingle but they will at some point. Since I'm a pantser (non-planner), I never know where the characters will take me in the end. I know there will be certain humans that can mate and have offspring to each species. How this will happen or how they know is still lost on me.
Working title is  'Midnight Whispers'. My main characters are Abigail (human) & Elyan (vampire). Elyan owns and runs a security firm named 'Trinity Security'. His business hires only the best: shifters, military, NSA, CIA, FBI, and martial arts experts to train. Abigail is a labor & delivery nurse at the major hospital. She works 40-80 hours a week and has little time for anything outside work. Elyan becomes infatuated with Abigail. She's leery about him, of course.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 36. I was 18 and didn't know what was really happening because she hid most of it from me. I knew she was having chemo but she had no side-effects. 9 years and 9 months after she was deemed in remission it struck again. They hadn't put it in total remission, it spreed to her liver and brain. I split from my husband at the time, moved in with her, her husband and my 2 kiddos. My son was 5 and my daughter almost 1. My step-father worked, I went to school and took care of my mom's appointments and treatment. After a year, the cancer was so wide-spreed in her brain the chemo would do nothing and radiation wasn't working. Mom decided to stop treatments. Even though it killed me, I supported her choice. It only took 3 months for her to pass. I kept her home until  a few days before her birthday, which was Nov. 14th. We put her in a hospice type long term care. 2 weeks later, the day after Thanksgiving she passed. Exactly 2 weeks after her 47th birthday. 

Since I was 29 I had to wait a year before my insurance allowed mammograms. I have had them once a year for 14 years now. A few years they had me doing them every 6 months. This means I've had 18 mammograms before I was 41. I have been finally cleared to go 18 months between, unless they find something. I have many fibroids that it makes it difficult to read the mammograms.

PLEASE get your boobs squished. 

Recommendation is 1st mammogram  at 40 and every 2-5 years after that. I have breast cancer on both sides of my family tree so I'm at higher risk. My daughter will be getting her 1st one at age 20, this is because my mother was so young when she first had hers and my daughter tested positive for the inherited gene as I have. We have also been told to get pap smears yearly since there is a higher chance of us getting ovarian or cervical cancer. 

Stress

My daughter thinks she's 'in love'  with a boy that's 20 and she's only 15. He's been convicted of  a class D felony and is facing charges for a class C felony. It's illegal for them to have sex, though they have admitted they had sex last November, which means she was only 14 at the time. There is nothing I can do to keep them apart unless I catch them having sex or she tries to run away with him. Though today she has told me that she wants to go out for the drill team and help out at the largest haunted house in Iowa. She's worked the haunted house for the past several years. Her counselor says her getting involved with these activities might help her stay away from the boy. Since he is out for preliminary, meaning he is under house-arrest. He has no phone nor internet so there will be no contact, but I worry all the same.

My son, 20 years old, has had a hard year bringing me down with him. April 30th he tore his ACL playing basketball, July 21st he was in a major car accident, and now he sprained his ankle playing basketball. He was off work for awhile, I bought food and helped him out with getting his bills paid. He's bipolar and non-medicated at the moment. Imagine 2 bipolar people in the same place for long periods at time, especial when they usually set each other off. Yes, I take my meds daily as ordered but he doesn't. It sets off my anxiety and a depressive mood. It took me a week, a full week, to get dishes done. I'm hoping that now things have settled down and he's back to work I'll be able to get back on track.

Another stress is that my disability hearing should be coming up in the next few months and I'm worried that they will find some reason to deny me again. I haven't been able to work for almost 10 years now. Add to that we have a unit by unit inspection for house cleaning in a few weeks.

That's what's going on. I'm handling it much better than I thought I would. Many are impressed that I haven't hurt anyone yet. Today I managed to get most of the kitchen clean and yesterday I cleaned my room. It's progress and I'll take it. Every accomplishment is an achievement. Bipolar, depression and anxiety is a day to day, minute to minute living. 

Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2017

What is NaNoWriMo you ask...

NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month.

"National Novel Writing Month is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (formerly known as the Office of Letters and Light) that believes your story matters.

Our 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." {©www.nanowrimo.com }

Basically, it's 30 days of writing with the goal of 50,000 words. Yes, it sounds extreme but it has been fun and exciting every year I have done it. The first year was the hardest, I had several setbacks because I ended up deleting words, a no-no for NaNoWriMo. Sounds harsh? Not at all. The objective is to write 50,000 words no matter how beautiful or horrid they are. Making it great is what edits are for. Once I figured that out I have had no issues.

This year is the 1st year that I have started before the end of October. I have no idea why I'm prepping now other than I the research will take forever. I had to chose a city that I have never been to; which means I have to get maps. Of course, online ones suck. I'd have to have a monitor that's at least 50 inch screen to see it all at once. Right now I'm waiting on North Carolina's Travel & Tourism to mail maps, historical places and fun things to do there. Once I have them I can get my homes & places in order. I have already found out the crime rates in every areas of the city and the population influx during the school year.

The basics are almost done....

☑ Main character names (Elyan & Abigail)
☑ Character personalities 
☑ Plots figured out 
☐ Plot twists
☐ History of species
☑ How they contract the virus
☐ Plot twist
☑ Tattoos and birthmarks figured out and drawn

I know I'm forgetting a few but those are the main ones for the writing.

These are much easier since they are household prep.

☐ Menus for November
☐ Grocery list for November
☑ Cleaning list for October
☑ List of snacks for the weekends

There that's how I usually prep in October. Starting it now is difficult but I think necessary since I have decided the city. That and since my bipolar & anxiety is acting up and I can't leave my apartment without issues. It gives me something to do. That all means that I have tons of time on my hands to get everything done. 

Once the maps get here I'll get them laminated so I can use dry erase markers to mark things. Maybe I'll laminate all the info I get so it'll stand the test of time. I've even researched places that laminate so I can get it done cheap since I have no money. 

NaNoWriMo Has Started

As with every November 1st, I am knee deep in words. 50,000 words in 30 days is challenging but fun. Though this year is hard. Not only has my 19 year old son decided to stay with me until he can find an apartment my daughter is having depression issues as well. Here's the rundown:

Kiddo-1 moved in with a girl he knew for only 2 months, that lasted 2 weeks. He is bipolar, un-medicated at that. He's not really being adultish, tossing fits when I tell him he has to buy things for the house or help with bills. My place looks like a tornado went thru here and the mess is causing my to lash out. Typical OCD/Bipolar even with meds. My dishes were ALL dirty yesterday and a friend came over and did them. This hadn't happened since kiddo-1 moved out.

Kiddo-2 is having episodes of depression and anxiety. She is now medicated, something I never thought I'd have to do with her. It's for the best I know but at first I felt like a failure. Her grades dropped for a few weeks. She is now back on track and it makes me feel better and she feels better.

For me it's stressful having kiddo-1 here but I can't let him sleep in his car. I am making it work the best I can. My issues are that I can't keep anything clean, can't write when kiddos are floating around this small 2 bedroom apartment and I have no space with kiddo-1's things all over the place. Add in that I have had to fill out paperwork for an apartment for him... in the building next to mine. He bitches when I have him sign papers. I had the offer to move back to the 3 bedroom but I can't handle an un-medicated bipolar in my home. All that is needed for him to move in is a bank statement and the apartment to be cleaned and painted. Hoping for move in date in 2 weeks if not sooner. Then I have to call the church and see if they can help with the deposit for him. All this and my normal issues, writing tons of words this month and trying to feed 3 when I have barely enough to feed 2. I tore a muscle and tendon in my shoulder so I have to be careful with my dominant arm.

Grocery shopping usually happens on the 2nd, today, but kiddo-1 had to work and my ex-mother-in-law broke her shoulder. So now I have to wait until I have a ride and someone to help carry everything in, up to the second floor. We have an apartment inspection next week which means I must clean the place OCD style and make sure we can find everything.

Now for my NaNoWriMo WIP (work in progress)... I'm ahead on it and feeling like it's gonna be good. Here's an excerpt....

Lynell was running through the woods as fast as she could carrying her young. She knew they were coming for her, to take the baby away and impregnate her again. They were using females as breeders and sending the young off. After weeks of planning she finally escaped with a few other females, though she hadn’t seen any of them for days. Another branch smacked her in the face while holding the little one as close to her body as she could. Stopping near a small stream Lynell inhaled trying to smell if they were still following her and if so how close. Sighing in relief, Lynell walked to the edge of the water. Setting the little one down on soft sandy bank, she drank the water as fast as she could. Not knowing when it’ll be available again. The water was icy since it was still spring and made her feel hopeful, if only for a second.
The little one started wailing, he was hungry. Lynell picked him up and put him to her breast. It was a good thing, she thought, that there was no looking for his food. She washed the cloth she was using as a diaper. Once done she closed her eyes hoping to get an hours rest. 
When Lynell woke, the sun had begin to peek over the horizon, she had slept for hours. Quickly feeding the little one she took off running again. With the sleep she got she was energized but had allowed those chasing her to get closer to her. Not that she knew if they were still after her. She couldn’t take the chance. 
Coming across an abandoned shed, Lynell hurried inside and found a old dusty bed. Knowing she shouldn’t leave the little one alone but needed to find herself some food; she placed him down and quietly left. It didn’t take her long to find water again. Shifting for the first time in days she managed to catch a few rabbits and returned to the shed in less than half an hour. Shifting back she curled up with the little one and fell asleep.

***********

An early morning run was one of Drew’s favorite things to do, plus he had to patrol his land. As Alpha of a small pack he needed to. After his relocation the Council, the ruling wolves, demanded; he was still getting used to the land and smells. Over three months and now the scents changed with spring coming. New growth, melting snow and more animals running around. When he first caught the scent he thought it was just a regular wolf or fox. Inhaling deeper he found it to be a wolf shifter. One not of his pack. Following the trail it led off his property. No shifter was allowed into an Alpha’s territory without permission, so he followed it. Just because his land ended didn’t mean his territory did. Five miles off property the scent was strong, only seconds old. Speeding up he lost it and ended up backtracking. Near an old falling down shed the scent was strong and the wolf was still there. That’s when he heard it, a baby cry. What the hell would a wolf bring a human baby out here, he thought. 
Shifting and slowly approaching the shed he, caught the scent, the baby was no human but a wolf pup. He didn’t want to scare the female, females were very protective of their young and she would try and fight him. Looking into what once held a window he saw a young female sleeping with the pup in her arms. She looked dirty and must have been exhausted because she hadn’t woken to his presence or the pup crying. 
Drew walked around to the door and crept in. Once standing above the female he used his Alpha commanding voice, “Get up!”
She jumped grabbing the pup and holding it close. Without looking up she tried to run. Drew cut her off and growled. She immediately dropped to her knees.
“What is your name female? And what are you doing in my territory?”
He watched the female clutch the pup even closer, almost squishing it to death.
“I am Lynell Lora Pritt, Alpha. I didn’t know I was in your territory, Alpha.”
“What are you doing out here with a pup so young?” He had noticed the pup was barely whelped or born as humans call it.
“Please don’t send me back, I beg of you.”
“What are you talking about? Your Alpha doesn’t know you left?”
“Please don’t. He’ll take my pup and mate me again.”
Drew was trying to put her words together so he understood them. Was she really saying her Alpha was raping her and steeling the pups? It was against law to mate with one under the age of twenty-two. This female was barely eighteen if he was judging correctly.
“Come, you need a shower, clean clothes and a meal.”
“You won’t send me back, Alpha?”
“Not until you tell me everything. Now come.”
He led led her back to the Alpha house. They didn’t talk. He was still trying to wrap his head around what she had said. Why would an Alpha do what she said? Was her story true or was it a lie. Usually he could sense a lie but she smelled of dirt and the forest. 
Zaran, his Beta, was approaching and he saw Lynell hug the pup closer as if it would be taken from her. 
“That’s just my Beta. You are safe.”
As Zaran stood before them, “Alpha, what is going on?”
“I’m not sure yet. For now we are protecting this female and her pup.”
“Very well. I’ll continue your patrol.”
“Good.” Zaran left and Drew ushered Lynell inside. The kitchen smelled of sausage, eggs, bacon and toast. Aisley was cooking breakfast. He had brought Aisley with him when he was moved. She had been his house female for years. The second she saw Lynell and the pup she rushed around the island.
(c) 2016 Jessica Dewater

Have a great month and enjoy life's little things!

Disappearing Into My Own World

As this month comes to an end, I look at all I have accomplished. Finishing NaNoWrimo was at the top of my list. That and fall cleaning my apartment. Now I'm feeling the loss of my mom. After 11 years you would think I'd function better than I am. Last year I did great, better than any other year. Now I'm struggling. I think it's because this year the dates are lined up as they were in 2003. Mom's birthday would have been the 14th and she died on the 28th, the day after Thanksgiving.

To make matters worse, I have people complaining that I'm refusing to go to any Turkey Day dinners (my kids are though). I don't like to socialize as it is, what makes them think I want to spend time with ones that remind me this time of year is my mom loved. I just want to drown in my writings. Writing helps me deal with all the stresses that come from being a single mother with little money.

I'm editing 'Dalara' and working on one without a title. No, it's not my NaNo one. The plot bunnies (something that keeps your mind running with ideas) are making it hard not to start another one. I have no idea where it's going but I'm liking it so far. I think it'll be the 3rd in the 'Tamesville' series.

As the weather here in Iowa grows cold snowy and windy, I am hurting. Many of my joints are inflamed, causing me pain. I wish I had the money to move south. My health gets worse as the temps drop and I can barely function. I hate not being able to do things with my kids. We usually sit watch Neflix or a movie, if we do anything at all together. They are gone over school breaks and weekends; Busy with friends and sports every other time.  At times I feel as if I'm failing them. Then I think other times I'm doing good. Neither of my teens lie, drink, smoke, do drugs, or anything teens experiment with. Curfews are always kept.

I signed up with Critique Circle. It's a web based site set up to help writers achieve their goals and better their writing. This will be a major step for me. I'm one who does not like other to read my work until my OCD thinks it perfect. My fear is as many new writers, the novel sucks. Hoping joining will push me past this.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday.

10 Days and I'm Done

As there is 10 days left for NaNoWriMo, I have passed the 50k mark. Only a day behind last year. For the last week I had been struggling to get there. Now that I've hit goal, I have all these plot bunnies running in my head. With them in there I now have 2 more ideas for novels. Yeah, not like I don't have to finish the 2 I have almost finished.

As for editing, I'm working on the 1st in the Tamesville Series. Hoping to get 'Dalara' to my beta-reader by the first of the year. Then publish by March. I have my doubts it will be any good or even sell. Never hurts to try. I'll be blogging about the process once I get there.

With the holidays coming, it's time to slow my pace down and relax. I plan on writing on Thanksgiving and Christmas since I stay home while the kiddos see family. We will have a combo meal the 1st weekend of December; turkey, ham and all the fixings.  My house is still pretty much clean and so it's food prepping I will have to do.

Writer's Stuck?!?!?!

Behind is not where I wanted to be. I wanted over 35k words written for NaNoWriMo and I'm stuck at 21k. Though I am ahead of the 1667 words daily, it is frustrating. I know The storyline, my characters changed it a bit but nothing I can't handle.

So, why did I refuse to write for 3 days? I thought it was because my Main character decided to switch the man she would end up with. That had worked itself out the first night I didn't write. I wrote for 13 hours with #WriteClub at @FriNightWrites Thursday and then stopped.
Maybe an overload? I wrote so much in that time I might have fried some neurons.

Maybe my normal November depression is hitting? Yeah, i miss my mom but it's not as bad this year, at least I don't think it is. It's for her that I participate in NaNoWriMo. Her love for reading was more than anyone I know. She would have a book in her hands 24/7 if she could have. There was on in her purse, one in the car, one by her bed and of course one in her hand. SHe could read, watch TV and eat all at once. I've never mastered that nor do I think I will. SO, All in all I don't think it's depression.

With 20 days left I believe I can make it to 50k plus more, hopefully. I'm not very optimistic. Never have been never will be.

On a good note, I met an author that wants to read my dribble when it's done. Not going to hold my breath to hear it's good.. I know it sucks but I write it any way. Why, you ask. Hmm... good question.
I guess to leave the real world behind and hide within mine. I have total control over it (for the most part) and Nothing bad happens to me.

I guess that's all for now. I'm hoping to get back here before the end of the month.

Getting Myself Ready!

I haven't been writing much as of lately. This is not a good thing. I should be writing daily. So, with this I have zero links in my Write Chain Challenge. That makes me a bit discouraged. I had made it to link 58 and then broke it.

They may be cute but dangerous!

As I have just under 38.5 hours until NaNoWriMo starts, I am trying not the be anxious over it. I finished last year and I will this year. Though the plotbunnies are trying to get me started early. They have been running over the plots and the emotions of certain scenes. For those who don't know what plotbunnies are are cute but they are the ideas that keep sidetracking one from the plot or the things you talk to when you look like you're talking to yourself. Or a story idea that refuses to go away until its written. They are great at stressing you out and driving you insane at times. Outsiders (non-writers) tend to think you are schizophrenic; that is not the case though.

Scrivener all set up.

As preparing for NaNoWriMo, I have found that a character is not going to be easy to control in my writing. She is independant and mouthy. Why did I create her like that? Well, she is bound to make it very interesting. My Scrivener is up and ready for my NaNoWriMo WIP. My

Timeline all ready to go.

Aeon Timeline is ready to go and set for this novel. The time line was easier than Scrivener since all I did was make another arc. Yeah I know; the arcs are for the changes in a single story. I use them to separate the sequels in my series. I helps me more that using it normal.

With the 3 writathons going on between @GetWordies and @FriNightWrites I should be at 35k by the 15th. If not finished to 50k. 3 weekends of writing will definitely get me passed 30k.

Holiday plans:
If I hit 40k by the20th I will have Turkey day on the 30th. Otherwise it will be December 6th. My family is spares and not that into holidays other than Solstices and Samhain.

If you notice, I have completed my Reading Challenge ahead of schedule. 40 books this year. That will give me time to get all the writing done.

GOOD LUCK with NaNoWriMo folks. 

NaNoPrep Moving Along

With less than a week to go, I have most of my prep done for NaNoWriMo. Here's what's completed:

• Plots determined
• Twists (if characters let it happen that way)
• Characters 
• Character relationships (though they may change my mind)
• Places described and arranged  
• Title and title to the series (at least I think)
• Started writing 2000 word daily
• Aeon timeline set up
• Scrivener set up
• Calendar set and marked for all the writathons
• Word count meters setup 

This week has been good and hoping that this next week I need to get more done. I have most of my housework (Fall Cleaning) done. That is always a must before November and NaNoWriMo gives me that extra push.
SO, here is what has been done in my house:

• Scrubbed all floors on hands and knees
• Cleaned washer 
• Removed all lint from dryer vent
• Washed every dish in the house with soapy bleach water
• Wiped out cupboards
• Scrubbed & disinfected bathroom
• Vacuumed all carpet twice
• Washed rugs, curtains and bedding (I do bedding every other week though)
• Wiped all light switches and door knobs with Clorox wipes
• Dusted everything (picture frames included)
• Cleaned frig and freezer (inside & out)
• Cleaned microwave and oven
• Cleaned inside windows
• Re-arranged the living room for winter

There! See I have been very busy. Now on the 3rd I'll do my monthly grocery shopping and then prepare freezer meals for the month. Oh! And make NaNo snacks. @GetWordies has tons of meals, freezer meals and snackies on their blog and on Pinterest.  With 25 meals prepped and ready my kids can just toss them in the microwave, crockpot, or slap together a salad or sandmich. I think freezer meals were invented for NaNoWriMo. 

Kids will get their rooms done in the next few days so the whole house will be done before the 1st!

As for writing, I started what was to be an adult novella. It seems to be turning into a YA that will link with the series I'm working on. Don't know how that happened but it did. That one will be call 'Sara' I think. Maybe "Sara's Coming of Age". I guess I'll figure it out later.

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.

How I use Timelines

I thought since I showed y'all how I use Scrivener it was time to show you Aeon Timeline.

Aeon is by second best writing tool. Of course Scrivener is my bestest. Scribble Code has come up with an easy way to track events in your novel with Aeon Timeline. As we explore Aeon keep in mind this is the way I use it. Everyone will use it differently.

Many like the idea there are several options to time periods. As you can see here; you have the basics along with the ability to create your own. This helps in world building. I use the normal BC-AD for my novels. 

As you can see here is part of my time line for my serials. I have 2 arcs open with the characters below. Their ages are added when you add an event that includes them. At the top you have you dates and at the bottom you have a slider bar to move quickly over long periods of time. I use this the most since my WIP is over 1000s of years. 

The arcs are easy to flip back and forth to. You can have several open or just one. I usually have the MC I'm working on and the Birth/Death arc open. The Characters are always open in mine. All my arcs are color coded as are my characters by generation or who's book they are going to be in. (That's if the characters cooperate.)

Here is an event on my global arc. As you can see to the right is the open inspector. It contains everything about the event. Time, date, label (which is the MC for me), Arc it's in, and of course the title. As you can tell this is in Dalara's book and it's in the Global arc under Dalara's label. 

This is one of my favorite options; the ability to lock events so you don't accidentally move it. Once I have the date set I lock the event. And believe me I have deleted events or moved them years from where they should be.







Here is my character listing. You can see that there are a few different colors and their ages are visible. This is one feature I love since some of my characters are over 2000 years old.

Here is my Birth/Death arc. I record births in pink and deaths in black. This is scrolled in as to see as much of the time line births as we can. 

So, that's how I use Scrivener Timeline. It's simple and easy. Plus it's one of the few easy ones that won't break your bank. They sponsor NaNoWriMo and I bought mine at discount when I won last year. Check out their free trial. I guarantee you won't be sorry.

It's Been Awhile

I really need to keep up. It has just been so stressful the last few months. Now I'm just getting over a sinus infection, ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. Not 100% better but about 98%. Now to update you.

•  I've been reading a New to Me series. Mark of the Vampire by Laura Wright. Review maybe in a few days.
• Working on my Twitter writing account and blog for Get Wordies.
• Planning November's NaNoWriMo stuff.
• Getting kids ready for another year of school. My son'd last year in high school :( Yes, I'm old as dirt as my kids say.
• Washer exploded water all over the kitchen and living room. Damn floor is sloped the wrong way. None of the water went near the floor drain. 
• I started Chantix to help me quit smoking. I'm down 90% maybe more. 
• Dalara is coming along great. I have about 3 chapters to go before I send it to someone to edit. 
• I have an idea for cover that I never thought I would like. Having a friends help out with it. Love knowing photographers. Maybe I'll even do an Author shoot. I know I'm getting ahead of myself.
• I'm thinking about writing a novella between now and November as well as finishing Dalara. 
• Inevitable Destinyz has been set aside.

Wow that is tons of info in short space.  

The novella I'd do is a paranormal romance that has nothing to do with any of my novels in progress. Now off I go to research a bit more on men's feelings...I know that will be a chore and a half.