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2015 has definitely been a year of transition for me. It seemed to take a long time in the moment, but now that it is almost over, it seemed to fly by. A lot has happened in 2015, some things permanent and some things not so permanent. 

In 2015 I:

Traveled by Plane for the First Time:

In March, my boyfriend and I traveled to Phoenix to meet his dad and his family. It was my first plane ride and it was awesome! I am sure it will not be the last.

   

Got Two Tattoos:

The first tattoo was in April, to honor my mom. It is a purple butterfly on my right shoulder.

 

 
 The second was the day after Christmas, a blue owl bought with my first paycheck from a nursing job. 

 

 
Passed my NCLEX-RN:

After six months of studying I took my boards in June and passed. I am now officially a registered nurse!

Had Seven Interviews:

With a new license, comes new responsibilities. I had four interviews with three different hospitals, and two interviews for non nursing jobs, and one interview for a doctor’s office. 

Had Two Jobs and One Volunteering Opportunity:

Two of the interviews stuck. I worked at Panera Bread for just over a month and am now working for a cardiologist’s office. I have never been happier. 

 

  

 I also began volunteering at a local hospital in hopes of getting a job there, but nothing happened so I am volunteering because it helps others. 

Wrote Several Short Stories:

While 2015 has been a year of several transitions, I have been able to write several short stories and continue to write. I doubt this will stop anytime soon as writing is my passion. 

Learned/Am Still Learning Spanish, American Sign Language, Russian and French:

In an effort to partly make my resume stand out and partly feel like I can help people and patients more than just treating them, I decided to learn Spanish since it is pretty much the second language of my local community. I also decided to start learning ASL because I have always wanted to learn it since 6th grade. I decided to freshen up my French and Russian (which I have been learning for two weeks now) looked fun. 

I know I’m probably forgetting a few accomplishments in this list, but those are the big ones. 

Now for next year’s goals:

In 2016 I hope to:

1. Edit the third draft of my novel and maybe publish it, if not publish in 2017.
2. Continue to write short stories, at least one a month if not more. 
3. Continue to further my education and at least start a BSN/MSN program. 
4. Continue to learn languages and other things to help me in my fields of study. 
5. Start my life by saving money and building credit to find a place and move out. 

The last book I read was Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

On a cold clear moore, in Scotland gay

A pretty young lass loses her way.

She travels through time, back and back

and meets a sexy stranger who calls her “Sassenach”.

Through several days of watch and suspicion,

The chapters quickly turn to needing parents’ permission.

For Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser,

Is one quite sexy hell raiser.

From a second marriage, to hot nightly romps,

Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser saves her new husband from chumps.

Toward the end, Poor Jaime is more foe than friend

Oops, I guess I shouldn’t tell you how it ends.

Whether you write essays, or novels, or anything in between, you have an outline. As crazy as that sounds, even if you swear that you always write by the seat of your pants, you do have an outline, it just might not be written down.

This week’s lesson has to do with physically outlining. And Outlining Before You Write.

This lesson is one of my favorites, because I get to talk about my outlining skills and show you some examples. If you are planning on participating in NaNoWriMo in November, or just planning to start a novel in the near future, outlining will be your friend.

Simple Outlines

I didn’t used to outline, and then I came up with the idea for my 2011 NaNo Novel, Spark: The Girl. It started out as a simple stand alone novel, and it still can be a stand alone novel, I think. But the more I thought about it and the more I planned the more I realized I needed some kind of outline. In the course of a week, I wrote simple outlines for all seven books. Though I didn’t plan it too well back then, because there are still several holes where I can add things in as I go.

This is what I like to call a simple outline. You know the basic structure and the big events, but the small events and the other characters are not always planned. There are still room for surprises. I prefer these outlines because it isn’t as rigid as a complex outline, and I don’t feel as disappointed if I forget to add a detail. It can be as simple or complex as you want the detail to be. A lot of time I leave myself notes on my whiteboard, or a single sentence in my notes

Example: Jared and Emily meet Lea at the hospital instead of at the apartment. Why are they there?

I like to end my simple outlines with questions sometimes, something to think about when I get to that point, because I don’t know what exactly is going to happen in that book once I start writing it, or what small details I can connect to it once I start working on it.

Complex Outlines

I like complex outlines for things that I absolutely know are going to be in my novel or characters that I cannot forget to introduce at a specific time.  I prefer to use Complex outlines during second or third drafts when I know what needs to be in the novel I am working on. I use Complex outlines to go chapter by chapter, or sometimes scene by scene.

Example: Chapter 5- Jared and Emily finally start talking about the issues between them in Dr. B’s office. Emily brings up the fact that Jared tells her things she’s not sure about. Jared brings up the fact that Emily is not herself. They end up fighting and Emily storms out. Next scene is in the hospital cafeteria where Jared vents to Dr. Owen and asks for a raise to gain Emily’s trust back. Chapter ends with Jared groveling.

With Complex outlines, the content tends to be longer, more in depth, and more linear. Sometimes they take a little more thought and organization,  but they do end up making it easier to write, at least for me.

I tend to not structure my outlines too rigidly, since I do enjoy creative freedom, so occasionally as I write, I will change the outline to fit what I’m writing. Sometimes I’ll take a previous idea that may or may not have originally been part of the plot and add it in.

Whether you choose to outline or not, it does help to just have simple notes and ideas. Usually I have an ending in mind first, so occasionally it is easier to outline backwards. Other times, my ideas are all jumbled and I look at the outline ready to scream “WHAT THE F@&# DO YOU WANT FROM ME?”

Whether you outline or write by the seat of your pants, it doesn’t matter. Whatever works best for you, do it!

At least you’re still writing.

Happy Writing!

There are even more changes around here on the blog besides How To Tuesdays! I am very pleased to introduce Wednesday Works. Every Wednesday I will post a piece that I have been working on.

First up, the rest of the May Blog Challenge.

Enjoy!

There are as many types of writing as there are writers. No two writers will write the same way and that is a great thing. You could give two writers the same general idea, like say “Pancakes” and one writer could give you a recipe, while another will give you a ten page short story on why they hate pancakes. There are no two writers that write exactly the same, and there are no two writers that plan exactly the same either.

This week’s lesson is about planning, or rather the opposite of planning. Write by the Seat of Your Pants.

Anyone who knows about NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo knows that it is a crazy experience and sometimes your novel does not go as planned. Part of that is the plan I think. Since the goal is to write a novel in a month, and there are things like distractions, and life that get in the way, I think part of the goal is not to plan. I used to be what is called a “pantser”, which means you write by the seat of your pants and even you as the author are surprised at what comes next. A lot of my novels in high school were written like that, and some of them might actually be decent.

So this lesson comes for nearly perfect timing during Camp NaNoWriMo. It’s day 10, which means that the month is a third over, and that also means that if you have been writing for 10 days straight you might be hitting a wall right about now. That’s ok! It’s totally fine to hit a wall, or take a break.

If you haven’t started yet, and still want to work on a novel this month, that’s good too, you still have 3 weeks to get down as many words as you can.

Oh, but what about plot? What about an idea to write for the rest of the month?

Here’s where the lesson truly comes in. Pick an idea, or a character, or a setting and just run with it. No planning, no outlining, no concrete structure. Just a single idea to guide you through the month, or what’s left of it.

A lot of good can come from writing by the seat of your pants. You can find out  things about your characters that make your book completely different, they can excite you like real people do and develop like a real friendship would. They can also be little shits and not want to do a single thing you say, but writing without an outline, without fitting them into a tiny little box of actions, is freeing both for you as the author, and them as your characters.

Writing by the seat of your pants also allows for easier changes, if you hate your plot and your outline. I don’t outline very much, very often, because it ends up changing anyway most of the time. When I first started outlining, I would deviate even a little bit and feel so bad because I felt like I wasn’t living up to my own expectations. When I would just write, I would be so surprised, so excited as my characters develop. Or in the case of 2010 NaNoWriMo, a lot of laughing at names and dialogue. (That is what happens when you write 7K in one day to finish on time).

So try writing without an outline, try pantsing and see what happens. And if you absolutely hate it, there will be a post on outlines next week.

Happy Writing!

It is that time again.

Camp NaNoWriMo starts on Wednesday!

I am participating and would love for all of you lovely people to join me.

Join me?

Alright, this is the last time I mention it.

I have decided to discontinue the May Blog Challenge. It’s just not happening, and it’s nearly halfway through June. What I am going to do is keep the prompts and post them occasionally.

Keep your eye out for the rest of them!

Your prayers and positive vibes are much appreciated!

I’m going to be a nurse!