NaNoWriMo is about to Begin!

NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month, Thirty days devoted to writing an entire novel. That's 50,000 words in thirty days.

Here's the break down:
 Sign up at nanowrimo.org
 Declare a project: Title, Cover image, Synopsis
 On November 1st, START WRITING!
 Everyday, check in with your word count.

And that's it. Easy as pie. It's great fun, and good practice for focusing. If you follow any of the nanowrimo boards on twitter there are usually admins running writing sprints, prompts, and other little tidbits to help you get through your writing day.

If you're still not sure you can do it...just try. Writing the first word is the first step. 

And Happy Halloween!!!!!

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This Screaming In My Head

I'm taking a few minutes for myself while Lil Miss watches Peg + Cat to write this.
I've written before that I'm happy, much happier than I was before. But there's something that eats away at me.

It's failure. Every time Lil Miss asks for something, I have to tell her no, because we don't have the money. Every time she wants to go to the park, I have to look all over town on the weekends for a park that hasn't been rented out for someone's birthday. But what breaks me in half is when she cries because she has no friends.

We've moved to a new town, again, where we know absolutely no one. Lil Miss's birthday passed a few weeks ago and she had no friends to invite over for a birthday party. She didn't even have  a birthday party, just a cake I made for her and a few presents from us and my in-laws (who do live near us, thank god we're not completely alone). She received gift-cards from others that we used to buy her cold weather clothes, things she needed.

But it's friends she wants. People to play with. Mommy and daddy is all she has right now, and when she plays with her aunt and uncle she breaks down when we have to leave them.

I feel like a failure because I should be doing more for her, but what else can I do? I want to home school her, am trying to, but she wants friends. She did really well in Sunday school the few times my father took her to church with him and his girlfriend. So there's evidence she would do well in a school setting. And she wants to go to school. She doesn't see the schoolwork we do here as school, just something she has to do. The only real way to get her to sit down and pay attention is buy paying her in TV time.

Shows like Peg + Cat, the Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, they all do really well teaching her different situations. Lil Miss lea
rned her whole alphabet from watching PBS, even counting to 100 (the thing I helped there was counting with her when she would ride her bike in circl
es, and that was a game she invented). She can skip count by two's. She asks how to spell words. All of this from TV.

Math is easy for her. Reading, not so much.

Maybe if I put her in school she would do better. Teachers are trained for it better than I am. She wants so much to do things on her own.

Do you see why I feel horrible all the time? I can't give her friends, I didn't put her in a traditional school, she learns more from TV than me. What hell am I even good for in this situation?

I do I help Lil Miss when all she wants is to play?

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I'm Not Dead!

Cheese and crackers this past summer has been a process. Neither good nor bad, just...a process. If you haven't guessed from earlier posts, I made some decisions for the better. The goal was to be happier and fix some relationships, and I got so much more than that.

I found out my mama is sick, has been for a while. As much as I wanted to hate her for everything she did to me growing up, I just couldn't do it. We don't know how much longer she has. So I've put everything behind me and stopped being angry with her. I cannot forgive or forget, but I can let it go. I wanted to make sure that she has time with the only grandchild she has. I know she loves her, she would give my Lil Miss her last dollar if she asked (which she probably would). She loves seating at the table and watching Lil Miss cut out strips of paper to build a railroad, or color pictures, or play hide & seek. It makes Mama happy, therefore, it makes me happy.

The most important thing about forging my own path was for my marriage. Sometimes we get so set in our ways we don't see the walls of our homes crumbling down. The roof was gone, the rain pouring in. So I left, and started a new home. I am very happy to say that my husband joined me in this new house. We're still working out problems, but now we're working together, instead of just living in the same house.

And what of the writing career (The whole purpose of this blog!)?

Well, it's getting there. I'm still writing, just not as much. I dedicate three, maybe four, hours a day to nothing but writing. In the morning I'm with Lil Miss and in the evening my husband is home and we spend family time and together time then. Once everyone goes to bed (they have an 8:00 pm bedtime, early work-shifts
), I get to sit alone in the dark at my desk, writing.

I work this way so that I don't take time away from either of them. If I ever sit down to write when they're around nothing ever gets done. Lil Miss wants to play or ask a thousand questions, Hubby needs help finding this or that, asks my opinions on a kitchen island I desperately want (hopefully I'll get it for Christmas, handmade by the hubby), or someone just wants to cuddle.

The writing career is going slowly, but I haven't stopped. As we speak I am on draft 8 (yes EIGHT) of Legacy. Things there are going swimmingly, although I giggle like a little schoolgirl when I get to, eh-hm, certain scenes.
(I just giggled thinking about it. There is definitely something wrong with me.)
Crystallised is coming along even more slowly. I've changed a few things around and now the first draft is half done. My Tutore series is even further away from where I hoped it would be. For the first book I ever actually sat down to write (and never got further than the first chapter) it is definitely taking a lot of time to get to the end of step one.

That's it. That's my life up to to this point. Besides not having internet and keeping me from talking to all you wonderful, I'm content. Happy.

That was the goal for all this.

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Roadmaps Help You When You Think You Won't Need Them

When you want to be a published writer, many people still look to the exhaustive traditional publishing. Agents, query letters, rejections, and waiting. Sometimes you can wait months or even years. You will recieve fifty rejections before you get a deal.

I guess that’s why self-publishing is so appealing. You can publish when you want and screw the rejection. Plus, you get to keep more of the royalties. You are your own boss. Which means a whole lot more than you think.

To be your own boss and to self-publish, you have to treat your career like a business. You have to come up with a business plan, a marketing plan. There are legal things you have to do (such as IRS information). This all on top of writing, editing, and designing the cover.

If you have the budget, you can hire out editors and cover designers. Since the rise of self-publishing more and more people are branching out, becoming freelancers in their respective fields. A good editor can make a world of difference in your book and sales. Cover designers can give your book that leg up it needs to get people looking.

When you want to sell a book you have to think from the reader's perspective and how they choose a book. The cover is the first thing they see...so it has to fit the genre and be eye catching. Next is the description...get across just enough to pull the reader in but don’t give away the whole plot. The next thing is the inside. The reader will usually flip through a few pages to see how the inside looks. Grammar, alignment, font size...all that will make or break it for you as a writer.

All of these things can be hired out or done all by yourself. If you are like me, you can DIY all the way only because I cannot afford to hire out full time professionals.

To be able to do that I have to do a lot of research. The different types of editing, designing, and tips & tricks that can help me make the absolute best my book can be.

I’m going to leave these two things here.Both resources are chockfull of tips and things you need to know if you want to be a self-published writer. I cannot begin to tell you just how helpful these two books have been. And they’re free!

You can Google the authors and sign up for loads of free tips and tricks, and resources you will definitely need on your writing and publishing journey.

Successful Self-Publishing by Joanna Penn and Self-Publishing Boot Camp by Carla King

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A Bit of Show & Tell

Today is going to be a bit of show and tell.

Every writer has inspiration for their story. This inspiration can break off into clothing styles of characters, homes, towns, schools, etc.

For myself, my MC in Legacy has a very specific fashion sense: badass. And of course every badass girl has a sense of darkness abour her: leather, lace, dark colors. All those seemingly offputtig things that people pretend to dislike but are secretly drawn to.

I present to you, my fashion boards:

Just so’s we all know...this is actually my own fashion sense. I get a lady boner when I find a really cute lace shirt and pair it with black leggings and ankle boots. I actually used to dress this way back in high school. There’s just something classic about this kind of look, don’t you think?

Next is a collage I threw together (In procrastination, because how else do these things get done?)

The images are my inspiration for Legacy.

I gave my characters, mainly my female MC, the life I wanted. The clothes, the cars, the tattoos. I am living vicariously through my fictional characters. She has everything I want, while I have the life she craves. In a round about sense, I am her and she is me, and I get the best of both worlds. 

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A 50/50 Chance

I want to show you guys something. Here is my first ever self-designed cover for Legacy.

I was so proud of this when I first made it. I was on my way out of the “I’m going to hit it big!” way of thinking when I made this. Really, I just wanted a cover to see a finished product...book + cover = pretty pretty dreams in my hand.

And then reality slapped me in the face. Of course it usually does when I get a high happy point when I’m daydreaming about my future. That’s not to say I’m going to fail or never get to that publishing point.

I will get there. Motivation is a little lacking sometimes, but I’ll get there.

After weeks and weeks of research I knew the cover up there wasn’t gonna cut it. It might be enough to get people to look at it, but it is a huge risk. The quality is poor, the silhouette is blurry. The three colors all pop and it is clearly read (Haha, I made a pun), but what exacly draws the reader in to take a look at the description?

It doesn’t fit in the genre, there is very little you can gain about the story from this cover. Then again....it really is a toss up. I’ve got a 50/50 chance of winning or failing with this cover. But I got to say, this will be on my wall one day.

It’s a testament to how much I’ve changed in the past two years. 

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Legacy is Born

I’ve gone on and on about what I’ve been doing lately, except for what really matters to you guys: my current projects.

For Camp Nanowrimo in April I was working on my mermaid adventure, Crystallised. I finished that with a win. But I felt burnt out over it. I couldn't write anymore. So I put it on the backburner for a little while.

Now I’m working on an oldy-but-goody, my first ever book, my literary baby Legacy. What can I say about Legacy? It’s fast paced, action packed, has a strong female MC, romance, deciet, and fast cars.

Legacy was inspred by a NA book, Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful Disaster. I loved that book, how beautiful and tragic it really was on different levels. So I set out to write my own NA book. Legacy started out as Leather Angel, the first in a set of three books. I wrote that whole book out by hand in a set of spiral bound notebooks I bought at Dollar Tree.

When I started typing it, the story changed, taking on a life of its own. I hear a lot of authors talk about how when they write, the story changes and surprises them. They don’t know where the story will go or how it will change. Sometimes I wonder how that can be. How can you write something and the characters do something you don’t expect? Aren’t you writing the blasted thing?

Well...my own project did just that. It changed, it surprised me. As I typed, I looked less and less at my hand-written novel. I stared at the computer screen and wrote for hours on end. The words flowed. I did no research, usually only looking online to spell a word if I wasn’t sure I had spelled it right. I made no notes as I was writing.

All I saw was the screen in front of me and the story acting as a movie inside my head. I could hear their voices, the yelling, the fear and love and sadness seeping out through my fingers.

I started typing April 2014 and wrote the final word July of the same year. Four months had gone by and I had a story. Start to finish and a whole lot of drama inbetween. It was time to start editing. I got through chapter one, then chapter two...At the end of July I was gearing up to do a major rehaul of Leather Angel.

Until my whole world came crashing down. For the first time in years, the first time ever, I was broken. Even the years of physical and mental abuse didn’t break me the way that one night late July did. The relationship I had mirrored the emotions for the book had been shattered into a million tiny pieces.

I coudn’t even look at LA again. I was done with it. Everything I wanted, that I was, I let it go. And hated it. LA became a symbol. One I didn’t want to deal with. So I deleted it. I had copies of it everywhere, in all my emails, my online storage, my computer...I deleted them all. Except for one.

I gazed at my computer screen, at this final symbol of all my hard work and emotion. I saw it in two parts: what I wanted it to be and what it had come to mean. If I was to delete it, I would lose that girl I wanted to be, no matter the consequences.

So I moved the email with LA attached to a folder I rarely used, and promptly pretended to forget it had ever existed.

For two years, I moved in a cloud of numbness. I refused to acknowledge what I was doing in the wake of that summer’s events. I had bowed under pressure, stuffing my independent will under a blanket of subservience. I held my tongue, I pretended, I was a shadow.

Until one day, I woke up. I opened that email and saw Leather Angel glaring back at me. I could feel the girl I was screaming at me to do something before it was too late. The dark thing inside my mind was growing again. The years of beating it back with a stick had ended long ago, but it was time to get that stick back out.

I opened Leather Angel and started to work. Legacy was born, and the old me right along with it.

In the past few months I have made changes, made decisions, and it has led me to this point: I am not the type to bow down and take what I get. I want so much more than what I have been given in life. I forgot who I was for a litte while, and stopped dreaming of what I could do to make the world a better place. But now I am better for it.

We all are, I think. My identity crisis saved me, saved me from a darkness I can only hope will go back to the sleeping giant it once was. I almost threw away something precious to me, but I reeled it back in before it was too late. 

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Today Is The Day

Guess what?

Today is my birhday!!!! So no, there will not be a review today. This morning I have a dentists appointment (awesome birthday present, right?) and I don’t know what I’m doing for the rest of the day. I know I want to be on the beach...playing in the surf, building sand castles with Lil Miss. I want a fish fry for dinner...I love me some fried freshly caught flounder.

But mostly, I just want to relax. No worrying about anything, not money, jobs, writing. Nothing.

If I can’t get out to the beach, or anywhere with a pool at least, I will just have to sit here and stare at this little beauty:

This is Virginia Beach in 2010. I took it years ago when I returned there for a day to retrieve my things from an old friends house I had lived with for a little while. I lived right down the road from this beach and never once visited it. I took advantage of it while I was there for a few hours.

There is nothing I love more than sand under my feet and the sound of waves crashing. Sea gulls stealing chips from picnics, the smell of coconut sunscreen in the air. Vinegar stealing the sting out of sunburns late at night.

Good memories, good times. It doesn’t matter where I go today, just as long as I have my lovelies with me.

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Time For Some Ketchup...I Mean Catch-Up

It’s been a few weeks since I last posted, but I have been writing and I have not forgotten you. Today I’m just going to post some of the notes and ‘letters’ I’ve written over time to you guys. They’re just notes, things that have resonated with me. Some are funny and ridiculous, others I have no idea how to classify them.

So read on for a look inside my mind.

5/31/2016

Everyone has little cheats they use when writing, abbreviations, symbols, etc. Thanks to Jim Carrey in the movie God Almighty, I always spell out ‘beautiful’ as b-e-a-utiful. In the voice Jim uses. Always.

That’s not the only trick the media, television and movies in particular, have taught me when spelling.

Remember that episode of Family Guy where Stewie pronounces the H in coolwhip? Yeah, whenever I hear the word coolwhip now, there is Stewie Griffin calling out coolWHip. And it’s not just that one word. It’s any word that carries a silent H. I realized this when I was editing Legacy and needed to write overwhelming. I couldn’t remember where exactly the H went. Then Family Guy came on the tv and I remembered Coolwhip...botta-bing, I knew just where that H went.

So it got me thinking, what other tricks, besides the obvious, can be used for writing tricks? The mind is wonderous thing, isn’t it? What tricks do you use?

6/06/2016

Indie Author. DIY...that means we do it all by ourselves. We write, edit, and create all on our own. The best books have aspects hired out, hard edits and covers. That is, if you have the budget.

Most career paths have classes you can take, sometimes even online, or schools you can attend to obtain a degree in what you want to do in life. Writers and authors don't have that. Sure we can take business classes, creative writing classes, graphic design classes...which all adds up to thousands of dollars spent and hundreds of hours devoted to learning. We have workshops and webinars to teach us. But as with music and art, you either have it or you don’t.

Anyone can be a writer...but not everyone can be a good writer. On top of that, indie authors have to wear many hats, not just that of writer. We have to do research, write our stories, edit those stories, design covers, edit some more, find beta readers, create author platforms, create an online profile through social media and author websites...on top of creating more than one book or project.

The world of publishing is ever-changing, and yo have to stay on top of every news article and change in the industry. It’s hard work and time consuming.

If you are like me, just etting out there, you probably are signed up for newsletters from other indie authors who figured this stuff out a long time ago. My inbox is filled with emails containing news, tips, and tricks to get out there and make the most of my chosen career.

But those emails...they have me in information overload. I see what to do, what not to do, try this complany, stay away from these kinds of publishers, use this software, use whats free, write what you know, go learn something new and write about that.

It is exhausting. Sometimes I just want to write and hit ‘publish.’ But I need to make a life out of this. To do that I have to have an income to support not just my career, but also my life. I need to produce a good product, which comes from hard work and diligence.

Diligence produces research I can use to make it in this fast moving world. I know I need the advice. I know what I need to do but sometimes….

*face meet desk*

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No Review This Week

The past two weeks have been a scamble. A lot of changes have been made, and now I'm trying to piece everything back together.

I've been looking for a job, cleaning my dad's house, and tending to Lil Miss. Things are coming together, slowly but surely, but it's come at a price. I'm not the oly one paying it, and I absolutely hate the pain this has all caused.

But emotions aren't like a light switch. They can't be turned on or off at a person's will. There's not much I can do in that department, but I'm still here. Pushing forward.

Tody was supposed to be review day. Obviously, that's not happening this week. But it will happen, I promise. Next week, I swear. I have a few books waiting on my TBR list waiting to be reviewed.

Also, I'm going to start writing again. I want to bget back to Crystallised and Legacy. I also have a few other books I want to start writing. I'm still fleshing out the plans for those, but I'll keep you posted.

That's it for today. I'll be back Friday, if not then next Monday. Promise.

Happy Wednesday, lovelies.

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I've Never Done That Before

Unfortunately for you guys, you'll never know what I did. Ok, maybe a little.

I did something hard. I did something that hurt a lot of people. I tore my life in a hundred pieces and am now slowly piecing them back together.

My whole life I have worked for other people, taken care of other people, sacrificed for other people. I have been pissed off, pissed on, and sitting on limbo in regards to myself since I was 12 years old.

I didn't do what I did to hurt anyone. I wanted, needed, to figure myself out instead of just being a part of something. I needed to know who I am.

I have to learn to stand on my own two feet with no one holding me up. I need to learn to stand up for myself and my Lil Miss. I lost sight of that because I was afraid. Afraid to be alone, afraid I would fail. Afraid of hurting the people I care I care about.

Will it take a while? Yes. But is it worth it? On so many different sides.

I don't know where I'll end up, but I'm going to get there on my own.

So yes, I abandoned you guys for a while week, but it is not without a good reason. I will be posting regular scheduled posts next week, with updates on life, book reviews, and other little tidbits.

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Oh A Writing We Will Go...

As I stated Monday, this is a scheduled post. And boy do I have some news for you. I finished my Camp Nano project goal. !!!!!!!!!!!!!  Cue squealing. I finished writing Saturday but wanted to wait until the very end to let you guys know. I couldn't wait til Monday.

As always, seeing my family is good. Lil Miss seeing her Papa is wonderful. And hanging out with old friends is even better.

I am totally going to bombard you guys with this awesomeness. I didn't even get halfway for November's Nanowrimo last year, so this is quite an accomplishment for me. Especially with everything I have going on. 

Next Monday I'll share with you my experiences, my ups and downs, and the heart attacks all in detail. Be sure to check back. 

Did you participate in Camp Nanowrimo? Let me know how you did in the comments below. 

Missed this months Camp? Don't worry, there's another one in July and the official Nanowrimo is every November. It is never too late to start. 

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I'm Out!!!

Of town. Had you going didn't I?

I'm going out of town for the week to see my daddy. I am a daddy's girl through and through. Twice. 'Cus I have two daddies. Biological and guardian. I love them both so much and I never really take the time to talk to them, or any family really. It's one of my more shameful attributes. And I am trying to reconcile that. You never know when the day could be their or your last.

Because I'll be out of town, I won't have internet connection. Actually, this is a scheduled post, as will the other posts for this week be. I don't know when I'll be able to get to the library to make sure I get this done for you, so I'm making sure I don't break my promise.

Also, being a writer, I ahve a few writer friends. Below is one piece by a very old friend. We shall call him M. M has been writing for as long as I've known him and I love his work. His talent is painting pictures with his words.

I imagine some smooth, low voice reading it aloud to me and it's a calming pool of bliss. If I could give you audio of that I so would. And now, on to the beautiful:

The air of the human element,

Reading, seeing, feeling that hidden power

Self illuminating deep textured spheres,

Colors, images, mesmerizing transparent eyes,

All wanting to share deep layers of melodious overtones

to love the drama and the rhythm of the word fused with sonorous language.

Divine rhythm, layered from earth scaling upwards

Flowers, trees, hills, colored essence rising

Spiritually reflected with sunset painted frescoes

The look of the sky changes, pictures presented like each unique mood

One by one they trace their lines,

Spreading flowery pink hues with glorious purple stains

Here, a sphere, here the song,

Hear the layers all gathered together

Each day, a set of new instruments traced together in the sky

Each day, wondering, how to bring them down

Look into my face and you’ll see a calm man

With his eyes in a different dream, always hearing what can’t be heard

But knowing it holds an intense beauty.

Each dramatic surge reads like the innate driving pulse

Constantly revealing, solemnly reveling

In deep orchestral colors, of which I can only share

Sad little fragments

That need to be gathered together,

Each theme carefully corresponding  to

Surges, dreams, love, question, yearning

Peering over the edge into a reality that can be made

Hands raised towards the sky, gathering the motions, directing the current’s flow

The layering of evening colors harmoniously blended,

And over the land, voices raised in wordless tones,

Melodiously textured to reflect

the simplicity of colored fields to the eye.

Orchestrating the melody

Voice, upon voice, lovingly evocating simplicity

Contrast with those complex ones, more dissonant to the ear

Textured lightly, clearly, chromatic impressions

Strings seep through, singing continuously higher

guitar electric, light colored main voice, transition

layers of altered textured sounds carefully crafted and matched

to give voice to wordless internal reflective monologue.

Gentle, sad cycles, calling up to spiritual triumphant

Humble, pleading, thrown to mercy’s creative oblivion

To find answer, upon answer

Of the connection of image, motive, song

This one solo voice transformed into guiding textures

Blissful, cyclically striving,

Infinitely dynamically rich

Instruments may not exist to properly create that sound

The flow of each surge, the pulse of each colored breath,

Rising ever on, greater chords, painting liberation

with tones held away, inexpressible save by careful transposition

voices controlled deep before a thought becomes spoken word

deep before words, only this tone exists

to serve as mirror of all those moods, sanguinely reflected

the impenetrable space of truth in creativity.

So what did you think? Help me encourage M to post his work online. I want to know what you think in the comments below. Happy Monday!

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Well, This Week Didn't Go As Planned

Once in a while I like to write a To-Do list. I didn't do a single darn thing on my list this week. But!

We did go to the library again this week. Lil Miss got new books and played on the train table. I got books on homeschooling (got a few good ideas from those), some books to review, and was terribly disappointed when a JR Ward I was looking for was only available at a different branch. Poo.

I got a new review done, Joanna Rock's Secret Baby Scandal. Look for that next Wednesday.

Oh! I got some writing done. Not much, but I'm just over 5K words closer to my goal of 25K words by the end of this month. The validation period of Camp Nanowrimo has begun and there's just one week left of the event. I'm excited and jittery at the same time. Because I don't know if I'll make it, but with such a small word count in front of me how can I not pass it? It feels like when you get closer to the end you lose focus and that's when you mess up.

I'm scared I'll mess up before I cross the finish line.

But I can't let that stop me. I will channel the Little Train That Could and get this done. And keep going, until all the words are on paper, and the story is alive. 

And that's it. My week was slow, and I got a lot done in some respects, and very little in others. But hey, at least I'm not sitting on the butt all day, huh? 

It's a nice change of pace. 

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Just a Check In

I didn't get much done last week in regards to Camp Nanowrimo, but I did work. I enjoyed 13 straight hours of ALLIndie Authors Fringe event on Friday. Actually I watched, listened, and read to all the posts on Saturday. There was a lot of information, almost an overload, but it really helped me figure out a few things and know where I stand in my life as of now and what I can do to move forward.

Now, for why I'm making two posts today (Monday). Here are my stats as of Sunday night just before midnight. And that's it. Where are you in your writing goals? Let me know in the comments below.

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The life of a stay-at-home mom is never dull. Lil Miss here has her own learning computer games, homeschooling, and playtime. But what happens when I need to get some work done and she wants to play?

She'll get most of my day and then want more. I love her, gods know I do, but sometimes I'd like to be able to have a few moments to myself.

When I need to get some work done, we have what can be called proximal bonding. This is something I used to do with my daddy. 

When he was always on the computer and I wanted to hang out with him, we'd watch a movie together. Actually, I would watch a movie that he liked, and I ultimately liked, while he was on the computer playing World of Warcraft, or working on a program, or doing some other computer related thing. We didn't talk. We didn't interact except to talk about the movie when I needed some clarification or some such other detail. But we were together. Daddy was there. To a kid who didn't get any affection from her adoptive parents and felt threatened by her new step-family, this little time alone with Daddy was treasured. 

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't imagine my life without my step-family, or my adoptive father and brother, I love them all so much. But I've already lost my biological mother. I needed my daddy, especially in my teen years. 

That proximal bonding was enough for me at that time. So now, when Lil Miss wants my attention 24/7 I can make her feel like she's getting my attention while still getting my own work done. 

Lil Miss plays with her toys within five feet of my desk and we can interact with each other while still doing what I need to do. Multitasking has become a much needed skill. 

I know there are alot of parents out there, so how do you deal with kids wanting your attention all the time? 

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Oh The Pain

For those of you who noticed, I did not post Monday, but on Sunday. I did this because I promised to keep up my posts on a regular schedule. This was a promise to you as much as to myself.

Monday I had a dentists appointment. Long story short, I have an infection in a canine root canal. I was able to schedule an emergency appointment with my dentist and be seen right away. I've been on antibiotics for only a day and already I can feel a difference.

I didn't grow up with good dental care. My guardian never took me to the dentist, even when I was in pain when my wisdom teeth came in early and started the whole process of my dental problems.

For those of you who don't go to the dentist, please go. For those with children, please make sure they go on regular checkups. I didn't do either and now I'm paying the price.

For those that don't go because of financial constraints, there is hope. Medicaid, insurances, clinics, CareCredit, and dental discount plans are all available to you. There is usually an application process, certain qualifications, and of course fees, but anything can help cut the costs.

Now that I can take my mind off this little road bump in my life, I can focus on my project. I haven't written much in the past few days, barely hitting the 4000 word mark, when I should have double that by now.

But it is a new week, and my brain is in overtime. If you are a fellow Camper this year, what is your goal and how far have you gotten?

Don't forget to comment, like and share your thoughts below. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Road Map...of Writing

Read any article on tips for writing, and they'll tell you to write however makes you comfortable. Don't like plotting and researching? You're a pantser. Can't stand starting a project without researching every single little detail, mapping out a 5 page character profile on each character, and detailing each occurrence? You're a planner.

Me? I'm both. I might research something if I feel I don't know enough, I might write a character profile to make sure I keep the character consistent throughout the book. But I never go too far. If I research too much I'll loose heart for the story and drop it.

When I was writing Legacy, I researched very little and plotted even less. I sat down and wrote out the whole thing without any background whatsoever. And now that project is sitting in the first round of revisions and edits for 2 years, and will most likely be there for several more months.

The project I'm working on now is much easier to edit once it's written. Not that editing is easy. Far from it, but it must be done. It's easier because I have a plot map- a road map of the story.

Essentially a plot map is an outline, list, or some such thing that leads you through the story. For example:
                     1. Chapter 1
                                  MC does ordinary thing
                                  something happens
                                  problem within story shows itself
                     2. Chapter 2
                                  gain new info
                                  questions are building
                                  character introduced

And so on and so forth. If you do nothing else for planning your project, this is something that will help you in the long run and make editing so much easier. The time spent doing this is well worth it, and this coming from someone who hates planning with a passion.

And ti only takes a few minutes to do it. As you write, take a few seconds to jot down an important event, or what you think is an important event. Then keep on writing. Separate it into chapters so you can find what you need later. Want to add or take out a scene? Go to your road map, find the chapter and boom: no more reading 10 chapters trying to find this one thing you really want to change.

You can add in notes to the map, such as character development, characteristics of a place or person, note the setting for a particular day within a chapter. Doesn't matter, it's up to you.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson800/IdentifyPlot.pdf
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/story_maps

These links ^ are very basic and can be a start up to what you really want. For more resources you can go here: http://nanowrimo.org/nano-prep
I use the tips provided by NaNoWriMo all the time, especially the workbook listed at the very bottom of the page. Ignore the grade levels of the workbooks because they really do help no matter what age you are.

If you want to know more, visit other sites. Research how to plan a writing project. Join a community of writers and spread tips and pick up more.

But remember" You are the writer and no one can tell you how to do it. Tips are jsut advice and you can take it any way you want.



Got some websites or articles you like to use? Share them and your experiences in the comments below!

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It Begins!

Today is Friday, April 1st.

Not only is it April Fools Day, but it's also day one of Camp Nanowrimo. And I have been waiting all month for this. I've been itching to get down and dirty, to start the writing portion of this project. March was just he preparation stage: character profiles, story mapping, story bibles, etc. May will be first draft aftercare. But April is the heart of the matter.

April is the month I try to write an entire novel in 30 days. That's right: 30 days. Most novels are between 200 and 300 pages long, and between 20k and 100k words. Think that's hard?

Let's break it down. A word sprint goal of 1000 words in an hour. Completely plausible if you don't stop writing for 5 minutes every other sentence. Now do a word-sprint of 2000 words in 2 hours. In 25 days you will have 50k words. easy. With very little time spent doing it.

Word sprints can be a writer's best friend. Especially one who has a full time job and a family to take care of. Or is a student with a full load of classes (and exams at the same time). Or is a homebody, like me, with a little one running around, like me, who is also being home-schooled, like me.

While Lil Miss is working on her stuff, I can be working on my stuff. When she has her outside play time, I can split the time with her and working outside in the fresh air. If you are traveling, take a notebook with you and write the whole time you are traveling. You can write an entire chapter on a one hour commute (my father commutes that much on his train ride to work one-way. Plausible).

The word sprints may be the way I'll get through this month's writing goal. I can't do what I used to do, which was sit down and ignore everything just to write. I have a family to care for and a little one to teach and play with. I have responsibilities. Just like everyone else.

Time management may be my weakest point, but you most definitely can teach an old dog new tricks.

And it's not too late to join up. Camp Nanowrimo goes through the whole month. Just follow the link on the page I provided up top and enter a little info. Read the forums and get help getting started. Set your own goals for the month and do it.

Anyone else here signed up for Camp Nanowrimo? Leave your comments below and find me at Infinitepen

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The Cliché MC

Young Adult. A popular genre in Book World. It's also one genre that carries cliches on its back. We all know the stereotype: young, 16 year old girl, virgin, no drinking, drugs, or partying of any type whatsoever. The outcast with 1-3 close specific friends. Sheltered. Bland, blah, and so exhausted.

I haven't picked up a good YA novel in a while. I think the last one that didn't have a stereotypical female MC was The Selection by Kiera Cass. The Selection may have fallen flat for some people, but it was a refreshing breeze for me.

But the Pure MC isn't the only book-turn-off. I found this article that clearly expresses just how I feel about the YA books of today. Will I follow these guidelines to the T? Probably not, But it plainly addresses the many problems I've had trying to find a good book lately. And it's advice from my target audience.

I can only hope that my wish to publish will be well received. I know there is no possible way to make everyone happy, that everyone will like my books, but I hope I can do the writer and reader community justice.

But if I fail...I will get up again.

What book cliches/stereotypes are you tired of? Share in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you.

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