Life. You Know?

I am so tired of adulting. 

You know what I’m talking about: all the responsibilities, obligations and time commitments that go along with being a “grown up” are draining. Add 4 kids to the mix and the adulting requirements increase exponentially. It’s exhausting at the best of time you guys. 

Right now, it’s damn near killing me.

via GIPHY

Last week my husband and MIL loaded up my van with a bunch of cardboard, paper and other recycling and then climbed in to go do those chores and an array of other errands. They drove out of our driveway and were immediately hit by someone who was speeding down the road and had just run/raced the red light two houses away. Right in front of our house. I’d said “see ya later” as they walked out the door and a couple minutes later I hear a massive boom, walk to the front of the house, look out the window, and what do you know? There’s my van (and the other persons car) smashed and in pieces right in front of my house. 

Everyone seems to be just fine I think - they’ve got stiff and sore necks/backs, and my MIL has some seatbelt bruising (her side of the van was impacted) - but other than that ok. 

But -

MY van... The only vehicle we have that accommodates our family of 6. The one I’ve driven every single day (or nearly) for the past 10 1/2 years. The vehicle I was going to need just hours later to take a kid to one of their activities, and then later to take another kid to theirs. 

Since that moment I’ve spent hours on the phone dealing with insurance, and getting a rental, and a host of other things. I spent one afternoon shopping to replace the car seat that was relegated useless after being through a collision. I’ve spent countless hours researching the value of my beloved van and looking for replacements. And now I know I’ll have to spend even more time doing that as my van has been deemed un-fixable and I HAVE to replace it. 

Ugh. 

All this on top of the normal multitudinous daily tasks and responsibilities I take care of every day. 

I’m tired of adulting. And I’m so physically and mentally exhausted that I’ve had no drive to write anything all week. I added maybe 50 words to my NaNo story before I heard the big boom. It sucks and I know that there is no way in hell I’ll come close to 50k words this month. But on the plus side - everyone is okay and I’m getting an unexpected vehicle upgrade. 

via GIPHY

How is your writing going though?? Are you on target to “win” NaNo this year?

Like One Step Forward, Three Steps Back

So another week has come and gone, and some writing has been done. Not a lot, but some. I had one really good morning of writing in the middle of the week where both ideas and words simply flowed. It was great. 

I am at a delicate point in my story so I find myself, not struggling exactly, but being careful in my composition. On one hand I know that I just need to write, to get the words, the story out of my head and onto the page. After all there will be plenty of time to revise and edit, and find the perfect words and way of telling later. On the other hand I still find myself editing as I write which causes a good amount of delay. 

But I’m writing. Which is better than I’ve been doing since last Christmas. 

In fact, I’ve added nearly as much to the story in the past 11 days as I had added in the previous 10 months. 

So whatever else, it’s good I’m writing. 

Writing Report: November 5-11 (2pm) 

Time Spent Writing: 2 hours (+ a good deal of editing time)

Words Written: 1450 

Total Words Added to WIP this month: 2984 

Until next time... happy writing!!

Accountability? Let’s See...

Sunday evening check ins. 

Yeah. This time around at NaNo I am ABSOLUTELY doing this. I’m going to take a few minutes at some point during my Sunday (right now I’m in the middle of cooking dinner for my family) and just check in to let you know how my writing week has gone. 

Because accountability makes a difference. 

Even if I’m the only person who ever reads the post, simply setting a day where I have to post about the week’s efforts - be they successful or epic failures - it makes a difference. It means I have to actually look at what I’ve done, or not done, and report it. 

Because maybe when I share that I’ve had an amazing writing week someone out there will say “That’s great! Keep up the hard work.” Maybe I’ll get a few virtual high fives. 

Because maybe when I report that it’s been a rough week and the results only amounted to a grocery list and a to-do chore list, someone else may tell me “Just keep at it. Every word matters.” They may commiserate, they may offer advice or suggestions or, or, or. 

Or maybe I won’t get any kind of response in return. Except I’ll know. I’ll have been accountable to myself at the least. I’ll be able to look at the writing I’ve accomplish in relation to the amount of time I spent writing, the amount of time I wasted, and all the various things I have to do otherwise. 

I know some weeks will be really good. Some weeks may simply be alright. And some weeks may be really ugly. Whatever the week’s results is okay as long as when Monday rolls around I sit down and keep working on it, keep writing, and keep trying. So... 

Writing Report: November 1-4 (approx 6:30pm) 

Time Spent Writing: approx 4 hours 

Words Written: 1534 on WIP + roughly 600 in blogs

It’s been a busy family weekend with football championships and other kid events going on so I didn’t have as much time to write over the weekend as I would have liked. We went over the family schedule earlier today for the month and it looks like the rest of the month will be better. 

I guess we’ll see how the next week goes.

Stumbling in the Dark

It’s been a pretty dark place around here the past year, in so many ways. And silent. My god the silence - even the crickets haven’t made a peep. I’ve had no inspiration, no ambition, and every time I’ve actually sat at a keyboard to write (since January this year) has resulted in some newly developed but very creative procrastination techniques. 

I’ve done a lot of reading. A lot. A LOT. 

I’ve spent some much needed time with each of my kids. 

I’ve played quite a bit with graphic and cover design. Still not precisely to a level where I’d want to actually charge someone money for my efforts but I’m getting there I think. Slowly. 

I’ve moved the furniture around in my house three times - everything is essentially back to where it was in the first place now - and I’ve probably donated 100lbs of clothes to charity between myself and my four minis. 

But words. 

Words have been hard to come by. I’ve needed something to give me the kick in the ass that would get me back to work, back to writing and so... 

I did the thing again. I signed up and got set up to NaNoWriMo again. 

I guess we’ll see how that goes. 

Fingers crossed... though maybe I shouldn’t cross them, that may just make it even more difficult to type.

You can find me there (if you’re interested) as @LDFerris 😊😊

November 1st... You Know What That Means!

It's November 1st and that means a couple things are going on RIGHT NOW!

First, today is National Author's Day... Or so the internet and Facebook tell me. So to all my writing and author friends out there - here is wishing you the most glorious of days! :-)

And second - NANOWRIMO STARTS TODAY!!!

It's National Novel Writing Month - the month long writing challenge of 50,000 words in 30 days.

I'm doing it again this year. I've even got a nifty little widget down on the left hand side on this site that *should* show you a running log of my total words written. So here's wishing myself and all the other NaNoWriMo-ers out there a very sincere Good Luck!

I'm off to get my butt busy. Talk to you again soon!!

I will finish The Queen's Mate this month... I will finish The Queen's Mate this month... I will finish The Queen's Mate this month...

Ready To Start Sharing... Paranormal Love Blog Hop

This year I'm once again doing NaNoWriMo in November but I can already tell you that I'm sort of cheating because some parts are already written. I want to finish the manuscript I've been working on in fits and starts, piece by little piece for the last couple years. It's actually the story I intended to start the last time I participated in the month long writing event... However at that time life intervened and the story didn't get written.

I've spent the last 6 weeks or so planning, outlining and playing through scenarios for key points in the story. Originally I thought the story I was going to tell would be one book. Now I know it's actually 3. My focus in November will be to get the first book The Queen's Mate completed so that it can move into editing and beta reading. I'm really hoping that I'll actually be able to publish it by January 2016, with book 2: The Heart of the Healer, and book 3: The Touch of Winter to release in the months following. They will be the first three stories of the paranormal romance series I'm calling the McKenna's End Series. 

Today I'm pleased to share the blurb for THE QUEEN'S MATE... 

Years after they loose touch, two friends are reacquainted after the death of ones' parents. Winter Tallant and Dawn McKenna quickly become the best of friends, but is it Winter that keeps Dawn tied to the Tallant family or is it something more?

Dylan Tallant feels like his world is crumbling around him. When his parents die and leave him responsible for his siblings, their home and all their secrets, Dylan has no idea how to deal with the curveball life throws him in the very alluring shape of Dawn McKenna. 

Can Dawn and Dylan overcome the obstacles they've built up in their minds? Can the two of them face the secrets that they keep and finally let them go? Will they reach the tipping point naturally or will they be pushed off the edge by circumstances beyond their control? 

I'm feeling very giving today so... Here's a wee excerpt too! (This comes from an unedited, rough draft.) 

"I've lived in your house for nearly a year, how could I miss your scents?" Dawn was shocked by the scent that she could now sense and was completely flabbergasted as to how she hadn't noticed it before. 

Dylan shook his head. "How did I not scent you?" He asked her and nodded at the expression that flashed briefly across her face. "Exactly. You were obviously trained to hide your scent just the same as I was." 

"But Aidan? Winter?" She questioned. "I've never sensed they were anything but human." 

"They've always scented that way for me as well. Dad always believed it was because they couldn't shift." 

Now it was Dawn who shook her head. "I've never come across that before. Even those who couldn't shift still smelled of the animal that was in their blood." 

"I think it comes from my mom. She never smelled of her cat unless she was close to her shift or shifted." Dylan explained. 

"Dylan..." She said softly with wonder staring at the man, no the lion shifter standing in front of her. 

"I know," he replied. "We've been damn fools."  

Well I hope you've enjoyed this sneak peek into my head. This project is one that's been brewing for a long time and I simply can't explain how excited I am to be getting closer to my goal, nor how overjoyed I am to be able to share it with you... Well, overjoyed and slightly nauseous. But I'm sure I'll be alright. 

This post was lovingly prepared as part of the Paranormal Love Wednesdays Blog Hop! Thanks for stopping in and don't forget you can catch all the blog hop submissions for this Wednesday by going to the Paranormal Love Wednesdays Blog Hop page... See you again next time!

It Has Begun

NaNoWriMo has officially begun…

As of 12:01am this morning, writers all over North America (and across the globe) heard the starters pistol, okay not really but stretch your imaginations with me here, and began the marathon-like trek to 50,000 words and November 30^th.  As I mentioned last week, I am participating in the event once again this year and once I’ve got my blog posts updated today I will be starting to work on my own writings.

I just want to send wishes of good luck to all this year’s participants and I hope that your ideas and stories will become all that you imagine.

Happy NaNo Writers!!

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And don’t forget tomorrow is again Wednesday, which once again gives us the Writer’s Wednesday Blog Hop.  Created by and originally hosted by Nicole from The World of My Imagination, the WWBH is a great opportunity for writers and bloggers to meet and interact with others just like them!  I’ll be around in a limited capacity this week (between NaNo and an extra work shift) but I will be participating as much as I can.  See you around the hop!

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And can I say a great big WOW? Just learned that Nicole awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award... So thanks Nicole - you're awesome and I love you and your blog!!  You can all check out my newly created Awards page to find out just what I have to do for 'the prize!'

50K in 30 Days

It is definitely that time of year again.

And amazingly I can almost hear the “Whaa?”

No idea what I’m talking about? No guesses? Come on!

Hhhmm…..

That’s right! It’s NaNo time again!!!

Now for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, and have apparently been living under a rock for the past 12 years…

NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month = November

What does that mean?

Simple.  From November 1^st – November 30^th you write your heart out.  Your goal is 50,000 words in 30 days, or 1667 words per day.  Now, those 50,000 words should make up a pretty good start for a novel.  Realistically 50k words, all by themselves only makes up a novella length story, but really – is that something to complain about?  Can you really hear yourself saying on December 1^st “But it’s only 50k… That’s only a novella.”  BIG NO!

If you finish your 50k by midnight on November 30^th you pass into the glorious annals of history (of NaNo) as a winner, and you’ve got a 50,000 word manuscript sitting on your hard drive that can be added to, edited, revised and polished into a full length novel and you got there in 30 days!

That’s not chump change, my friends.

So the big question on everyone’s mind (well everyone who knew what I was talking about in the first place) is whether or not they are going to NaNo this year…

Last year I started with big plans.  Yes, I actually planned last year, thank you very much.  I had the idea for The Gifted percolating in my head and it wanted out.  Take a look at the side of this page, see the progress meters for the stories?  See the one for The Gifted?  See how it’s just over 5000 words? 

That’s me and my spectacular NaNoWriMo 2010 writing fail.

So will I be doing it again?

Hhhmmm….

Probably.  Okay, yes I’m going to do it… but ssshhhh – keep reading.

I’m not really sure that this year’s progress, or accomplishment, will be much better than last year.  Honestly, I’m just as busy, if not more so than I was last year and this year I’m also working part time too. (I’ll tell you all a bit about that next time maybe. It’s something new.  Sort of.)  But this year I’m also going to cheat.  A bit.  Slightly.  Sort of.

I actually got the idea to cheat from another writer who, like me, has a lot on the go right now and doesn’t want to ‘lose momentum’ on the projects that their already working on.  For me, it’s not so much about losing momentum as it is about actually getting something done.  I’ll be shifting back to The Gifted again for NaNo this year.  And the just more than 5000 words that I’ve already written?  I’m not tossing them.  When the story is “completely finished and ready to be published” those words and the beginning that I managed to write last year, will be there.  BUT I have the story to a point right now where it’s almost time for a ‘time jump.’

No, not time-travel, but that beautifully crafted jump in our stories where months pass in the blink of an eye.  Or with the turn of a page, as the case may be.  So November 1^st I’ll be starting immediately after the time jump.  Hello word count = 0! 

Will November 30^th find me at 50,000 words?  I really hope so. Mostly because I’d like to be able to come back and say “Yes, I finished!” but also because then I’d be 50,000 words closer to finishing that story. And remember how I said that while the idea had been percolating, that the story really wanted to be told.  Uh huh, now the characters are nearly as loud and obnoxious as my kids with their demands that their stories be told.  Really, NaNo this year may be my only hope for sanity.

And okay… LOL.  I think I’d better stop now, while you don’t think I’m completely off my rocker, and maybe, I don’t know… Go write something.  But not The Gifted, I’m saving that for NaNo. 

I think I’ll go to Greece.

Writing Preparation – NaNoWriMo 2010

In the lead up to NaNoWriMo 2010 there has been a lot of chatter amongst writers about what it takes to actually write a novel in 30 days. As most of you will know NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an event that takes place each November and urges writers to reach the goal of writing a 50,000 word novel over the course of the month. Those who manage to reach that goal are then able to enter their finished work get some cool acclaim within the writing community and of course, the bragging rights of having written a novel in 30 days! The event is something that amateur writers and accomplished authors alike are able to participate in.

Image by nataliesap via Flickr

I signed up to participate for the first time during last year's competition (2009) but it quickly became clear to me that it takes more than just signing up, having an idea, and sitting down to write. The month ended and I think my word count was around a paltry 10,000 words. Admittedly, I didn't start writing until after the first week was over but it wasn't time that was the major problem. Over the course of the last year I've spent a lot of time writing (though, God knows nowhere near as much as I'd have liked to) and though not all of my writing has been fiction one thing has become clear.

Planning is a majorly important facet of writing a good, cohesive story. This brings me back to the chatter I mentioned that's happening within the writing community right now. Everyone is talking about whether it's necessary to plan your story and how much planning is really important. Having failed dramatically last year, I know that if I want to succeed for NaNoWriMo this year I need to have my story planning done before November 1^st.

So over the last few weeks and for the rest of October, I will be spending some time each day working on the story plan – from developing character profiles, to creating an outline for the story itself, and doing research on the topics and settings that I may or may not end up using in the story. I may discover on Nov. 30^th that all that I've done in preparation is major overkill, but this year I'd rather be over prepared then not prepared at all.

I'm determined, you see, to hit 50,000 words. Hopefully they won't end up being 50,000 spectacularly horrible words but at the very least, 50,000 adequate words. If nothing else, at the end of November I hope to have a first draft for that new story I mentioned a couple months ago… Yes, I've been hoarding the idea for a while now. And as a bonus, since nearly all my time during November will be spent writing (when not off doing the Mom thing), I'll be using some of my prep/planning work to keep the blog rolling. See there's me, planning ahead again!!