Jodi the Author

I am continuing to edit book 1 in the Naldo Series. Not Too Late Forever has been an intense learning experience for me. Over the years I have heard over and over again, write it and put in a drawer, then write another. I have contemplated filing “Not Too Late Forever” away, but I can’t. There is so much to it that proves to me that I am a writer. It fulfills the requirements of a complete story with multiple character arcs.

In three weeks I’m going on a cruise with writing workshops. I’m really looking forward to it. For this week, I will work on book 2, Naldo Calls. I need to flesh it out and understand more of the story requirements. I may not get it totally done in this dedicated week, but it will give me a chance to step into another story, and still build on the world I already know and love.

There will be more opportunity in the coming weeks to share my thoughts, then I’ll share my experiences as I travel beyond my comfort zone.

Keep the wine and coffee flowing.

Respectfully submitted,

Jodi

This week I got very strongly reminded that I had not spent the proper amount of time posting something, anything to my webpage.

Life has gotten away from me. As with many others who would love to be published authors, there is so much going on in my life. A fulltime job and part of another takes up much of my time. However I also realize that if I didn’t have them there would be things missing in my life, like paying for the things I want to enjoy and need to survive. That sounds like an excuse, because there are many out there who are living the dream and dedicating much more time to fulfilling the requirements of the craft I pursue.

Despite the fact that I have not completed, at least to my satisfaction, what is needed to be published, I cannot and will not give up.

I guess one of the main things that I’m trying to say here is that I am getting so much out of the learning process. Along with that, there is also the fact that I don’t need to pay for a psychiatrist to deal with all the trials and tribulations that life is throwing at me.

The time is getting closer when I will put my book out into the world. Until then I will take as much advantage as I can afford to learn and polish my craft.

Keep the coffee and wine flowing.

Respectfully submitted,

Jodi

For now and most of the rest of the year, I’m going to work on “Misty’s Magical Shed”. It was my second attempt at NaNoWriMo. So far it is the only one in which I did not reach the 50k word count. If you have read or want to read previous posts, I used this story over the past couple of years for posts here on my website. I decided to stop building a running story and take what I have to format a book. So far a few things have changed. The protagonist has evolved to three protagonists and I am working to build on the tension.

In my writers’ group, two of the participants who have been with me the longest are elated. They have always given me kudos on this story. Starting this week, I will take excerpts to the group for critique, 6-10 pages at a time. Who knows, maybe by the first of this coming November, I might be very close to another book ready for submission.

I wrapped up NaNoWriMo 2016 with just over an hour to spare. I’m happy with what I have to work with now. I believe it’s a good story for book 4 in my Naldo series. I ended with at least two extra friends. They will be the protagonists for book 5 in the series. One of the things that helps me with my writing are the conversations I have with my characters. When I get stuck, either not know how to continue or how to describe something, I turn to them. Many times I find the conversation goes into the story with very few change. Usually these changes are in the pronouns and matching verbs.

I took a break from 50k word count and took the challenge of a story of 15k words. I will submit this to the Writers Digest Short Short Story contest.

Now I go back to work on book 2 in the series and “Misty’s Magical Shed. I like variety in my writing and my characters.

The past couple of week s I have been working to get to know my characters better. The first step is to learn their names. So far I have the protagonist, Alexandra, Allie, M’Ren. The first born of her generation, she is named for her grandmother. She is set to follow her grandmother’s example of uniting the cultures of her planet, Naldo. After the devastating destruction that took place in the previous book, the cultures of this world need a leader to unit behind once more. When an accident leaves Allie to believe she is to blame for the death of a friend, she runs away and leaves her future and her hopes behind, or so she thinks.

This is the beginning of my story. I will find out more in November. In the meantime I need to get to know the other characters. I will share more with you as we go along.