Book review: My little heart Ruthie by Toni Jannotta

*** out of 5

It's an OK book that is more of a very short story than novel.

It's good to hear the author telling the story, but her voice doesn't match the grammar she's used in the book, for example she's used ... in the book but rushes over them without any kind of break at all, not even pausing for a comma!

The author also speed-read between 2 pages and I couldn't catch up with her... she started on one page then immediately went to the next page without even a hint at a pause.

If you want a quick read, get this book.

JanNoWriMo has started a day early again, because...

Just like every year, we are spending New Year's Day with Steve's family so I won't be able to write anything tomorrow, so I started a day early instead and have written 3 chapters this afternoon, so I can spend tomorrow relaxing then start writing again on Tuesday.

That's the hardest bit done and dusted now though and if I keep writing at least 3 chapters a day I'll be finished on time again too.

Gonna have a celebratory J2O to finish off NaNo's bottles then I'll start on the fresh lot on Tuesday when I start again.

I can so do this!

Book review: 16 and pregnant with twins

*** out of 5

This is an OK book, it just seems very confusing in parts and there are jumps in time as well as making me confused about who was talking and to whom.

It's an easy read, it could just have done with going through some professional editing and the POV changes were weird too.  Keep writing, Elisabeth, just be prepared to go through more editing before your next book is published... sorry!

Vlog for a change

Don't get used to this or anything, but I've just done a really quick vlog for anyone who wants to see what I've got to say about the new look site.

Haven't got a clue what to say in the vlogs so they will be short for the forseeable future 'cos my mind just goes completely blank as soon as I hit the record button!

If there's something you especially want me to talk about in a vlog, just leave me a comment and I'll do my best to get it done for you!

Book review: Thunder Moon by Tonya Coffey

✰✰✰ out of 5

I so wish I could give this book a better rating, but, like the previous one, it's very confusing for me.

It's prolly the way that the author uses "I" for the main character which is a very different way of doing the books, but I was expecting to see everything from the main characters POV instead of jumping around so much... it's written in first person, yet it jumps around to other characters without any of the journey to that person, then back to the main character then onto another part.

It's almost like you need to take notes throughout the book!

Not an easy read, but definitely give it a go if you can spend the time quickly moving from one place to another... just don't expect no confusion is all... sorry!

After months of work...

After working on my stories site for months on end, Steve's got the app finished, Andrew's logo is proudly at the top of every page and all the navigation is sorted out as well as the background being quite bold now too, in comparison to the colour scheme it had this morning!

Means I can concentrate on making plans for JaNoWriMo on New Year's Day now!

And the planning is finished!

That means that the next 12 days are my own to do what I like with!  Finished buying the Yule gifts, finished planning out my JanNo novel so I can just enjoy the next couple of weeks!

What an incredibly productive day!!

After a slow start, someone in SCBWI reminded me to have chocolate and music to inspire and motivate me.

In 12 hours with the help of three mugs of drinking chocolate and Take That blasting through my ears, I've planned out a huge 27 chapters today and I'm now half way through planning the whole novel... not bad going I don't reckon!

I'm hoping I'll have another productive day tomorrow, as long as Steve doesn't mind supplying me with several more mugs of drinking chocolate and having me ignore him in favour of Take That again tomorrow!

Means I'll have totally finished the planning by Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning ready for enjoying Yule and Christmas and New Year with nothing to worry about!

Yay me!

Book review: Pink Moon by Tonya Coffey

✰✰✰ out of 5

Just finished reading this and it's a book that confuses me with all the names and seeming to change genders of the main character throughout the book.

It seems to be aimed at the hi-lo market... written with the maturity that would appeal to the upper end of Young Adults but using language that is more aimed at Middle Graders.

If you or your teen fancy an easy read then definitely get this book, just be aware that it'll be a challenging read for those who aren't at the upper end of Young Adult readers is all.

Can't wait to read the next book!

Are there any tweens who are bullied who can help me please?

Are there any bullied tweens I can pick the brain of for my current WIP please? If there are, can they set up a totally anonymous email address and email me about it at amanda@stories4childrengroup.com please? Just wanna know about the threats that are being made is all Thank you!

Book Review: Storm Shelter by April Sali

✰✰✰✰ out of 5

This is a wonderful little book - I couldn't stop reading it!  The only reason I'm giving it four stars instead of the full five is purely because it is so short.  Needs to be oneheckuva lot longer than it is... Amelia could have had a lot more adventures before she found her gift and expanded on how the bully seemed to go from someone that everyone was scared of to suddenly feeling able to confide his deepest thoughts in the Amelia.

The author has an amazing way with words, she just needs to put a lot more into the book to help the reader go on the journey with Amelia... really tug at the heart strings of the readers and let them grow really attached to Amelia.

If you want a feel-good, very quick read, then get yourself this book... you won't regret it!

Copyright question

Me an' 'im have written a picture book together this evening... his ideas, my words and I've included his name as the author but are we both owners of the copyright or just one of us please?

New look Stories site is...

Wiv Steve's help I've changed the look of my Stories 4 Children site and it's ready to go as soon as Steve's got the app finished off, so as soon as that's ready, I'll announce the new-look site!

Yay!

You can all breathe a sigh of relief now, because...

I've just written the final word in this year's NaNo novel and it's finished at exactly 51k words too.

No more anger or frustration or questions... just another MS in the "To Edit" folder now and after only 12 days too, including a couple of day-long breaks in writing.

Feeling so proud of myself now and I'm gonna use the rest of November to edit my other MSs in the "To Edit" folder now that I'm in the writing zone.

Need to ask if a parent/tween combination on SCBWI can have a read of a couple of chapters to make sure I don't scare the tweens is all now... you watch me forget though!  lol

Last chapter of the whole novel

Just finished writing chapter 67 with Kris being scared shitless by the first half an hour of a certificate 15 film.

This final chapter will see him storming into his parents bedroom in total anger that they'd only got him a card with a weird message in it.  His 3 friends and all 8 parents will go into town for a birthday burger then all 12 of them will squeeze into Kris' house to give Kris his surprise real birthday pressie to leave a happy ever after for the last paragraph of the novel.

As of right now...

I'm at exactly 50k words so as of right now I've finished the NaNoWriMo challenge for 2017 and I've got exactly 1k more words to write to finish the MS in just under 2 weeks!

Yay me!

🏆

4 down, 2 to go

I'm so going to finish the MS before it even gets dark today!  Only got two chapters left to write now and 500 words before I complete NaNo for another year.

I'll be finished at 51k instead of the 50k necessary to finish the challenge so might aim for a YA novel with 75k words next year with the hope of finishing around the 20th then 100k the year after to finish by the end of the challenge...

You watch me forget though!  lol

3 down, 3 to go

Just written chapter 65 so I'm almost there now, just starting to tie up loose ends now ready for the surprise in the last paragraph to finish the whole novel off.

2 down, 4 to go

Just written chapter 64 so I've only got another 4 to write now and it's only 12.30pm.

I'll be finished by about 4pm hopefully, then I can celebrate with the big bottle of J2O!

1 down, final 5 chapters to go

Finished the first chapter of the day, so I'm up to chapter 64 of the 68 and it's not even lunchtime yet!

Met today's target too!

Just gone 9pm and I've finished today's 7 chapters, so I've cracked open another J2O to celebrate then I'll take me prescription and head to bed before 10pm for the first time this week!

Just got another 6 chapters to write tomorrow and it's finished in under 2 weeks for the first time since I started doing the NaNo challenge all those years ago!

👍

6 down, 1 to go

After a slow start I've really worked hard to write all afternoon and evening which means I've only got one more chapter to write tonight then I can have a J2O and celebrate finishing tomorrow in only 12 days!

5 down, 2 to go and...

Just finished chapter 60 so I've only got another 2 chapters to write for my target 7 chapters a day and it'll take me a couple of hours to write them so I might hopefully get to bed at a decent time tonight too!

4 down, 3 to go

Just finished chapter 59 so I'm on the final stretch now... only another 9 chapters to write then it's finished for another year!

6,750 words to write and counting down!

3 down, 4 to go

Just finished chapter 58 and the final 10 chapters are going to be the build up to the happy ever after.

6.5k words left to write now, so I'm in single figures at last!

2 down, 5 to go

Three of the four main characters are yawning their heads off or asleep now.

The build-up to the big reveal of Kris' birthday pressie is going to start in this chapter.

1 down, 6 to go

Started off the day with a chapter before lunchtime, so I'm gonna keep going until lunch is cooked then I'll eat and carry on to see how much I can achieve today!

Met today's target... yay!

I've got 8,750 words in 12 chapters to go and it's finished!

If I can have a couple of intense writing days tomorrow and Sunday I'll be able to get it finished and be able to celebrate on Sunday.

Now?

Now I'm gonna crack open a bottle of well-deserved bottle of J2O, then take me prescriptions and head to bed!

6 down, 1 to go and...

Just written chapter 54 and I'm at 40,500 words now so I've got less than 10k to write to finish it!!

Gonna write one more chapter tonight to take me to 41,250 then head to bed to finish off the whole MS by Sunday night... the end is in sight now!!! 😀

👍 👍 👍

5 down, 2 to go

It's just gone 8pm and I'm not even remotely tired yet so I'm on track for doing the 7 chapters today like I was hoping for this morning.

The trio are about to leave the library with armfuls of books they've borrowed, a new-found love of literature for Louise and the awesome news that Louise's parent's are going to get her a basic mobile in this chapter.

4 down, 3 to go

I seem to be more creative just before bed time when I'm cream crackered instead of first thing in the morning for some bizarre reason!

Written more since lunchtime than I did all morning!  Wrote one chapter until 2pm and the other three since then!  Very weird!

It was the same yesterday... didn't write anything until 2pm then kept writing easily until 11pm!

I'm at 39k words now so I've only got 11k left to write to hit the target of finishing the whole manuscript in under 2 weeks and I'll be unscrewing the J2O lid on Sunday to celebrate for sure!

3 down, 4 to go

By the time I finish this chapter I'll have written 39k in 10 days including a couple with no writing at all so I'm feeling pretty chuffed with meself!

2 down, 5 to go

Just finished chapter 50 and I'm back into the zone now so I'll keep writing until I've done all the chapters tonight.  It's Saturday tomorrow so it doesn't matter if it's another late night again.

1 down, 6 to go

Just written my first chapter of the day, six more to go and I'll be happy and allow myself my first J2O of the challenge.

I'm hoping for having written chapter 55 by the time I go to bed tonight to allow myself a J2O.

Me mug shot is stewing right now, so I'll make a start on chapter 50 while I'm waiting.

Hoping for...

I've worked out my writing aims... I'm hoping for getting up to chapter 55 today, 62 tomorrow and 68 on Sunday.  If I don't at least write that many chapters I won't get a J2O, but if I do I'll have it at the end of the day and celebrate with the big bottle of sparkling J2O on Sunday.

Wish me luck!

Aksherley...

The drinking chocolate is almost finished, so I'm gonna take me prescriptions and head to bed now which leaves me with 16 chapters left to write, so I'll do 6 tomorrow and Saturday then the last 6 chapters on Sunday... less stressful and more doable that way.

6 down, 1 to go before I'm allowed my first J2O

Got a mug of drinking chocolate on the go, so I'm going to write the seventh chapter so that the drink doesn't go cold, then take me prescriptions and head to bed for a late night.

Up to 36k out of 50k now though, so if I write another 7 chapters tomorrow and Saturday I'll have 5 chapters to write on Sunday, et voila!

👍

5 down, 2 to go

Steve's put Masterchef on so I'll work on chapters 48 and 49 while it's on then I'll be able to treat myself to a bottle of J2O by the end of Masterchef.  If I can do another 7 chapters tomorrow and Saturday, I'll only have 5 chapters to do on Sunday and I can celebrate finishing within 2 weeks which ain't bad going... just need to get started every day!

👍

46th chapter done and dusted

Don't reckon I'll get the required 3 additional chapters done before bed time so no J2O for me today  😔

3 down, 4 to go!

Not bad going - about an hour and a half per chapter which is good going I reckon!

Up to chapter 46 out of 68 in 9 days which is pretty good going I reckon... might aim for 75k words next year instead of the 50k!

Second chapter of the day done and dusted

As long as I keep going at this pace, I'll have written the seven chapters I'm hoping for by bed time, so I can treat myself to the first bottle of J2O and have another early night, ready for an early start tomorrow morning.

17k words left to write now... I'm nearing the end now and we're not even half way through November yet!

First chapter of the day done and dusted

Gonna work on chapter 44 until I have me lunch, then I've only got another five to write before bed time to be rewarded with my first J2O.

18k words to write before the whole manuscript is finished now, thankfully.

There's no way I'll be finished by tomorrow now, so...

I didn't write anything yesterday and I've still got 25 chapters to write, so there's no way I'll get it finished by tomorrow, so the new target is Sunday instead of Friday.

Bit disappointed but I'll still be finished a whole manuscript in less than 2 weeks which was what I was aiming for when I started and it's only 7 chapters a day which was my average for the first week so it's definitely doable!

Just taken me prescriptions so, in theory...

Just taken me prescriptions at about 4.30pm so, in theory, I'll be awake by about 5am tomorrow and it'll still be dark, so I'll get 4 hours of writing in while it's still dark then I'll walk the pup and carry on writing after The Bill.

It's the getting started that's the most difficult part, but I've got 20k left to write, so even if I only write 1k a day I'll still be finished by the end of November which is what I'm aiming for.

Only managed to get to chapter 40 all day :-(

Only managed 5 chapters today so I've gotta do at least 10 chapters tomorrow to stay on track for finishing on Friday  😟

Aiming to get to at least chapter 40 today

I'm writing chapter 36 right now, but I'm hoping to get to at least chapter 40 by the time Steve gets home from his medical appointment, then I'll have me lunch and aim for another four before bedtime... wish me luck!

Hoping for at least another 7 chapters today

After a very creative weekend, I wanna try and write at least 7 chapters today but 8 would be great!

I wrote 16 chapters over the weekend which was awesome and I just want to do that again today and tomorrow so that I can relax on Wednesday and only write a few chapters without worrying about not hitting my 10 day target on Friday.

Up to chapter 36 now!

Considering I didn't wake up until 9am then took the pup for her walk as well as stopping for about an hour for me lunch, I've still written another 8 chapters today!

I would have been happy with 6 chapters to take me to half way but I just kept writing and writing because of my muse getting into what I was writing again.

Means that if I write another 8 chapters tomorrow, I can safely leave off writing anything at all on Wednesday and still be finished on the 10th!

I'm now, officially...

Just written my 25,000th word so I'm now officially over half way to finishing my NaNo novel in only five days!!

👏

That means, even if I don't write anything on Wednesday, I'll still have finished the whole MS in under 2 weeks!!

Half way through the days target and it's not even lunchtime yet!

Came downstairs this morning and worked out that I needed to write 6 chapters today to be half way through NaNo.

It's just gone mid-day and I've already written 3 of 'em so I'll prolly be half way by this afternoon and keep writing until bed-time so that I'm still on track for finishing on Friday even though I'm not going to be around for a few hours on Wednesday because of getting our hair cut!

I can so do this within less than 2 weeks!

👍

Up to chapter 28 now

20,250 words written in the last 4 days, so I've only got 4,750 to write today to be half way to winning NaNo again!  👍

New personal best tonight!

Up until now my personal best was writing 7 chapters a day.

I've written 8 chapters tonight which is a new personal best for me!

If I write 5 chapters tomorrow I'll be half way through the NaNo challenge in less than a week which is so totally awesome!

As long as I keep writing 7 chapters a day, I'll have finished the MS on the 10th and I'll have 20 days to get out of Kris' head and back into my own then!

7 chapters written so far today

Just made a start on chapter 27 which'll be what I was hoping for first thing if I complete it before I head to bed.

I'm equalling my personal best right now.  Chapter 27 will be my personal best and I'll be almost half way through by bed time tomorrow which ain't bad going for less than a week of writing!

4 chapters written so far

Already half way through today's target, but Steve's just gone to put our lunch in the oven so I'll read my emails and forums and SCBWI while I'm waiting for it otherwise I'll be half way through a chapter when it's ready and I'll have to stop which will put me in a bad mood.

Gonna start on chapter 24 after lunch though so I'm a third of the way through and hoping for being up to chapter 35 by the end of the weekend.

Only wrote 6 chapters yesterday, so...

Gonna aim for 8 chapters today to get me back on track.

In theory I'll be a third of the way through by lunchtime which will be so cool then I can write the other chapters after we've eaten and I'll put myself under less pressure.

If I do write 8 chapters today, I'll only have 40 chapters left to write to finish NaNo and it'll be another Personal Best too!

Just gotta get into the zone now.  lol

Just started on chapter 18

I'll be a third of the way through the MS tomorrow which ain't bad going for 3 days!

Means that I've already written 4 chapters today and it was another slow start because I woke up late.

Gonna take me prescriptions at 6.30pm, write at least one more chapter then head to bed at 8pm to see what time I wake up tomorrow.

On track for finishing my NaNo novel on...

... 10th November even though I'm getting my hair cut on Wednesday morning so won't be able to do the full 7 chapters that day, but as long as I write at least 2 chapters on Wednesday I'm still on track for finishing so early.

The way I worked it out was that if I write 7 chapters a day, that's 70 chapters in 10 days.  Take off one chapter that I didn't write yesterday makes it 69 chapters, take off 5 chapters for not spending all day writing on Wednesday makes it 64 chapters but I'm setting off the virus scan tomorrow so will have more writing time because I leave it running all night.  Monday is our grocery delivery day so I'll be able to write more then too, so just gotta find time to write an extra 4 chapters is all.

If we get home by lunchtime on Wednesday I'll be able to write the extra 4 chapters as soon as we get home though as well as having extra writing time tomorrow, Saturday and Monday.

An entire MG novel in 10 days is definitely worth celebrating and I've got a big bottle of sparkling J2O in the kitchen that will be my version of Champagne to celebrate putting the final full stop in the novel in less than 2 weeks without putting too much of a halt on my life or having a go at Steve the whole time.

I can so do this!!

👍👍😁

7 chapters written today

Up to chapter 14 now... not bad going considering I only started yesterday morning, slept for 12 hours, walked the pup twice and had 1.5 hours off for me lunch today!

As long as I keep writing at least 6 chapters a day, I'll be totally finished in less than 2 weeks!  Yay!

👍

Written 3 chapters in 3 hours so far today

Me belly's rumbling so Steve's going to make a start on our lunch then I'll start on chapter 10 after we've eaten.

I'm averaging about a chapter an hour now so, in theory, I'll have written another 4 or 5 chapters by bed time, then I can read me emails and forums and stuff then head to bed for an early night.

Started writing at 9am today

Started writing chapter 7 at just gone 9 o'clock this morning, so in theory I'll have written another 6 chapters by 6pm but I'm gonna stop for a cooked lunch instead of sarnies today, so add on another hour means I'll be finished by 7pm hopefully!

6 chapters written in 9 hours

After an incredibly slow start this morning, I've churned out 6 chapters aka 4,500 words in under 10 hours which is double the minimum I was going to reward myself for, so I'm going to crack open a bottle of J2O and Steve's treating us both to a burger for tea in celebration of surviving the first day of NaNo and he's promised me another burger on the day I complete NaNo too.

If I write 6 chapters every day it'll be finished in about 2 weeks though, instead of the month that's set aside and I thought finishing 5 days early was good... I'm gonna feel lost for the last 2 weeks of November if I keep writing the same amount every day!  lol

4 chapters in 6 hours

Started on NaNo at 8.30am.

It's now six hours later and I've written 4 chapters so far and made a start on chapter 5.

I definitely deserve a bottle of J2O when I finish for the day... cracking start and it gives me hope for finishing NaNo even earlier than last year!

I can so do this!

Got the new look of my S4C sorted last night

Just waiting for the logo to put at the top of each page then that's it until the new design is released officially at the end of January!

Gonna be a very quiet month on the blog because of NaNo but I'm still around, just concentrating on writing at least 3 chapters a day is all.

February 2018

Be on the look-out for a totally new look to the stories site and a shop and programme and logo and a whole lot more professional looking (but hopefully still fun for younger visitors) site.

Tried to put a shop on last night and this morning, but even a basic theme costs £60 and modules are even more, so I'm taking it all to my in-house geek and his brother is going to design the logo for the new-look site but I'll keep the domain name and hosting with Namehog 'cos they are an amazing company and I wouldn't go anywhere else now!

If you want a basic site made for free (you provide the graphics and content), I'm happy to do that for you.  If you want a Windows programme or app or software or a an all singing, all dancing website or whatever, leave me a comment with your email address and say that you want to get in contact with Steve which he'll charge for.

Same with graphics - if you want something totally unique, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll put you in touch with Andrew... he charges too though, but he's got a very competitive charge and he's good at what he does!  Apparently he can work on graphics for stationery and stuff for you too!

Between the three of us we can come up with all sorts of things for you as long as you don't mind forking out for the time we put in to creating it for you!

Anyone fancy being a beta reader for me?

Me again!

Does anyone fancy being a beta reader for me for my finished MSs please?  Everything from early readers for 5 year olds all the way up to young adults which are teens.

I've got loads already written, just want them read through for make-sensibility and appropriateness for the age and stuff.

Let me know in the comments of this blog post if you're up for it and the ages you want to beta read for  😀  Lemme know your email address and I'll email you about it from my S4C email address about it.  😊

All set for NaNo now

NaNo starts on Wednesday so I've put some bottles of drink on Monday's grocery order, I've got J2O's to keep me going and about a third of the bag of chocochino's left.

I've got it all planned out in yWriter and I'm making even better use of it this year now that I know how to use the scene planning bit.

Gotta write at least 3 chapters a day to be finished in time and when I've got the writing started, I'll get into the MC's head and it'll be no problem... it's always the first and last chapters that I find hardest to write because I don't know my characters very well at the start and they've claimed a big chunk of my heart by the end.

Wish me luck!

Gonna re-design the look of my author site after Christmas, so...

I've just asked my BIL about designing a logo for my author site after Christmas and I'm gonna totally re-do the look of it to make it more professional.

Any ideas of colours or textures or images or anything to go with it please?  Should I make it neutral colours or bright and jazzy colours?

All thoughts considered!  Just leave me a comment under this post!

Just worked out that...

I've earned less in 4 years than Steve earns in 1 hour.  I've earned pennies over £12 since December 2013 but Steve earns £20 in an hour at work... hardly fair, is it!

And that's it finished now.

Just finished planning out the last chapter of my NaNo novel, ready for November, so I'm going to treat myself to a bottle of J2O then have a long, hot, bubble bath as a reward for planning out 30 chapters in 3 days.

Half way towards the end of today's planning

Five down, five to go now.

One down, nine to go

Need to try and tie up loose ends today, but my memory is shot to pieces 😐

Ten chapters done and dusted now!

That's 20 chapter in about 11 hours, including lunch today, walking the pup, and loads of bathroom breaks, which ain't bad going I don't reckon!

Ten left to plan tomorrow then that's it until NaNo this year!

That's the nineth chapter of the day sorted

Planning out the tenth chapter of the day now then having a well-deserved bottle of J2O.

Eighth chapter done and dusted

Charlotte has just got her phone put together and is about to top it up for the first time.

Seven down, three to go

Charlotte's name has now been shortened and she's got the phone in her hands now.

Six done now

Charlotte's parents have just promised to get her a mobile with conditions attached, just like her friends have conditions on their phones too.

Five chapters now

Halfway again.

Any other chapters between now and bedtime is a bonus, but it's gotta be ten chapters again before I'm allowed a J2O.

Four chapters planned

Looking good for getting to ten again by bed time now that I'm back in my planning zone again.

Three chapters now

Just planned out my third chapter of the day, so I'm on track for hopefully doing another ten today... we'll have to see how it goes though  👍

Chapter 50 planned now

Second chapter of the day sorted now.

Gonna put me laptop on the floor while I have me lunch then carry on planning this afternoon.

One chapter planned out so far

Hoping for another ten chapters today so that I can have another J2O before I go to bed, but I'm not going to pressure myself... if I get five planned out I'll be happy  👌

YES!!!!!!!!!

I've planned out 10 chapters in under 3 hours!

I can now have a very well deserved sparkly J20!

I didn't plan a single word until 2.30pm but it's been an almost constant flow of inspiration since then!

I definitely deserve the J2O now... I deserve 2.5 bottles of it but I want to save some for my last 20 chapters.

I did it though, there were a few iffy moments but I did it this afternoon so I know it's possible now!

It'll be tough to keep up with 10 chapters every day now though!  lol

9 planned out!!

Just one more chapter to plan out and I've done 10 chapters in 3 hours!

I can so do this!!

😃

8 chapters planned out now

Only two chapters to go before I reach total awesomeness and a very well deserved J2O.

Considering I hadn't even started until 2.30pm today that's even better!

7 chapters planned

I've totally smashed my aim of 4 chapters and I'm in the planning zone now so I'm just gonna keep planning until bed time!

6 chapters now

In just over 4 hours I've planned out 6 chapters which is great going considering it took me almost 45 minutes to plan out the first one!

5 chapters planned out now

Not bad going for almost 4 hours!

4 chapters done and dusted

Just finished planning out the fourth chapter of the day so I'm happy now.

Hoping to double it by bed time, but if I don't that's totally OK... I've earned my bottle of J2O now so anything else is a welcome bonus!

3 chapters planned out today

Just one more chapter to plan then I can have me J2O!  Yay!

2 chapters planned out

Was tough to get started, but Take That blasting into my ears and a drinking chocolate has inspired me to plan 2 chapters.  Only 2 to go before I'm allowed a J2O!

Four chapters now

Chapter 38 sorted now, so I've only got to plan out another 30 chapters then it's all sorted ready for NaNo on 1st November.

Three chapters planned out now

Pretty good going I reckon!

2 chapters done and dusted already

I'm now half way through, so...

Just planned out chapter 34 so I'm now half way through planning the novel so I'm gonna take me pills and head to bed for another early night.

Nite nite orl!

2 chapters done and dusted

Just planned out another chapter.

Aiming to get to chapter 34 today so that it's half planned out ready for NaNo.

One chapter planned out so far

Our internet connection keeps dropping today, so I'm using the opportunity to plan out more of my next MG novel!

Only planned out one chapter today

Only planned out chapter 29 today but I'm cream crackered so I'm going to take my prescription and head to bed for a really early night.

Nite orl!

28 chapters planned out now

Planned out up to and including chapter 28 and my prescriptions are kicking in now, so I'm off to bed.

Nite nite orl!

Up to chapter 26 planned out now

Gonna do another couple of chapters tonight then head to bed for an early night.

Was hoping to be half way through by the end of today but I'm happy with the 4 I've done this afternoon instead.

Just under a third planned out now

Just planned out chapter 22 of 67 so it's just under a third sorted now.  Hoping to get the second third sorted out by the weekend.  Monday is a busy day 'cos first we are getting our hair cut in the morning then the shopping is coming in the evening but Tuesday and Wednesday are free, so I'm hoping to have the last third done by the middle of next week then that's it planned out and I'll start writing an ECB or Easy Reader or Early Reader or maybe start editing or something by the weekend after.

Wish me luck!  lol

Got 67 chapters to write instead of 40 lol

Just done some adding up and I've got to plan out and write 67 chapters to get to 50k instead of the 40 I thought an hour ago!  lol

Not to worry, Kris and Paige can grow their hair several times and get chewing gum stuck in their hair too.  Means I don't have to rush through each chapter - I can spend time describing the situation in more detail  👍

Half way through planning now

Just planned out chapter 20 and worked out that there will be 40 chapters at 750 words per chapter and 250 words per scene which takes it up to 30k words.  Just need to plan out another 20k words to make it up to the 50k for NaNo then that's it done and dusted for another year.

I've decided that the MG novel I'm currently planning out...

Been planning my next MG novel for a couple of weeks and I've decided that I'm gonna write it for NaNo and work on ECB's, Early Readers, Easy Readers and PBs after I've finished planning it out.

Means that I don't put myself under pressure to plan and write it in 6 weeks and I can let ideas form and mature between now and November.

Need to work out what else to write for the other MSs that I write between now and November now though!  lol

Second PB in a series of five written

Getting used to writing again thankfully!  Still need to plan out the other 40-odd chapters of my MG novel though!  lol  Might make it my NaNo novel instead of rushing through it and having to come up with even more ideas in less than a month!

That's another PB written!

Just written another picture book about young children saying no when they really don't want to share their own things.

Made sure to say about sharing things that don't belong to them like at Nursery and stuff, but if it's their own things that they really don't want to share, that's totally OK.

I'm aware that it may cause some raised eyebrows, but surely children need to learn that it's OK to say no when they really don't want to share?  Surely they'll become more rounded adults if they have the confidence to stand up for themselves?

That's 7 chapters out of 55 planned out

Just finished planning out chapter 7.

48 chapters to plan out by the end of the month, ready to start writing again next month.

Aiming for another 50k-ish words by the end of September, then I'll plan out my NaNo novel in October, ready for November's write-athon!

Completed week 3 with a score of...

82% - it was the last question that let me down!  😕

Just completed week 2, with a score of...

I'm doing well with the free OU course right now... 100% on the end of week 2 test as well and I only got one question wrong throughout week 2's lessons too!  Not bad going I reckon!

The app/programme that Steve's programming for me

Just sent Steve all the info I want in the trial version.  He's already taken the first half of the payment for it and hasn't touched it yet!!  Grrr!

Passed the first week's test thing with a score of...

Was dreading the weekly test but there was only one question on it that I wasn't sure of, but I still got 100% on it so I'm going to bed in a good mood now!

Just finished an OU free course

Signed up to their OpenLearn free courses and I've just finished the first one.

Think it went OK, gonna work on their free Skills for learning course next then the one I signed up to back in 2015 and take it from there!

And it's finished!

41,251 in a month, including the breaks.

Not bad going I don't reckon!

Penultimate chapter written

KT's just been to the shop and chosen three phones.

I'm just about to write the final chapter and I'll prolly be in tears by the end of it!  lol

👍

First chapter of the day written

That's chapter 53 written, two left to write then that's it for another WIP!  I'm hoping to have finished it by lunchtime today... wish me luck!

Sixth chapter of the day

Just put the final full stop in chapter 52 which means I've written six chapters today and I've only got three more to write tomorrow then that's another novel finished!  Yay!

That's 5 chapters done and dusted today

Less than an hour since writing the fourth chapter of the day and the fifth is written too!

No pressure or anything, but it's looking good for pretty much finishing the whole thing today instead of tomorrow!

4 chapters written today

Going great guns at these last few chapters!

3 chapters written today

It's not even 2pm yet, but I've already written today's 3 chapters!

Gonna have my reward and keep on writing!

Second chapter of the day

Just finished chapter 49.  It's Alex's birthday in chapter 50 and the bullies are going to be dealt with too then it'll be KT's birthday and the novel will be finished!

First chapter of the day written

Just finished chapter 48, on to chapter 49 now, then chapter 50 and I can reward myself with the rest of the bottle of J2O.  Hoping to write chapter 51 as well today to leave me with 4 chapters to write tomorrow too... wish me luck!

6 chapters in one day! Wowsers!

Just put the final full stop in chapter 47 which means I've written 4,500 words today and I've only got 8 chapters left to write until it's finished completely!

Hopefully I'll write 4 chapters tomorrow and the last 4 on Monday so that it's completely finished within a month with a few days break during the month and not starting on 1st July either.

I just hope I have another couple of productive days is all  👍

Five chapters now

Just finished chapter 46 which is my fifth of the day and I've made a start on chapter 47 too.  If I finish that chapter before I head to bed I'll have written 4,500 words in 12 hours which ain't bad going, considering I had a late night last night because of the sea gull in the back yard and an early morning today to let the RSPCA lady in after walking the pup too!

Fourth chapter of the day

Finished my fourth chapter of the day and gonna aim for five by the time my virus scan has finished then I can back everything up and go to bed... good job it's Sunday tomorrow!  lol

Three chapters written today, so...

Just put the final full stop in chapter 44 which means I've written 3 chapters so far so I'm allowed to break open my can of J2O as a reward, then keep writing to see how many I can achieve in one day!

Already written 2,250 words today so I'm happy with that and any additional chapters are an added bonus today!

Second chapter of the day done and dusted

Working on the third chapter next, then I'll have a can of J2O as a reward!

First chapter of the day written

Took a while to get going again, but now that I've started I don't want to stop!  lol

Twelve chapters to go then it's finished... that's like four days of writing three chapters a day and it's finished!

Second chapter written

Just finished writing chapter 41 and I'm going to bed now.

Nite nite!

It's taken all afternoon, but...

Started writing before lunch and have only finished a single chapter so far  👎  😔

Three chapters written, so...

I'm up to chapter 40 of 55 now so only 16 to go now.  Assuming I write at least 2 chapters a day but aim for 3, I'll have finished the novel in less than a month!

Two chapters written

On track for being able to crack open a can of J2O and have an early night tonight!

Yaaay!

One chapter written so far today

Alex is about to wake up after his snooze and KT appreciating him more and more for his support with her school lessons... is KT getting a little crush on her best friend?  lol

Review: The Summer of Shambles by Ebony McKenna

✱✱✱ out of 5

An OK book but not unique enough… sorry

Just had a read of this book and even with brain damage I swear I’ve read something incredibly similar since the start of the year.

Not sure if this book or the one I’ve read previously came out first, but whichever it was and unless both books were co-written the authors need to get in touch with each other and work out who owns the copyright to it

If you’re a young teen who enjoys reading fantasy romance then give it a read… if you are older or read a lot of books then stay clear.  Sorry!

Only 2 chapters today, so...

I don't deserve my treat can of J2O  😔

First chapter of the day written

It's always the first couple of pages that are the most difficult to motivate myself to write each day, but when I've started writing I'm fine!

Hoping to write another two chapters today so that I can have another can of J2O before I head to bed again.

Just buyeded myself...

a wig ready for my author photo when I'm published!

This  one  ⬇



I love the colour of it and it'll hopefully encourage me to smile when I'm with the children and make me seem more approachable too... it'll give them something to talk about with me to help shy children  😁

Assuming it doesn't make me constantly itchy I'll invest in several of them just in case it doesn't last for long 'cos it was less than a tenner in the sale!

3 chapters written since lunchtime, so...

Just finished chapter 30 so that's three chapters written since I had me lunch.

Gonna take me prescription then treat myself to the promised can of J2O... yay!

2 chapters written today

Just put the last full stop in chapter 29 so I'm gonna work on chapter 30 then head to bed for an earlyish night.

1 chapter written today

Didn't start until I'd had me lunch, and 4 squirts of B12 but now that I've got back into the groove of writing, I'm going to keep on until bedtime now... yay!

2.75 chapters written today

Over half way through the MS now!  Up to chapter 28 of 55!  Not bad going for a couple of weeks of daily writing!

Chocochino's definitely wake my muse up!

Wrote precisely 1 sentence before I started drinking the chocochino just now.

Written another one in the time it's taken me to have 2 sips of my chocochino.

I should be getting my preferred multivitamin tomorrow which wakes me and my muse up as well as giving me the push I need to start writing every day.

Gonna have another chocochino and carry on writing now!

1.5 chapters written today

Finished off chapter 23 and wrote the whole of chapter 24 this afternoon.

Wanted to write more, but I was struck by lack of motivation until about 2pm.

I'm just under half way through now so I'm still on track to finish by the end of July, thankfully!

Just renewed my SCBWI membership

$80 a year is pretty steep but so worth it for what I couldn't get anywhere else!

5 chapters done and dusted

I really am going to bed now!  lol

Nite nite orl!

4 chapters written today!

Just finished my fourth chapter of the day!  Aiming for the fifth now!  I'm a machine today!  lol

3 chapters written today, so...

Just finished chapter 19 which is my third chapter of the day, so I can now, officially, reward me with a can of J2O like I promised myself I would last week.

Very much doubt I'll write 6 chapters by bed time, but considering it's not even 4pm yet, I'm going to have the can and go to bed for a very early night.

2 chapters written today

I'm hopefully on track for having my first J2O of the week at this rate!  Yaaay!

1 chapter written so far today

Aiming to write another chapter before bed time, but if I manage a total of three chapters today then I can open a can of J2O for the first time since Friday... no pressure or anything!  lol

Only managed one chapter today

Just finished chapter 15... a lot less than I was hoping for, but I'm going to have an early night now and make a fresh start on it in the morning.

Nite nite!

2 chapters written today

10,500 words written so far and up to chapter 15 right now, so I'm about a third of the way through the MS now.  Hopefully I'll take another chunk off it tomorrow and every day for the next week.

In theory, it'll be finished by 30th July, as long as I keep on writing at least 2 chapters every day and no more breaks of more than a few hours until I've finished it now.

I worked out yesterday or Saturday or whenever it was, I can write a chapter every two hours, so, in theory, I'll be able to write 4 chapters a day and still have several hours to meself as well.

Just got to get the first few paragraphs written every day then I'm good to go for the rest of the day!  lol

3 chapters written and it's only lunchtime!

Started writing at 4.30am.

It's now 1.08pm and I've had my celebratory J2O.

It's so hot out there that I'm gonna have a coolinh bath then try and write a bit more.  I'm not going to pressure myself, if I don't write any more today that's totally OK, but want to take advantage of my muse being awake and try and write more chapters before the virus scan finishes at about 5pm.

Feeling proud of myself already though!

Seem to be more creative after I've taken my multivitamin and it's still dark outside 'cos I wrote an average of 1 chapter every 2 hours first thing but the third chapter took almost 4 hours to write!!

2 chapters written since 4.30am

That's chapter 10 finished.  Gonna make a start on the third chapter now... I'm fine once I've got started, it's just the getting started that causes problems!

1 chapter written so far

Wrote 2 chapters yesterday and another one starting at about 4.30am... aiming for at least one more chapter by the end of the rugby then I'll go down and write another one before lunchtime!

Up to chapter 10 now and had several days off last week so I'm playing catch-up again now  😞

Starting now...

I've still got 10 cans of J2O in the kitchen and I'm going to use them as a reward for writing 3 chapters a day in my WIP.

If I don't write 3 chapters then I'm not allowed a can, if I do then I'm allowed 1 can for every 3 chapters I write.  No in between allowances, it's just multiples of 3 that I'm allowed a reward can.

It's achievable 'cos it's 2,250 words a day so I'll be able to write 3 chapters, have a can and then go to bed.

Tomorrow might be tough to achieve that 'cos I'm getting me hair cut in the morning and the shopping is coming in the evening so I'll have to write a chapter an hour to be rewarded tomorrow and there's no way I can write all 3 today, but after that it should hopefully be OK.

Hopefully my current WIP will be finished by the end of July.  Yay!

Wish me luck!

4 chapters written in two days

Not bad going for 29 hours, including the 12 hours I was asleep!

Crit finished now

Just finished the crit... that means I can make a start on my own MG MS tomorrow 'cos I've forgotten literally everything about it, can't even remember the title or MC names!

It's times like this that I'm grateful for my brain damage and my memory being shot to pieces!

Started critting a friends MS yesterday

Could have sworn I'd already critted it but then realised it wasn't the full MS!  lol

Some bits are confusing but when she got into it, it's sparkling!

Gonna do another 10 chapters tonight and try and remember to take my prescriptions then head to bed straight away 'cos I've got dark circles under my eyes now!

*sigh*

Pretty good editing afternoon

Got 11 manuscripts left to edit now!  They are the novel length ones, so I'll do them the rest of this week, ready to start writing again at the weekend... I've forgotten everything I planned out last week now which is really good news, means I can start writing from nothing. 

Just gotta remember that I've got 3 scenes planned out in every chapter and there's only 250 words per scene!  lol

Gonna be an edit-athon today

Got loads of manuscripts waiting to be edited, so that's what I'm going to do this afternoon... wish me luck!  👍 👌

Something I posted to SCBWI this morning

Question for the writers here and it's not a SpaG or pondering for a change.

The hubby is a computer programmer and I've just asked him about how easy or otherwise it'd be to create an app that takes the best bits from yWriter and Scrivener etc but taking out the bulkiness and complexity of Scrivener and using the simplicity of yWriter to come up with a programme aimed at children's writers.

He said it'd be easy enough to programme it, but it'd need a database of ideas and characters and scenes and stuff.

So, other than ideas, characters and scenes, what else do my fellow children's writers want in their ideal writers block beating planning and organising piece of software and do you want to be able to write the manuscript within the software or keep it separate like with yWriter?

How easy would you want it to be to add your own ideas to the database? Would you just want first name suggestions or surnames too? Would you want a different programme for each age range (PB, early reader, easy reader, early chapter book, MG, YA) or would you prefer to just have one piece of software and you choose the age you want the software to use?

Would you prefer it to be a free trial first (with limited usage available) then a small fee at the end as an upgrade to the full version if you decide to keep using it or a slightly more expensive full version right from the start?

Any thoughts welcome!

So come on, reply to this post and give me the information you want in the app... everything from idea generator to synopsis writer, character names to scene creation.  This is your chance to get involved in a totally new idea!

I'm liking yWriter more and more!

I thought yWriter was a fantastic programme anyway 'cos it helped me remember character names, make notes of phone numbers and stuff as well as planning out each chapter.

SCBWI explained about how scenes were used in Scrivener et al so I thought I'd give it a go in yWriter.

So glad I did 'cos I planned out a whole novel in 5 days and I didn't forget to put in anything I thought of and I could make sure I tied up all the loose ends instead of forgetting about them!

If you're a writer who frequently suffers from writers block and you've got scraps of paper all over your computer with ideas that have come to you just before you fall asleep, get yourself yWriter... you won't regret it!

Gonna try out the synopsis writer bits of it today... I tried when I first downloaded it but because I wasn't using the scenes, it couldn't give me as much detail as possible, understandably.  Now that I'm using the scenes part though, I want to give it another go and see what happens!

And it's finished!

All 55 chapters planned out now, so I can spend tomorrow just relaxing and forgetting what I've spent the last 5 days planning!  lol

10 down, 5 to go

It's Alex's birthday and KT has just given him his gift and told him to open his eyes.

Just starting to tie up any loose ends now... I'm definitely liking the Scenes part of yWriter!

10 to go

Just finished planning out 45 of the 55 chapters in the novel.

Andrew is coming over tomorrow so I'm gonna take me laptop upstairs with me tonight to be ready for the planning as soon as I wake up and walked Mitzi tomorrow morning... wish me luck!

15 chapters left to plan now

Disappointingly I've only managed to plan out 5 chapters today, but I'm gonna take me prescriptions and head to bed for an early night then hopefully I'll be able to plan out 10 tomorrow and the last 5 on Saturday.

I know it's only 4.30pm, but I've had several late nights recently so want to catch up on my sleep a bit.

Nite nite orl!

20 chapters left to plan out

Didn't plan out as many chapters as I hoped today, but it's less to do tomorrow I suppose!

I've reached the half way point now

Just finished planning out scene 3 of chapter 27 of 55.

It's tough going thinking up so many ideas and for the first time ever I'm planning it scene by scene instead of chapter by chapter, so I've got to come up with even more ideas than usual.

Hopefully having everything planned out will make it easier to write and stop the dreaded writer's block I usually have with MG and YA novels, purely because they are so much longer than ECB's!

Couldn't have planned out so many chapters without the help of SCBWI though - especially today!

Need to come up with some more words that the bullies can call KT though!  I've got a few, but I'm not comfortable with using them so am on the lookout for some others for KT who is in the bottom set for every lesson except music... can you help me out pretty please?

Over a third of my next novel planned out this afternoon

I've planned out up to chapter 20 today and there will be 53 chapters at 750 words per chapter and three scenes in each chapter to hopefully make just under 45k words!

Gonna leave it until next week before I start writing it though, so that I can forget the ECB that I finished yesterday!

And it's finished!

Just put in the final full stop of the manuscript!  Took me 3 days and I didn't have a single hot drink this morning but still managed it!

Yaaay!

4 chapters written since 1pm!

Just finished my 4th chapter of the day and I've taken me pills, so I'm off to bed now... nite nite orl!

That's the 3rd chapter done and dusted

Finished chapter 6 and started chapter 7 now... not bad going considering I didn't start at all before I had me lunch!  lol

2nd chapter of the day

I'm now exactly half way through the ECB!  Yay!

Gonna write one more chapter then head to bed... I think I deserve it!

One chapter written so far today

It's taken 3 hours, but I've just finished chapter 4 and treated myself to a can of J2O as a reward.

I'll be half way through it by the end of chapter 5, which ain't so bad considering I've only written on three afternoons so far!

Two chapters written today

I was pondering on my muse needing sugar to wake it up, but I've just worked out that it's either a hot meal or hot drink that it needs.  Within minutes of the first hot drink/finishing the hot meal, I'm writing like a good 'un!

Written more in the last 6 hours than I did all morning!

Want to read books for free in exchange for a review?

Just seen this on my Twitter feed so you know as much as me now!  If you enjoy reading then you could seemingly do a lot worse than sign up for this!