Preparing for Camp 2017 - Part 4

Today's Earworm:
Today's date: March 27, 2014

So...I was going to focus on Bad Dog, Mean Bunny, Follow Me Down, and my Untitled Prompt Story...

I don't think I'm really going to be able to do that juggling act this round. Not because I don't want to, but because I want to focus this round. That means that I'm going to actually probably focus on Black Veiled Saviour and Bad Dog at the most. I'm not going to do a lot of plotting for the stories either.

Now, hold on, don't go complaining and pouting at me for focusing on two of my stories instead of bouncing around between stories. I decided to focus on the two stories instead of just bouncing around because that's how my mind is working this round.

It just means that I want to work on a certain amount of stories instead of having a wide variety of stories to play with.

This does not mean that I'm going to not work on other stories. I'm just more likely to not work on them actually work on them.

But since I'm less than a week away from April starting (4 days and counting actually), I will be setting up the two stories because I do have ideas for them and getting ready for things to come.

So, what's the stats on the stories as it is right now?

Black Veiled Saviour
Words Currently Written: 11,047
Chapters Currently Written: 8

Mean Bunny
Words Currently Written: 14,876
Chapters Currently Written: 7

I will try to keep you updated on word count and how much I've added to eat story as April goes along.

Right now, I'm going to get ready for today's writing marathon. Here's hoping to fun.

Preparing for Camp 2017 - Part 1

Today's Earworm: Treat Me Like a Lady by Anneke van Giersberben
Today's Date: March 6, 2017

So, wow! Has it been a year since the last April Camp NaNo? Why, yes, yes it has been!

And what a year it has been. It's been up and down, left and right, and twisting all over the place.

But I'm here to start plotting for what I'm going to do with Camp this round. I am doing a mix of fanfiction and originals, but here, for this purpose, I'm going to talk about the originals I'll be touching on during this month. I'm hoping to get at least 12 or more original chapters/scenes done.

So, I'm going to break down what I'm going to focus on this round.

Bad Dog

- As of right now? I'm still rewriting chapter 1 and turning it into 2 chapters to smooth out the lovely info dumping that I did. I need to finish that off, go through the other 6 chapters to make sure that I didn't do that to much more, and then start planning on what I'm going to do next. I have a general idea and it's going to be interesting to say the least.

I still blame Ashe for this. I swear.

Total Written Chapters as of 3/6/2017: Prologue plus 6
Total Chapters Planned as of 3/6/2017: 1

Mean Bunny (2015 NaNo Novel)

- I haven't really touched this one outside of rewriting the original chapters. I know where I want to go with this story and I know that I will write on it this month, so I'm hoping that I have a rather good sized list of stories to write come April will help in this fact.

I'm hoping. Cross your fingers with me?

Total Written Chapters as of 3/6/2017: Prologue plus 7
Total Chapters Planned as of 3/6/2017: 2

Follow Me Down

- Ahh, this story holds a special place in my heart. I love my little insane Oniel and his fascinating world. I'm actually going to have a friend work on some things for this world with me because she knows this world and loves it just as much as I do. And she helped create one of the more crazy characters.

I am getting back into this world this April. One way or the other.

Total Written Chapters as of 3/6/2017:  2
Total Chapters Planned as of 3/6/2017: 1

Untitled Prompt Horror Story

- This story was one that I started because I was bored. So I went and hunted down 25 one word prompts. And proceeded to build an outline out from around them.

I have about 25 prompts total and I'm rather fascinated by this world since it's a mix of history and present, and is focused, mostly, on the detective who is trying to figure out just what happened to our victim. It's a mix of ghostly horror and mystery so, all around, a lot of fun to work ont.

Total Written Chapters as of 3/6/2017: 2
Total Chapters Planned as of 3/6/2017: 25

So I hope this gives you an idea of what I'm working on planning next, and hope that those who are joining us at Camp Nano reach their goals!

Once more, I'm hoping to hit about 35K, if not 50K in April. Cross my fingers and pray!

Preparing for National Novel Writing Month 2016 - Pt 5

Today's Earworm: Big Bad Wolf by Aesthetic Perfection
Today's Date: October 31, 2016
Widgets

What to write? I have no idea.

First: Happy Halloween, my little ghouls and ghosties! I hope that this year's Halloween is treating you well. :D

It's treating me okayish. I am getting over the colds (yay for flu shots messing with your system), and settling in for things to happen.

Unfortunately for me, I am also having to deal with people coming in to rip out my flooring and put new stuff down tomorrow. They were supposed to do it last Tuesday, or so we thought, but apparently not.

So I have to deal with that and promise to post pictures of that fun time process when I'm actually home. Which I'm going to have to be for most of the day outside of me running to the store with Tonya for the usual things on the 1st.

Hopefully we'll get that done kind of fast since we don't really have much to do so I'll be living off of massive amounts of coffee tomorrow. Fun. Right? Right.

But I'm not sure what to say since tomorrow it all starts and I will be busybusybusy for the first three days. This is going to be interesting, that's for sure.

Wish me luck, everyone! I'm going in!

Preparing for National Novel Writing Month 2016 - Pt 4

Today's Earworm: "Eyes" by Kings 810
Today's Date: October 24, 2016

I don't really know what to say. I'm exhausted is the first thing that comes to mind.

The second is that I'm on a binge watching all sorts of documentaries on things. Ghosts and spirits and the such.

Fueling the thoughts for Bad Dog. Which is good yet bad since I'm still fighting with myself in regards to working on it. I can't. Not until the first of November and it's a week away yet.

So I'm kind of sitting here. Sick. Exhausted. Binge watching documentaries. Working on Bad Dog. And trying not to toss people off a cliff.

I hate the build up towards the next round of Nano. I always end up twitchy and growling. And I've been very anti-person lately. Which is kind of surprising but yet not?

Okay, so let's me tell you what insanity has been going on and how it has been utterly *censors the line of curse words that would make a sailor sniff in proudness but comes down to messing* with my life.

1) My friend is currently trying something to help with her chronic pain issues. She doesn't do needles and since these are  about an inch long going into her back, she needs to be put under which means I have to go with her.

2) I lost my outline for my short piece set! I'm crying. I need to clean up some more and hope to find the bitch. I can hope yes?

3) As stated above, I have been very anti-person lately. I don't know why but it's starting to make me twitch. Which isn't good.

4) Depression has attacked me a bit but I'm working on getting through it.

5) The muses and will to write has been fluctuating.

I'm hoping though that by the time November comes around that I will be back on balanced ground again.

I'm hoping.

Anyways, I got thinking about if I've ever told you guys about my writing process...

And I don't think so! At least not in the last year. I've talked about my Plot Mountain (found here), but I don't think I've ever quite gone over what I do after that.

Well, let me explain that since I'm getting prepped for Nano in a week and the process after is just as important, if not more so in some cases, as the writing process.

Please remember, that what may work for me may not work for you. So experiment, learn, discover. Don't be afraid to find a new way if your current way just doesn't work for you.

Step 1: Write the First Draft

I went over this in my Plot Mountain Post all those months before. I write that first draft.

Step 2: Ignore the First Draft

Depending on the story and size that I wrote, I usually ignore that first draft from anywhere from a week to six months. Why? Because I want to forget what I wrote in that first draft so I can come back to it with fresh eyes.

Step 3: Reread (groan) over the first draft and make notes on changes like I'm a reader.

This is just what it says. After that time of forgetting the first draft, I stick the draft into a GDoc, make sure it's accessible on my tablet and sit in bed with pen and notebook to reread it while making notes.

I look at it like I'm a first reader (thus why I ignore it for so long) and I have to give this writer an honest critique. But then again, I'm meaner to myself and tend to rip the story apart in my notes.

I did this with my current M/M novella (which I'm in step 4 and 5 right now for it). It took me about 6 pages of legal pad paper; front to back; to write all the notes.

Step 4: Write out a new outline

This outline will include the old chapters and new chapters I want to insert.

For the old chapters, I tend to make notes on what I want to insert into them and if I want to split a chapter into two chapters instead of one.

For the new chapters, I make sure I know just how they would fit into it as I go along. This will be a long process because I'm going back and forth between the first draft and my notes to see just what I need to do.

This also includes about 5 different colored InkJoy pens so I can color code things.

Step 5: Start to fill in those chapters and write out the new chapters

AKA: Rewrite round 1.

Yep, time to rewrite. It's not fun. Nope. Not in the least. But I will do it! My page will bleed RED from this first round of rewrites.

Step 6: REWRITE!

This time I'm going from start to finish and literally rewriting each chapter to fix things such as tense, wording, some grammar (not really expected at the moment), characterization and making sure it all flows together.

It will take me anything from a month to four depending on length and how often I work on doing the rewrite.

Step 7: Rewriting AGAIN

Okay, this rewrite is pretty much a combination of step 3 and 5. I'm going to read through it after about a week of not touching it and making notes before inserting what I need.

It's pretty much a lighter version to help start to tighten things up.

Step 8: Actual editing

This is the step where I sit down and go through with grammar and punctuation in mind. I sit there and don't read like a writer or a reader (like above), but this time as an editor.

I had to train myself to stop from worrying about most editing bits during the last 7 steps. Thank you, NaNo for training that out of me.

This takes me about a week or two to finish from beginning to end. It's not that extensive.

Step 9: Send it to a first reader and get their opinion on the story.

I usually have someone in the background waiting to read my story and go over it, critique things and the such.

Step 10: Go over what they say and insert and maybe do some light rewriting.

Once I get that information back from them, I sit there and fiddle around with things, filling in holes or making it clear that a hole is there for a good reason for future books depending on what I'm working on.

Step 11: Repeat 9 and 10

Just that. I repeat 9 and 10 a few times (usually with more than one reader) and then I get to this step.

Step 12: Edit then send to editor/beta and forget about it.

This is where I wait for the editor to go over it, make their notes and tell me what I need to fix. I usually send it after I do another quick once over to catch anything.

Step 13: Fix what needs to be fixed.

I fix what needs to be fixed and once I get it to a point where I'm happy with it, where it reads well and looks good, it's done.

Yeah, 13 plus steps later (because sometimes there's a couple more rewrites and edits in there).

Now mind you, I figured this out over the course of my fanfiction writing career and I can tell you that yes, it works just as well for when it comes time to editing original worlds.

Again this may or may not work for you. If it works, great! I'm happy. If it doesn't or just parts works, that's all good! I'm happy you have discovered what works for you. As I have. We all have our own processes. 

This is just my process. 

So for now, I will see you next week with the start of Nano!

Preparing for National Novel Writing Month 2016 - Pt 3

Today's Earworm: 9909 by Danger Silent
Today's Date: October 17, 2016

So I've been thinking about what to write about this week's prepping. And really? I had no real idea what to write.

Then someone asked in one of my closed NaNo groups "What is ADHD/ADD like?"

I got thinking about that. I know that I've talked about it before on twitter and on facebook, but I myself have ADD. What is ADD?

Again, ADD/ADHD is Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

And it does just like it sounds: It's a disorder where a person finds it hard to focus. All of those "I have focus...SQUIRREL!" memes are a funny way of saying it, you guys. There's a good reason why I have thirty things going on at a time. And why I have a dozen projects going at once.

But really? What does this have to do with preparing for NaNo?

It actually has a lot to do with preparing for Nano. Did you know that most often than not, I have my blogs ready to be posted at least a week before hand? And I tend to fiddle around with what I'm posting for the following week. It's so I know for a fact that I have something ready to post.

Now, what does it feel like to have ADD/ADHD? Well, it's different for everyone.

For me, it's like a normal adult having too much sugar and caffeine in a short time. I'm bouncy and jittery. I can't focus without putting some effort into it. I have to have something going on in the background to help me keep that focus once I found it. Usually it's a movie or show or some kind of music.

I don't react to caffeine and sugar like someone who doesn't have ADD. Caffeine tends to help me focus, sometimes, if I'm really tired, wakes me up when I have it along with some sugar and food. Just to keep the balance in my body. I could drink coffee all day and still go to bed at a decent hour.

But when I can't sleep (and I often can't until I'm so tired I'm seeing double), it's not because of the caffeine or sugar. Hell, I've had issues sleeping when I was just buzzed enough on wine (really, really fruity good wine to, cause hey, I'm a picky woman about my wine) to feel that nice sort of sleepy. The reason why I can't sleep?

My mind is overworking again. It's not shutting up. And not even sleeping medications work all the time. They work sometimes and I can't take them too often otherwise my body gets kind of used to them, which kind of defeats the purpose of taking said sleeping medications. I've been drugged up on morphine before (back when I've had my gallbladder taken out mind you) and still been unable to fully rest.

And if you've ever had morphine, you know that you will be OUT once it truly hits your system. It hit and I was still laying there, counting tiles and trying to get my brain to shut up, please and thank you.

This is what I feel every day. All day. And it makes preparing for Nano a bit of a pain in the ass. I'm not joking you.

I literally have this down to a science now. I kind of have to since otherwise things get...messy.

Let's break it down.

Week 1:

- Shift through all of my DVD's (which I've expanded this year by 9, give or take 1) and make a pile for the coming month to rewatch.

- Start a playlist (on spotify this year) for NaNo. Start going through songs I like and adding it to playlist. I'm usually looking for a certain tone.

- Create or update the GDoc that I'm going to use. Do the same with the file and folder for the saved story.

Week 2:

- Panic just a touch. Just a little.

- Continue to build my playlist.

- Go through some more of the DVD's if I haven't finished it.

- Start making notes on the outline as I need to. Usually this means bouncing ideas off of one of my friends. It's kind like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Week 3:

- Panic a bit more.

- Continue to forever built my playlist. I swear. I need to build it up ever more.

- Make some more notes. This time, it's more like throwing lime slices at the wall to see what sticks. Citrusy, annoying, and a pain in the arse to clean up.

Week 4:

- Panic once more. Then drag myself out of the state of panic to discover there is a distinct lack of tea.

- Find money (somehow) to buy a thing or two of tea. Tea and coffee if I'm low on it. Usually I have enough tea to last me at least the first week until I can get to the store with new monies.

- Flail around a bit with my fellow Nanoer's in Forward Motion chat.

- Plot some more. Or rearrange the outline. Whatever I'm happening to do.

- Set up the NaNo blog outlines for the coming month. This means I set up my usual setup for the days.

IE:
Date
Word count for that day
Total Word Count for Nano
My thoughts on that day.

- Flail around some more.

- Maybe rearrange my DVD pile. Find a few extra to add to it.

- Arrange paper, pens and pencils. (Actually I've already done this, mostly, when I went through my pens. And if you follow me on Twitter, you saw those pictures).

This round, I have an extra post since Nano starts on a Tuesday this time, so that'll be loads of fun.

But that's pretty much what I do. And between all of that, I write. I write on other projects. I write e-mails. I write tweets. I write facebook posts. I write comments. I write.

All to prepare for everything to come.

So yeah, ADD has a lot to do with my prepping since I have to set up so much and combat the need to go "Ooh, shiny!" at random times. Which is never a good thing.

Preparing for National Novel Writing Month 2016 - Pt 1

Today's Earworm: "Bones" by In This Moment
Today's Date: October 3, 2016

National Novel Writing Month.

Man, what a kick. Has it really been a year already since the last round of Preparing blog posts?

I have checked the calendar. Yes. Yes it has.

Damn, how time FLIES when you're busy. But...that's for another blog post. A special blog post set to be written and posted on January 1, 2017.

I have a confession.

I have no idea what the hell I'm going to write. No idea. At all. Unless I somehow finish the detailed, pages long outline. Or I get further into the darn outline.

But if you were anywhere near my twitter on the 28th of September, then you heard about the cry of writerly anguish of water.

All.

Over.

My.

Note.

Book.

I screamed in writerly anguish and horror about 4 in the morning and had to rewrite three of the damn pages, front and back.

I cried.

So, some pictures of what I was able to save.

A semi far away picture of the basic outline that I'm building my detailed outline off of.

Luckily, it did get away with not being attacked. Hurrah!

Here's a close up pic of it. Yes, that's my handwriting and no, it's not as neat as it looks. 

It's the angle and the way that my writings come out.

And these are the pages that didn't make it. 

As you can see, my phone is holding the pages down but they were just to smeared and crinkled to be useful this coming November.

I was able to rewrite one page (the one with the least bit of writing there on the right).

But the others...wipeout man.

You see that red and white striped cup?

That's the culprit. Just tipped over when I went for water. 

I cried so hard when the darn thing fell over. And it was full. That's about 10 oz of pure liquid water. I was lucky.

This time.

But I may or may not be going into this with less chapters detailed out than planned if I do go with this story. 

Damnit.

Post CampNaNo July 2016 and Preparing for NaNo 2016

Today's EarWorm: "End of Me" by Ashes Remain
Today's Date: 8/15/2016

So I had to sit down and really think about what I wanted to write for today's blog.

I drew a blank.

Then I remembered that I had started a list of ideas for future blogs just in case I don't have an idea ready for the next blog. And the first subject on that list? "Preparing for NaNo after Camp". Thus this post was born!

For all of those who follow my twitter (@SLStrailo), you know that I've been working on a series called Murder and Love/Lust (yeah, I still don't know if it's going to end up being love or lust). It's a short piece series set pre-books. Said books really don't have a plot as of yet, but I am working on that.

I have characters. That's part of the harder part of the battle for me when it comes to writing.

But now that it's been a couple of weeks since the end of July's Camp National Novel Writing Month, with me sliding in under the deadline like usual, I'm turning my eye to November and what is going on there.

To be truthful...I have no idea. Absolutely none. Whatever.

No...wait...I have some ideas. But I'm not sure what is going to happen, so we'll have to see.

Let's go over what I have in options.

Thread the Needle

This was actually started as my April 2016 Camp, I think, but it came to a stop because I started working on others and need to figure out just what I'm going to do with it since things are a lot different then our world.

Which is kind of interesting since I'm going to have a lot of people crawling up my ass for messing around with history. But hey, that's the beauty of writing fiction.

The Retail Worker Turned Supernatural Hunter

Again, if you follow my twitter, you've seen me complain about a new series. Originally it was going to be with a homicidal poltergeist, but then I started to get bits for a werewolf and shared those bits.

From there, I changed the plan because I was getting that instead of homicidal poltergeist.

Fun times.

Crimson Shadows Rewrite

Actually I've been meaning to get back to this story but it's always been kind of on the backburner. I just need to pull out the original story and made some more notes about what I want to do with it if I do go with this one.

I know what I want to get to, and have the first three books mostly thought out, but seriously? It's driving me up a wall.

Superhero Series

I'm actually not sure where I'm going to be on book 1 when it comes time but it is on that list to finish it off before working on another story. So we're going to see where I go in the long run.

When My Eyes Close

I started this story last year, but I haven't picked it up yet, but I've been doing a lot of things lately. So it kind of fell off to the wayside while I did some rather...interesting research. I have a lot on my plate but now I have the research done and I know where I'm going (mostly) with this story. It's just going to take a bit of time to do this. Fun times.

Anyways, that's my options and thoughts. So we're going to see what I need to do for the NaNo. I have a couple of months and some time to think about what I'm going to do, much less plan for it. So here's hoping that I get SOMETHING done yes? I can hope. I really can.

Can you hear all of the sighing going on over here? I swear that if I sigh any more someone is going to pop up and ask if I'm yearning for some long lost love.

Or vampires.

Yeah, like I haven't heard that before. >>

Anyways, I'll keep you up to date on what I'm doing in regards to this. Keep an eye on the countdown in the bar next to this post and please feel free to comment. :D

And if you have any ideas for what I should write on these blogs, please, leave a comment with a suggestion!

I tend to answer.

Thank you for your time!

What Is Up With My Stories?

Today's Earworm: "Beautiful Loser" or "Strangers" by William Control
Today's Date: August 8, 2016

What is up with my stories?

To be truthful, my muses are being a bit of a bitch. Excuse the language, but I'm sure that you all can forgive me.

This is kind of normal for me though so I'm not too worried. There was a time where I didn't write a single original piece for like a year, but that was while I was rediscovering myself.

It's just gotten to a point where I need to stop thinking of publishing and just write. No more contemplating the future of publishing and all that I need to know. I will get to that point, I really will. But that time is not right now.

Right now I need to turn my focus to writing and finishing stories.

On that note, I'm creating a new series of short pieces under the Murder and Love banner, with the first 16 piece set called Just a Little Murder. It's a horror mystery with a lot of dark themes and the books to come will be much more descriptive.

As it is, in Short Piece 4 there is some rather callous thinking of forced slavery in the BDSM world, but that is the character.

I keep telling people that my stuff can be dark but do they believe me? Nope. Not until I pull something like this out and show them with all attached warnings. It's highly amusing to see their reactions while they read.

Anyways. I have decided that I need to put aside the thoughts of what I'm going to do with the stories when I finish them and just work on finishing them.

With that said, I've decided to work on When My Eyes Close, which is my 2015 NaNo novel, my zombie fic that was inspired by J.A. Marlow and Honey Drops bk 1. I'm plotting them out and have what I want to happen in them pinpointed.

Mostly.

It's taking me time, yes, but then again, everything takes time to happen, so I'm not to worried really.

I am working on several interesting stories, including a "Magical Girl" kind of world, a Magical Modern world, a dystopia that is based off of my story that I handed over to Forward Motion writers for publishing, and a few others, so no worries about that. Actually, you can see the full list of things that I have in the works here.

I'll try and create a newer list here by September, so we'll see how things go with that.

As it is, tomorrow I'm going to be heading over to my friend's place after some last minute shopping for foods so we can go see "Suicide Squad" in theaters. We're picking up some chips, dips, and adult beverages. My local Albertsons has a "Build your own 6 pack" set up for like 10 bucks? Little less than that. And considering there is Smirnoff, various Mike's products, ales, beers and other goodies? Worth it.

Are we going to drink our six packs? No. I'll probably drink one or two and bring the rest home to indulge in over the next few months. I'm odd like that. I rarely drink but when I do I do it sparingly.

Yes, I'm over 21. So yes, I'm legal. More than. Thank you.

But we're going to need something to relax with on the 11th because we're going to be out ALL day on the 10th. Fun times. Really.

Anyways, I hope to see you here next week! Keep an eye out on Fridays for when I start posting my short pieces. :D

Camp National Novel Writing Month July - 7/11 to 7/17

Today's EarWorm: James Michael - Learn to Hate you
Today's Date: July 18, 2016

July 11, 2016
Words Gained Today: 0
Total Words Today: 11,727
Thoughts and Notes:

Well, I was writing but I was kind of foggy for most of the day due to the damn heat. But I did get some planning done! Which was nice.

July 12, 2016
Words Gained Today: 6,442
Total Words Today: 14,900
Thoughts and Notes:

5AM:

I got a chapter written and a chapter edited! I have 5 more chapters of this story to write and a brand new story idea to play with. This is...going to be fun since it's based on the song that is today's ear worm. Go listen. And I mean LISTEN to what he sings. I'll wait.

*waits*

All done? Spoke to you? Yeah, it spoke to me in a deep way that I now need to write something that will rip out a person's heart and puree it before filling a new mold and setting a new heart for them later in the story. It'll be fun.

For me.

Midnight: I got my words.

July 13, 2016
Words Gained Today: 1,453
Total Words Today: 16,353
Thoughts and Notes:

Wow, yeah, today was kind of a very slow day since I was just out of it. Not surprising at all since I got like 2 chapters and a rewrite done yesterday, but I did get my finished wordage today. That's always nice.

July 14, 2016
Words Gained Today: 0
Total Words Today: 16,353
Thoughts and Notes:

Not really sure as to say what happened today beyond the fact that my muses were like rabbits on crack. They could not sit still.

I actually ended up planning out part of a mini-story, several one-shot stories, and some more of my various other stories. So there's that.

July 15, 2016
Words Gained Today:
Total Words Today:
Thoughts and Notes:

2:34AM: It is after 2AM right now. I should be in bed. I am not. Instead, I am writing. My life people.

July 16, 2016
Words Gained Today: 2,059
Total Words Today: 19,209
Thoughts and Notes:

Not much to say about this. Got a long chapter done, and am going to bed at a decent hour. I'm exhausted.

July 17, 2016
Words Gained Today: 0
Total Words Today: 19,209
Thoughts and Notes:

6:30PM

Haven't gotten any words, but have been going through #ShitAbledPeopleSay tag on twitter. I feel all of these! I swear. Gonna go add some of mine.

After Midnight:

I did get words, so no worries, but unfortunately for me, it was after midnight when I finished the chapter, so it's going on to Monday's word count, which doesn't hurt me since it just means I 'll have at least 2 chapters written on the day.

Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month July 2016 Pt 4

Today's Earworm: Bradley Caleb Kane "Once" Or Alice Cooper's "I Am Made of You"
Today's Date: June 27, 2016

I'm actually writing this on the 23ed of June, so the numbers are a bit odd because I'm kind of doing mass amounts of writing. You'll see down below yes?

Yes.

We are coming up on the last week before July starts. July 1st is on Friday so I'm going to finish getting ready to do my July. I have set my word count on the Camp NaNo site and have set up my novel choice for it.

Word count goal is 35K, or 35,000.

Story is a fanfiction that can easily turn into an original. Why? Because this story is nomming at my brain and all of the ideas for it are already making me cackle and make my fellow writers on Forward Motion chat cackle with me.

Some of the gems that I've shared? I warn you now, this is also on my twitter and is Not Safe For Work (NSFW). Or at least most of them aren't.

But whatever.

1. I have a ball gag and ropes. I will truss you up like a kinky turkey to get you to shut up!
2. Fuck. He went from "where's your daddy?" to "Fuck me daddy"! 
3. Female character seeing the above character topic in 2: Well...damn! Fuck me daddy and make me cream! (Yeah, that's not subtle at all.)

Yes, this will be a rather sexual romp into another side of a world that we can only speculate. I'm actually trying hard to finish another story before Camp, but that might not happen.

67 chapters long, and I'm only on chapter 56 okay? I have 11 chapters to write in 7 days and some odd hours because it's just after 2AM here on the 23ed, so yeah. Fun times. 

I can get a good chunk of those chapters done (about 7 of them at the least) but I'm going to have to scatter them amongst the other chapters for this story so I can have it completely finished before my 10 week (by the 27th happens) end date of my other story. 

Joys. 

I'm not doing to bad all things considered but anything smutty (and I'm talking down and dirty, ranchy, pull out the toys for a little fun after reading that shit sex) has been a hard fought battle to get down. 

Thank you whoever invented disposable pens that actually write nicely, and lined 3 ringed paper. Thank you.

Yes. I have been writing by hand my smut. Let me tell you what, some of my pieces have gone from 3K up to hitting nearly 5K okay? And that's for one frickin' chapter. 

I also have a few other things I need to get off my list some I'm at the point of "Okay, where's my coffee and an all night spree of horror game playthroughs?"

My current choice (outside of Markiplier's "Amnesia" play throughs)? MrKravin. He really does have a very nice voice. I can tell you that.

Anyways, I'm going to go plot and write and curse and pull an all nighter so I can sleep most of the hot, hot, unbearably hot, day away. Seriously world? 120 degrees fahrenheit?

Yeah, I have to deal with that shit. Got to love desert living.

For now all, I hope you guys enjoy your day and hope that the words come easy!

As of Sunday, 6/26/2016: I have written 57 chapters, removed one chapter, and come down to 66 chapters. Why? Because one chapter didn't seem to fit once I got to it. So yeah, that happened. I have also hand written one (1) out of who knows how many smaller one-shots. I currently have about 6 oneshots for this story on the list but I'm also trying to get through my Through the Ages bk 1 first draft done.

But I'm still doing good considering I'm nearly living off of American Breakfast Tea (the tea version of a good cup of coffee) currently because my sleep schedule is shortened due to being flipped.

I'm going back to writing and twitter. 

Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month July 2016 Pt 3

Today's Earworm:
Today's Date: June 20, 2016

I have decided to do something a little interesting because I keep seeing this running around, so this is my response to a lot of these. And I keep hearing this shit, so this is my response to things like this.

Don't worry, you shall get an actual update on where I am in regards to setting up my story and preparing for Camp this year here soon. Promise.

Anyways: What NOT To Say To a Writer

All of them make my eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Why? Because it's rude that's why!

If you want to see where a lot of these come from, check out the twitter hashtag #tenthingsnottosaytoawriter or just Google Ten Things Not To Say to a Writer. It's not that hard.

1) You write? That must be a nice hobby for you. My wife/partner/whathaveyou *insert hobby here*

Hobby? What is this hobby thing you're talking about? This is my career! I do this because it's what I love and what I can actually do. It's not a hobby.

Kindly stop comparing me writing to a hobby.

2) “Are you still writing?”

Yes, yes I am.

3) What do you mean, don’t drop by, you’re working? You’re just sitting around making stuff up.

I'm working. What do you not understand about this? If I was trying to do something you consider an actual job, you wouldn't be saying this! I have money to make and only a few hours in each day to do it in, okay?

4) You’re an author? I’ve got at least ten books in me.

Uh, so? I have hundreds of books in me and I'm going to write them all. I don't care if you have them in you. If you do nothing with them, they're not interesting to me. 

5) I have a great idea I want you to write for me. Can you draw up a contract detailing how we will split the advance and royalties?

No. Cause that's a lot of work and I don't want to write your supposedly "Great Idea" that is most likely overly cliched make me twitch into an early grave story. 

6) It’s irritating to wait a whole year for your next book. Can’t you write any faster?

I'm sorry, did my typing speed annoy you? Does the fact that I have to put a book down after finishing it for a month so I can come back to it with fresh eyes for rewriting and editing purposes annoy you?

Tough. As a writer I have an obligation to make sure whatever I put out is good!

7) I have the most amazing life story, but I don’t have time to write it. Maybe you can write it and we’ll go 50/50 on the royalties.

Me: No.

Person: Why not?

Me: Because I'll be doing ALL of the damn work and you'll be profiting from that. And I know your life. It's duller than that 50 Shades BS. So no.

Person: But...

Me: *sips coffee* No. 

Person: *pouts*

Me: *spikes the coffee* No. *goes back to killing off characters*

8) So can I have a free copy of your book?

No. As to why? I need to make money. I don't work for free thank you very much.

9) So what do you really do?

I write. That's what I do. I write. Oh and I make youtube videos with my friend about being broke. 

10) Do they even publish books anymore?

Shocking I know but yes, they do create actual real life books still. Surprising I know but there are people who want to have a nice solid book in hand. 

Shocking.

11) So you write romance novels? 

Person finding out I'm a female writer: So you write romance huh?

Me: Romance? Why? Because I am a female and that's all we can do? I write romance. Very short Male/Male romance stories. But my main genre? Horror.

Horror that will make you wonder where in the world I learned how to screw with a person's mind. Where you're left wondering what that noise you just heard was. Was it the wind? Or was it a murderous creature coming to slowly drain the life out of you.

And make you wonder where I learned to write such things.

Person: *stares in horror*

Me: *sips tea* High school was very informative.

12) I want to write a novel one day.

Uh, that's nice...why not now?

13) Want to edit something for me?

Want to pay me for it? It's 15 dollars an hour currently. And I'm only going to work on it for two hours at a time. It usually takes me about 30 hours to get through a 200 page manuscript to.

14) You're not published? Doesn't this mean that you're not really a writer? 

What? Because I'm not published means that I'm somehow not a 'real writer'? Let me tell you, I am a writer for the simple fact that I put words down and then I sit there and beat the story into submissions to get it just right for your viewing pleasure.

15)You need to move on to new material! 

No. No I don't. I will write what is fun for me to write and I will make money doing so.

16) That’s really cool that you want to write but I could never give up stability. 

Meaning you could never give up your cubical with a possibility of promotion for something that you enjoy and love. Personally, I would love to actually have a job but due to various issues, writing is my career.

Outside of the fact that I love it so much. 

17) I loved Fifty Shades of Grey! And the Twilight series!

Those series are so bad it hurts. Twilight is quite frankly a Mary Sue fest gone paranormal, the wolves are shapeshifters, not actual werewolves, and vampires don't sparkle. And Fifty Shades of Abuse is a how to guide to fucking up in the BDSM world. 

It's a very BAD fantasy of what the BDSM world should be. And it pisses me off. Don't make me throw you on that bonfire.

18) You should dedicate your book to me. 

No. No I should not. Because I don't know you. You only want your name on a book because it'll make you feel good, and because that way you can say you know a published author.

I have my choices for whom the books will be dedicated to. 

19) We don't pay, but it's a great opportunity for you to get your name out there!

Uhh, no. No I don't think so. Sorry, but not happening.

If it doesn't come with a pay check it doesn't happen. I have other ways of getting my name out there. Thank you.

Updates

6/14/2016

I am still trying to not write on the story but I have been able to plot out a couple more chapters. I wrote down the summary for chapter 8 and 9 and went "Huh, smut in the first 9 chapters. This is going to be fun". Then...I started writing down pairing ideas.

My next thought? "OMG, this guy is going to get around so much".

Yeah.

Anyways, I have also received the contract for my Forward Motion 2015 Anthology submission from J.A. Marlow. J.A. has been amazing busy what working a new job for the summer and dealing with the loss of their mother.

Soon, very soon, the book shall be published and I'm happy to do this for no money.

Why? Because it supports the one forum that I've discovered that I like the most. So all proceeds from this book goes to upkeep and paying all sorts of things that go into the forum. I am able to publish it elsewhere or even publish it myself in a future collection if I want (which is good since it set off a duology and the scene will make it into book 2 in some form).

I'll keep you updated on what's going on with that and will add a small tidbit when it comes out!

6/17/2016

Ugh! I am not sleeping very well, but I'm still working on creating an outline for the story. I have about a week and a half left before I have to worry about actually writing this darn thing but I'm getting there. Working on watching some anime, getting them off of my list because shit happens.

And that list is amazingly huge. Seriously huge. And some of them are longer than like 6 episodes.

Anyways, I'm getting things done and hopefully I'll get this story at least part of the way done by the time I get to that point. I have no idea how it's going to happen. I really don't.

I'm going to go back to finishing off another story and trying not to cry in horror at not having no extra sleep to keep me from killing people. 

Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month July 2016 Pt 2

Today's Earworm: Highwayman by Bessech
Today's Date: June, 13, 2016

Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month July 2016 Pt 1

6/7/2016

I have settled on what I'm going to write along with the secondary stories. I have decided to do a story that I'm really not going to go into since I haven't decided if it's going to stay as a fanfic or become an original.

Either way it's going to be fun to write. That's for sure.

I have been planning out the story and talking ideas with a friend of mine for the last few days. Yesterday had me sleeping most of the day away before going to bed at a rather early hour. But I kind of needed it apparently.

But I still have a lot to do yet.

6/9/2016

God, what to say? There's really not a whole lot to say since I'm working on getting things set up and ready to go for this round of Camp.

My back is killing me, my muses are running around like insane little bastards and I'm trying so hard to finish off a few things before it comes time to start this insanity.

What am I to do?

6/10/2016

My muses decided to calm down enough for me to work on things and get other stories down and out of the way. Which is a good thing since I want to get this one story done before I start on Camp here. It keeps coming closer with every hour that passes by me.

And life keeps going nuts on us. I swear. It's driving me up a wall. But I keep going.

Because I can't really stop and just say "I want to quit". Life doesn't work like that, no matter how we want it to.

Yeah, I'm sounding a bit depressed because of real life stress.

Anyways, I just want it to be July already! I really, really want to write this story.

I already have 5 chapters planned out (and 3 out of 8 total written because I did start it but the rules do state that you can continue a story, but you must only count the new words, so yeah) and I'm always plotting what will happen in future chapters. I also need to watch a few things and make notes.

Urgh. Not happy making.

But I'm going to do it because I need those notes for other stories to. >< I swear one day I'm going to have this huge bookshelf just jammed pack full of notebooks with various notes.

I sigh now. And go back to writing.

Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month - April 2016 pt 3

Today's Ear Worm: Masashi Hamauzu "Storm Before The Calm"
Today's Date: March 28, 2016

You know what? I thought I would do something different than what I wrote originally for this blog.

As I write this blog, it's only the 17th of March (St. Patrick's Day) and I just dragged my falling apart recliner out to the garbage.

So as I was trying to post some pictures to Twitter (which apparently hate me), I decided that I should do a blog post about the physical aspect of preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month.

So here it is!

How I physically got ready for the free for all of Camp NaNo.

Told in pictures. And a Video.

The view from my bed. Messy yes?

A better view. 

I'm going to have to do some major cleaning before I start building the desk up!

I built the desk and killed myself doing so.

I'm ready. Bring it on!

There's a few people that I really want to thank for being such wonderful, inspiring people. And that I hope I don't annoy you to much.

Thank you, so much, for listening to me rant, rave, moan, and babble about my writing. You all inspire me so very much!

Note: All names are linked to their personal websites if I can find one for them, otherwise it's linked to their twitter or facebook. If I can find one or have one.

Necia Pheonix: NP, as I often call her, is a mother with a husband who is often working. She has some wonderful kids and one of them is actually getting into the writing world! She's a wonderful writer, an even more awesome mother, and an awesome snake mommy with some lovely babies.

She even has an Instagram to see her snaky babies on! Not going to link that though since she does have pics of kids on there to.

J.A. Marlow: Jammy! 

I met Jam back in...2013 right around the time that NaNo was starting (November). They were a wonderful person then and they're a wonderful person now, so I'm honored that they are so delightful.

They just lost their mother though, Mother Hen, and the world wept when she finally lost the battle. 10 days after she went to sleep and never woke up. She was a fighter to the end and loved all things art and writing. I just wish I had gotten to see Mother Hen when she was healthier, more there and doing what she loved to do. 

But I see MH in Jam and I'm always honored to know this wonderful person and to read their stuff.

...And to get attacked by bunnies from them. 

Lazette Gifford (her picture blog and her Joyously Prolific Journal): I know Zette a bit, but she's always delightful to talk with and her writing abilities are awe aspiring. Her books are perfectly wonderful and I love seeing her cats. They are so beautiful, and always trying to help mommy with the words!

I am amazed and honored that I know her. And I hope that life keeps treating her well.

Ashe Elton Parker: What to say about this wonderful person? Ashe is always willing to chat and talk about writing and life as it goes along. They're a wonderful person and have been through a lot themselves. But they are happy and living life which is a beautiful thing.

They currently have only had stuff published in the Forward Motion Anthologies (2012, 2013, 2014, and I believe they put a fourth one in 2015's to, but I can't be sure) currently but they are working hard on creating a build up of stories.

Still, they're a wonderful author, a lovely person, and someone I respect. 

Jennifer Amriss: Ah, what to say about the ever beautiful Arya? She is relatively new to the publishing world but less so to the writing world. She is beautiful and wonderful and so brilliant even though she worries about not being good enough.

I can tell you right now, I got my picky as all get out bibliophile of a friend ADDICTED to her stories. She's good. Trust me.

Take some time, go check out her site and bask in her amazing worlds. Buy her books as they come out and help support her and her kitty Punks. The kitty could use some catnip to drive her mommy even more insane.

Connie Cockrell: I have met Connie and I can tell you that she's a lovely, lovely person who needs more people reading her stuff. She started to write on a dare and got bit hard by the need for it! 

But she's a wonderful woman who is a wonderful person, who comments occasionally on my posts here, so thank you, Connie. Really. Your words are always a welcomed sight to my eyes.

Kathleen Roberts: I actually met her on...Im' not sure where but I have her on facebook, and ever since I have been getting to know her quite well. She's got an amazing mind and goes outside of the box for her ideas. So I'm happy to have her in my life to. 

:D It's always nice to have a friend who enjoys writing just as much as you do.

Now there are some people who I can't link to for various reasons, but I want to send out my thanks to Tonya, my heart sibling, Susan, a wonderful woman who is always willing to squeal about my stuff and is a dear friend, and her husband, Vaughan, who is like the brother that I always wanted. 

So thank you three. For being my rock outside of my mother. Really.

And thank you to all those who are here now, who follow my twitter, tumblr, or facebook page. Who silently support me in their own ways or take time to send kind words.

It all means a lot. 

Thank you.

Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month - April 2016 Pt. 2

Today's Ear Worm: Is surprisingly a horror game playthrough from one of my many favorite Youtubers, Markiplier. Poisonous Play Through Play List
Warnings for the game: some screaming, some jump, but mostly puzzle as it goes with all Amnesia games.

Todays date: 3/21/2016

So, as I said in my last blog (Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month - April 2016), I was kind of going "What the flying hell am I going to do for this round?"

Well, I was talking about rewriting two of my stories, which I have decided to do after all! I decided to rewrite my rather short stories "All You Need" and my "Untitled Lex/Rose Story". I have been working on creating outlines and basic summaries for each of the stories before April comes around and I decided that I would share them now.

Let me tell you right now: I write mostly M/M stories and novels. That means I write two men having relationships of various kinds. Rarely do I write F/M pairings in my novels but most of my worlds DO have pairings of some kind.

Cause I love me some lovin' okay?

Now that I've warned you guys about that, let me talk about my novels.

Untitled Lex/Rose Story
Genre: Not sure, but mostly modern M/M Romance
Summary: He had moved into his house when he had been 4 years of age with his parents, grew up in it, learned all that he knew about gardens in the house. He had also heard of his families ties to the older families of the city, but he didn't really care about all of that.

He was much more interested in the man who was moving next door, supposedly to fix up the old house and write a novel. Or ten. 

Rose was a gardener by trade, a manager at a nursery as a job, and on the odd weekend off, he played around with creating a book about how to create gardens of various levels and styles. 

Lex was a lover of books, writing and editing for his career. He moved into the house because of the fact that he could get his hands on all of the materials that were connected to the house, wanting to write those stories instead of his usual mystery fare. 

What neither of them were expecting was to find a connection with each other. Much less love.

Between storms that knock out power, a cat that seems to want to take over Lex's office chair when he can escape from Rose, and nosy neighbors who want to see Rose out of 'their' neighborhood, it's an interesting time for them.

I'm sure you're staring at the fact that I put the summary in a different font and color. That's mostly so I can talk about this story without you thinking that it's a part of the summary of the story.

Lex and Rose was actually a story prompted by a friend who suggested it to me one day. So I wrote it. It's never been put anyways because I knew even then that I would need to rework the entire story. And then I lost ALL of my stories (fanfiction included) to my flashdrive reformatting on me randomly. 

I was far from happy about that fact you guys. I screamed in rage and then found an SD card which I'm still using mostly with 1 terabyte plug and play hard drives. Which make me happy. 

Anyways, another friend found a flash drive at her place, and lo and behold! I have copies of this story plus All You Need. I think I squealed loud enough for my friend to hear me up in Washington. Considering I live in the lower part of Arizona? That was pretty loud.

So here I am, with copies of my stories that I had thought I had lost and now I can rewrite them. Nearly two years after I wrote them!

So I'm just about ready to celebrate this fact, really. 

I transferred the original 11 chapters of this story to my GDoc's that I hold my shorter originals on so I can work on them anywhere as long as I can access my gdoc's and settle into bed.

I take about 6 pages of notes about the story lines and story plot and what I would need to add. I leave it alone for 3 days and start to outline it. I'm now running around 26 planned chapters for this story along with going more in-depth with the build up between them.

It might end up longer though depending on what happens as I write and rewrite this story because I want it to be the best that I can.

All You Need
Genre: Once more, romance, but with a twist.
Summary: I'm really not sure what to say about this one since it's different than what I've ever written before in regards to my originals.

All You Need was, once more, prompted by a friend to write and I did. Then lost it. Again, pissing me off.

But then I found it, transferred all 5 chapters to my short story gdoc, and started to take notes. There is just so much that needs to be rewritten and filled in that it's giving me a headache.

The main characters are "Canaris" and Brian. I'm thinking I'm going to change "Canaris'" name to something a bit easier to read and say, so I need to figure out what I'm going to do with it.

The story is about how "Canaris" has an escort Business called "All You Need". Mind you, the escorts that work for him are under strict contraction obligation to not sleep with their clients for money or for fun while they're working. All You Need provides dates, not sex as "Canaris" often says.

Brian comes in needing a date and from there he discovers that Canaris is one of the few shifting humans, the genetics of the human race mutating and changing.

It's rather interesting and the world building is being a pain in the butt, but I have no doubt that I'm going to have fun with it.

As it is, I have about 3 new chapters outlined and haven't even gotten into the main part of the story with these two. I want to build up the world properly since I'm having this odd feeling that this might end up as a series. Different pairings, same world. Probably going to call the series "All You Need" and title each book with titles that fit the story.

Like Canaris' and Brian's book would be called "Finding My Truth" since Canaris, in the world that they live in, is mostly a fetishized human since he can literally become anyone that he wants.

It's going to be different than anything that I've written and probably won't be put out until I'm a bit further into my publishing career.

But that's what I'm doing for April's Camp round this time. Here's hoping that I get this done and out of the way this time!

I've decided that my end word count for this round of camp will be 35K and I will work on these two stories.

I'm going back to working on things in preparation for this.

Hugs and loves all!

Got my Badges to!

Camp National Novel Writing Month 

Participant April 2016

Preparing for Camp National Novel Writing Month - April 2016

Today's Earworm: Is actually a show. The Lizzie Bordon Chronicles on Netflix
Today's Date: March 14, 2016

I find myself once more on the edge of another Camp round and can't for the life of me figure out what I actually want to work on this year.

Okay, I'm sure that those who are new to this blog, I join in on the wonderful world of National Novel Writing Month which happens from November 1st to November 30th. During this time, those who are participating try to write 50 Thousand words in just 30 days.

Now Camp National Novel Writing Month happens twice a year. April and July both. I tend to join in the both of them and I do pretty darn well. Then again, we can choose how many words we want to hit for during the month, and I tend to try for between 35K to 40K for each month.

Well, as of right now, I have 2 weeks and a few days until April 1st rolls around. I've already decided that I'm going to try for 35K and rewrite a couple of my stories into fuller, richer shorter novels. Probably novelettes or novellas.

Okay, okay, okay, I can feel the confused looks coming from the lot of you. I really can. Let me breakdown the type of lengths for each type of book.

First, there are short-short stories. They tend to be under 2,500 words total.

Short stories come after that and range from 2,500 to 7,500 words in length.

After short stories come Novellettes, which is a possibly where my two stories will land in. They range from 7,500 words up to about 20 thousand words.

Novellas are the next step. They range from 20 thousand words to 50 thousand words, which is about where most of the writers during NaNoWriMo are aiming for minimum.

Full on novels range from 70K to 90K words.

Now, the genre of the book does effect the total word count. As a general rule, young adult is mostly between 50K to 80K, while adult literary works fall somewhere between 80K and 110K, depending on the genre. Science Fiction (Sci Fi) and Fantasy though tend to be some of the few that get up there in length, along with historical, and a few others.

Disclaimer though: This is not a firm set rule! This is average on what sells and what people are looking for. When it comes time to publish or look for a publisher, you should do your research into what is the best word count. 

For me, as a paranormal horror writer mostly (with forays into romance and fantasy), I'll find my sweet spot between 80 thousand up to 95/100 thousand words total. And those numbers are based off of the Paranormal Genre (75K to 95K) and Horror Genre (80K to 100K) and mixing between the two. 

Now that I got that out of the way, as I said, I'm aiming for about 35K this coming April and the stories to end up around 20 to 30K. I write about 1,100 words per chapter, minimum, and I'm going to try for 20 chapters each. Minimum.

But then, I have this one story that is just sitting here.

Mocking me.

Begging me to write it.

I'm talking about NaNo's 2015 story, my mean bunny story, "When My Eyes Close". I have no idea where I'm going with it really. I have my plot points but I'm having to figure out a few new ideas for the characters since it won't happen in one night but instead spread out over a few months time. And one character that I was going to kill off is now going to live.

And have his own book if I can figure out what to do with him.

I sigh now.

Well, I have a bit of time, don't I?

Coming up next week, Preparing for CampNaNo April 2016! Here I go! Once more into the insanity.

Let's Talk...Chronic Pain and Depression

Today's Ear Worm: Hmm, no idea. How about Little Talks by Monsters and Men
It works for me.

Date: February 10, 2016

So I'm not sure how to really start this blog. It's going to get a little...personal? I guess you can say that yes, it's going to be a bit personal.

Mostly because this blog is about how I've been doing and what I've been doing and all that good stuff.

I'm not really sure as how to talk about this without sounding like I'm whining, cause I'm not! Really, I'm not. But things are a bit much for me and I really don't have anywhere else to talk about this. So since it does impact my writing, I decided to start a series called "Let's Talk".

This series will be about how a writers writing can be impacted by various things in their life. Today's topic? Chronic pain and Depression.

First of all, what is Chronic Pain? And what is Depression?

Well, first of all Chronic Pain is defined as any pain that lasts more than 12 weeks at a time. It is not acute pain, which is just the sensation of pain that alerts us to possible injury or strain. Chronic Pain doesn't really have much of a cause and persists.

I've been living with fully body Chronic Pain for the last, let's see, 8 years? Since about 2008. I did something to my back in 2007 and it's all been downhill from there. Yes, I am losing weight but it's never been the cause of it, so let's shut that down first and foremost yes? I used to be a twig with hips (as my friends often called me) up until I turned 14 when puberty smacked me up side the head with a 2 by 4.

I still had pain but not as bad as this.

I probably have done a lot to my body but a lot comes from genetics. I can readily admit that I've gone headfirst over the handle bars of my bikes when I was younger and been in a couple of accidents but all those did was aggravate the pain that I had already been experiencing.

Depression is defined as an illness that involves your body, mood, and your thoughts. It affects the way someone eats, sleeps, feels about themselves and the way they think about things.

I can not say this enough but, DEPRESSION IS NOT A PASSING PHASE. It does not go away just because a person is told to pull themselves together! It is a long term, sometimes lifelong, battle with yourself.

Treatment can help people find their balance, find their peace and rise above the depression, but it does take time and the right treatment for them to get there.

So if you do not have depression, don't think you know how someone who does have it feels. You don't. It's...not easy trying to fight the demons that depression brings.

And it's not just a mental fight, it's a physical one to. It can literally cause the person physical pain.

Which is not good for me. I know when I'm in a depression. My pain gets worse.

Now that I've said that, let's get down to how it affects my writing shall we?

When I'm in pain or depressed, it's very hard to get the words down onto paper. It's not like I can always ignore the pain or ignore the little voice of self-doubt in the back of my head to get those words down all the time. It's not that easy. Not really. It's rather hard actually.

So I've been trying to write while in a serious amount of pain. My back and shoulders hurt mostly right now so it makes it hard to sit at the computer since I don't have a good desk and chair yet. I'm saving up to get some, which is sometime next month. I'll have to deal with it and set things up but it'll be better.

For now though, I'm dealing with the writing. But it takes me time to write. This means that I'm behind on a lot of things, including setting up these blog posts. So it's going to be fun for the next couple of weeks.

Here's hoping that things get easier yes?

2016 is my time to Write and Live!

This is actually a post on another site but I thought it would work best here to. There are some edits to it to flesh out the information and get it out.

Ear Worm: Unknown Man "E": The Most Mysterious Mummy in the World Documentary

Okay, I think that it's time for this writer to get going on some of the things that have been sitting around and mocking me.

More than time actually.

It's 11 days into 2016 and already I've been triggered into a near panic attack 3+ times, written very little due to said panic attacks, and want to drop the whole world down a hole while I get some actual sleep.

So what do I do? I go for a walk, Slipknot's "Snuff" in my ears and the cold buffering at me so I can clear my head and think of what I really truly want in my life this year.

Time to break it down into easy to bite pieces so I can learn a new routine. Which will help my mental and physical state.

January:
1) Plot out a few more chapters of Honey Drops series book 1
2) Maybe actually give it a working title?

3) Plot out a few more chapters of A Delicate Thread (Don't Look Series book 1)
4) Write out at least 2 chapters of both Honey Drops series book 1 and A Delicate Thread

5) Plot out some more chapters of the book that I started of Nano 2015. Let's call the mean little bugger Mean Bunny or When My Eyes Close.
6) Figure out Bellamy (from Mean bunny) and what his story in the book will be.
7) Write out at least 2 chapters of Mean Bunny

8) Create book bibles for Don't Look series and Honey Drops series

9) Buy more composition notebooks for other book bibles.

Feb
1) Repeat without 8 and 9

March
1) Repeat without 8 and 9

April

1) Repeat without 8 and 9

2) Do Camp National Novel Writing Month Round 1 (might work on When My Eyes Close)

July

1) Do Camp National Novel Writing Month Round 2

Sometime in the next 6 months:

1) Talk with friend about shared world (Her series A Demon's Toy and my series A Butterfly's Life) and get some kind of headway into that full on rewrite.

2) Plot out a bit more/write more on A Butterfly's Dance.

3) Plot out a world I'm currently calling Magical Girls.

Please see below at the very bottom about the stories that are mentioned here.
 

That's about all I'm willing to plot out for this year so far, but I'll probably add more as I go along.

For my personal life...I just have a general list. And I'm sure you've seen some of these in my post New Years Resolutions of a Creative Mind

1) Go back to therapy for the depression and see if I can't find something to help me when I have panic attacks.
2) Get rid of the toxic people in my life.
3) Ignore the idiots. They cause me stress. I have enough stress.
4) Put in SSI paperwork (I'm unable to work due to a variety of reasons)
5) Go in to the doc to find another type of pain killer that will help me control the chronic pain and won't cause more problems.
6) Get new asthma rescue inhaler since the ones that I had I have a 50/50 chance of having a reaction to. Which send me into panic attacks. Which is just a nasty cycle.
7) Get a desk.
8) Get a new chair.
9) Recreate my safe space. I need to do this for my health and sanity
10) Clean my safe space. *nudges aside notebooks*

Let's just hope that I can do this yes?

I have word goals of about 5k a week, if not more, and editing and/or rewriting once a week.

Let's see how this goes.

*rolls up sleeves* *pulls on comfy clothes* *gets to it* Charge!

Honey Drops series: This series is a kind of fantasy sci-fi with elements of romance. It's slated to sprawl over about 6 books, 3 of those books about brothers, two about family connected people, and the last one is to wrap things up. I have a 7th but that's going to be all the side bits that didn't make it into the actual books but help fill in details. 

That book shall come out around the second book when I get around to putting them out. 

When My Eyes Close: This one is just horror and death. I grew up on a killer killing off the stupid people kind of movies. I wanted to see if I can translate this into a book. It's going well so far. 

Magical Girls: This one actually started out as a Sailor Moon Prompt fic for a friend (she love's sailor moon just as much as I do), but it kind of took on it's own life. 

I'm currently thinking out the plot, how to change things around, and characters. It'll be fun, to say the least. 

Don't Look: Another series that started out as something else and turned into a full on story line. I have 3 books thought of with the possibility of more. I hope to get things going on this one but it does take time. Here's hoping.

A Butterfly's Life: Dream is book 2 of the series but I'm working on book 1 right now so I can figure out where I'm going with this story. It'll be interesting, to say the least. *sighs* *headdesk* We'll have to see how it goes. 

I just might take the plot and create a new world based off of it while keeping this story line as an online thing. 

We'll see how it goes in the long run. Cross your fingers. 

National Novel Writing Month 2015 Novel: When Mine Eyes Close

Working Title: When Mine Eyes Close
Genre: Supernatural Horror
By: S.L. Lewis
Started: November 1, 2015
Finished: Unknown at this time

Summary: When they had been cursed, the users of Magic were just learning to balance life next to those who followed Religion and Faith. When they had been cursed, the Salem Witch Trials had just barely happened, leaving innocent victims dead and families torn apart. When they had been cursed, they had just become step-brothers.

They hadn't expected to cursed by their Priest.

So they had waited.

They had waited for so long to finally get them.

Centuries really.

Waiting for those who had cursed them to be reborn, for their souls to come back to the Living and to gather once more in their little town of Redbrom. But they didn't have to wait any more. The one's who had come together to curse them had been reborn and they were all there. All teenagers.

All ready to be show that Karma got those who deserved it. Ready to show that sometimes though, Karma needed some help.

And they were that help.

They couldn't wait for it.

This is just the start of my new story When Mine Eyes Close. The title above is a working title, so it might change as I write and rewrite this story. I'm rather looking forward to this whole thing, I really am.

This story shall take twists and turns that I'm hoping will be new and amazing.

The supposed "good guys" shall not be so good, and the supposed "bad guys" shall not be so bad themselves, but rather forced into such a place due to circumstances. I'll be exploring death, destruction, the mind, history, sexuality, and the dark depths of the human soul in this book.

I can't wait for it.

It's one of those books that have been sitting in the back of my mind, teasing me. Growing and planning without me noticing it doing so. It started out with an idea for a murderous couple who were trapped long ago because one of them dared to say "No" to someone with power.

From there, it grew and changed. It went from just a single night stretched out with deaths galore, to at minimum a week's worth of deaths in the book.

Thank you to Ester, who was kind enough to help me figure out a few of those creative deaths. You have helped quite a bit.

I hope and pray as I write this that it will let me actually finish it. I have a feeling that it shall.

So join me as I take a leap into the depths of despair and pain and death in this woven tale of horror.

Nano Day 1 - November 1, 2015, 6:47 PM - Arizona Time

Nano Prep 3 - Cleaning Up My Space 1

So as a part of my preparations for Nano, I take pictures of my space and then...I clean. I clean it all. Every single inch of the room. This takes me a few days since I am on some limited mobility, but not to bad.

Still, it's kind of hard to do a lot of what I need to do in just a single day.

So for now, this is the Before Cleaning.

My messy, messy bed and fan. The fan is on. 

The camera just makes it look as if it's not.

Yes, that's a pill bottle. That's prescription Ibu that I need to refill.

This is the view from my chair and includes my mouse and wire shelving there.

I need to reorganize my shelf once more.

Yes, that's my leather notebook that I love so very dearly. 

In this Picture, it's opened up to my new plot for Nano. 

The view from my door way. 

The bag that is hanging on the door is full of wires and such. 

I need to go through that.

This is what's next to my chair!

The box with the plate holds my snacks for Nano.

The Blue bag next to said box holds candy.

The basket with the nice headphones and next to the modem is just catch all.

Yes, that's nail polish remove in it. 

And yes, that's a ruler sitting on a book. 

Just so you can REALLY see it upclose and personal.

Yeah, I really need to clean up that clutter. *sighs*

And finally we have a full on pic of my baby. 

This laptop has gotten me through two Nano's so far! Let's see if it'll help me get through a third.

Attached to it on the left is the blue lap fan that I use with this laptop. 

Otherwise, cooked hands.

I am hardwired into my net. It costs way to much to have wifi okay?

On the right side, I have my keyboard, which you can see in the background, and my mouse.

I also have my blistex lip blam (berry), a green pen and a purple mechanical pencil.

I must buy more pens. I'm running low. 

Bad things happen when I run low. *nods*

The next set of pictures will be on October 31st and will have (hopefully) an organized room!

Until then, byes!