A Month of Achievements

Hi there all,

First of all, I'd like to apologise for my recent lack of postings. I have been studying like mad, which, by the way has earned me a 'B' on my first assignment. I am so pleased with myself because apparently it's an excellent score to get on your first assignment. I have also been getting everything ready for the new baby arriving. I was getting worried that I might not have enough baby clothes and then I found a couple of bin liners full of boys baby clothes in my cupboard. The past two weeks have been spent washing, drying, sorting and folding them all.

It's only 9 days until my due date, and I am quite surprised at how I'm feeling. I thought, that as the date got closer I would get more scared and nervous, like the previous 3 pregnancies, but this time I am getting calmer and more relaxed. This probably has something to do with the fact I am opting for an epidural this time, and I have heard that it makes things a million times more easy. I still haven't gotten round the idea that I'm going to have a new baby in just over a week though. This pregnancy seems to have gone so fast, I've not had chance to come to terms with it yet!

I'm really enjoying my studying at the moment. This first year is an extremely varied one and already I have learned about some of the most prolific characters in history such as Stalin, Cezanne, Christopher Marlowe and Cleopatra. I am currently half way through the last chapter of the first term book 'Reputations', which is on the Dalai Lama. Even though I am not religious in any way, and I normally find learning about religion tedious, I am surprised at how much I am enjoying it. I'm actually finding myself looking forward to sitting down and studying every day.

My writing isn't going too well this month. I've only written a couple of hundred words on Poppy in about 3 weeks, which isn't very good. I've wanted to do so well on my assignments, that I have placed Poppy on one side to concentrate on my studying. Even though this may seem like a good idea, it wasn't really what I wanted to do. I want to try and find a way of working on my studying and Poppy at the same time, whilst still doing well with both. I suppose this will just take a lot of practise, patience and determination.

That is one thing I am oozing at the moment - determination. I have carried on taking my iron tablets, and as a result I have so much more energy. For years now, I have written a list of things to do every single morning. Most of the time, by the time I go to bed there are still things on the list that don't get crossed off. Well, things have changed. I have found myself writing long lists of jobs to do in the house, places to go, people to phone and chapters of my uni work to complete - and every night before I go to bed I find myself looking at a list full of ticks. For some reason, whatever goes on the list must be crossed out before bed time. I've a feeling this may be down to the slight obsessive compulsive disorder I have developed during the pregnancy - but having the extra energy is doing wonders for me.

I ask you to please be patient with me over the next couple of weeks regarding the writing articles I promised you. I have a few already outlined and a couple started - but as soon as I finish the Dalai Lama section I will get them on my list of things to do and post them straight away.

Right, an hour of studying before Katie comes home from nursery, and then a pile of washing calls...

Jenni x

Back in Top Form...

Why is it that when things go wrong, they all go wrong at the same time? In the past few months, not only has my marriage failed, but a string of things have gone wrong too. There's my financial situation, which has declined drastically, my washing machine has broken down, I've just found out that my laptop is not insured anymore, and desperately needs repairing, my husband is messing with my head, and my kids are behaving badly. Then there's my boiler breaking down every two minutes and my kids being ill... where does it all end?

Well, the answer to that question is NOW!

After having some blood tests a couple of weeks ago, my doctor told me I was anaemic again, and that my white blood cell count was a bit too high. The white blood cell thing still hasn't been resolved, but I was prescribed some iron tablets. I've only been taking them for two days now and I feel like a new person. I have so much energy and motivation, it's unbelieveable.

I'm getting things done around the house, I'm attending appointments, and my work and writing are going so well, I should have book number three completed before the end of next summer. Not only do I have all this energy, but I also feel better within myself. I feel more confident, and I am determined not to let people walk all over me. In fact, I'm thinking of going on a few dates, just to cheer myself up. I've had a few offers since my husband left, but I felt like I was being unfaithful. I've now realised that I'm not being unfaithful, because he left me, and hurt me so much, so I owe it to myself to be happy again. I'm not going to sit around being miserable, waiting for him to come back. That's not going to happen.

Anyway, I've got an appointment in Ashton in an hour, so I'm going to get myself ready, and do a bit of cleaning before I go. That way, when I get back I can complete my assignment, send it off and spend all night blissfully writing away in peace.

I'll be posting a few articles on writing over the next few days, as I hone my article writing skills, so if you have any comments please feel free to leave them on here, or email me at jenni1607@hotmail.co.uk

Adios xxx

Panic Time!

I only have one full day before NaNoWriMo starts, and I am starting to panic. I have an assignment due in a few days, which I have only completed half of, and I still need to finish Poppy. My problem is, I have left everything until last minute, yet again, and I'm not organised.

Not being organised is a first for me, as I am normally a very organised person. So, I have a day to get my house organised, my diary organised and my brain organised! I've decided to split the day up into sections, so I can complete as much as possible in the short space of time.

This morning will be dedicated to the housework, this afternoon to writing Poppy, and this evening for my assignment work. I've already set my new Sky+ box to record all of my soaps, so I can treat myself before I go to bed for getting everything done.

It's going to be hard to motivate myself this morning, as the house is freezing. The gas went yesterday and I've only just been able to put some more on. Because the radiators are all playing up, it takes at least a few hours for the house to start getting warm, probably longer today as it's so cold. All I want to do is snuggle up under my new thick duvet and do nothing - but I can't. I have kids to feed, a house to clean, a book to finish and an assignment to work on.

I'm going to stop procrastinating now, go and have a bit of breakfast for energy, and get started.

Have a great writing day,

Jenni x

Agents - Aaaaaargh!

Seen as Poppy is nearly finished, I wrote my query letter template to send to prospective agents. Included, I need to send a brief synopsis and a 10,000 word sample of the book. My writers' bio was quite easy to write, and so was the body of the letter, but I had nightmares trying to get the synopsis right. I've finally finished it, but I still don't think it's quite right. Here it is...

Set in Manchester, Poppy is the story of a young woman desperately trying to find the balance between her career and love-life. The novel is complete at 96,000 words, and is in the chick-lit genre.

Poppy panics when she realises her career in marketing has stalled. In desperation, she sleeps with her boss Max who is, unbeknown to her, also having an affair with her mum. We follow Poppy on her destructive path whilst dipping in and out of the lives of her nearest and dearest; her sister Daisy who, after escaping a violent marriage has to cope with becoming a widower, her mum Jane who is going through a mid-life crisis, and her best friend Colin who is struggling to tell his homophobic parents that he is gay. Just when things look impossible for Poppy, a light appears in the darkness; her ex-boyfriend Jack, who tries his hardest to sweep her off her feet.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this tighter and more interesting, please let me know. I already know that the first couple of sentences need changing. Their main purpose is to grab the attention of the agent, and these aren't doing the right job.

If you're reading this straight from my blog page, you will be able to see my Poppy word counter to the right of the page. I am having some trouble updating this at the moment, but as soon as the problem is fixed with the word counter, I'll update it.

Here is the brief synopsis for 'Broken Glass', my NaNoWriMo novel for this year. I can only start writing it on the 1st November, so the synopsis is very brief. I don't know what will come up once I start writing it!

My next project is a novel called Broken Glass. Cassie Flynn, who is abandoned by her husband just weeks before the birth of her fourth child narrates the story and takes us on a heart-warming, but humorous story of despair, loss and the struggles of coming to terms with being a single mum.

Very fitting, I think : ) At least I will be writing about what I know!

Right, on to work I think. I'm not going to get Poppy finished just by talking about it.

Love & Hugs,

Jenni xxx

The Writing Bug Has Bitten!

Yes, for the first time in months, I have been bitten by the writing bug once again. It couldn't have bitten at a better time, with NaNoWriMo coming up, my book to finish and countless assignments and articles to write.

Because of all the difficulties in my life over the past few months, I stopped writing. Okay, so I still wrote in my journal, and still wrote my blog entries, but I didn't do any 'real' writing. Then, when my husband left me, with three kids and my fourth due very soon, I felt like my world had crashed down around me. I felt like I'd never be able to be myself again, or write again.

This morning, I sat here at the computer in despair. I had ran out of websites to browse, got bored of facebook, and yet I had a million writing projects to get on with. All I could do was sit there and think about 'him'. That's all I've been doing for the past few weeks. Every second of every day, I have been wondering what he's up to, how I can make him come home, etc. I'd had enough of it - so I opened the file on my computer where I store 'Poppy', and began to type.

Two hours later, I had two scenes completed, over 2,000 words written, and I had not thought about 'him' once for the whole two hours. I feel like I've been living in a nightmare for months, and I've finally woken up. My head is clear, I feel more positive and I am desperately trying to get to the computer every spare minute of the day so I can write some more. At this rate, the book will be finished before the end of November - and I will also (hopefully) have around 50,000 words of my next book, 'Broken Glass' written.

Life is good!

No doubt the housework will probably suffer over November, but do you know what? I don't care! I'll just do the bare minimum to stop it turning into a complete sh*t hole, and try to block it out. I've treated myself to some books from my favourite authors too. I've just received them in the post this morning, and can't wait to get started on them. I've got 'Watermelon' and 'Under the Duvet' by Marian Keyes, and 'Perfect Alibis' by Jane Wenham-Jones.

The only other things I need to concentrate on is getting the kids' bedrooms decorated before the baby arrives, keeping up with my studies and getting some articles submitted so I get some more publishing credits before the end of the year. Keeping busy is probably the best thing for me to do right now, and I've got faith that somehow, things will be fine.

Anyway, I'd better get going so I can do a bit more writing before I have to do a bit of cleaning and pick up Connor from school.

Have a great day,

Jenni xxx

Reviving My Freelance Writing Career...

Over the past six to twelve months, my freelance writing career has been on the backburner. I think that now is the time to start writing for money again, instead of just pleasure. Okay, I didn't earn that much from freelancing, but it was something, and at least I was getting publishing credits. The only thing I've had published this year is a short story.

If you're interested in freelance writing, I would definately recommend the following books:

• Handbook for Freelance Writing by Michael Perry,


• The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell,


• The ABC Checklist for New Writers by Lorraine Mace and Maureen Vincent-Northam.

I use these books as bibles when I am writing. Each one is completely different, and offer contradicting advice, but you just choose what suits you best and go with it. I also subscribe to Writing Magazine, Writers News and Mslexia. Mslexia is a writing magazine for women, and offers so much advice. It is an excellent read, and I end up reading the issue the same day it comes through the door, and then pining for the next issue for the next three months.

Well, I've decided, I'm going to treat myself to a pizza from Dominos tonight, and after Coronation Street I'm going to sit and do a couple of hours studying followed by a couple of hours of writing, followed by a couple of hours reading. This is the life! I've also got a bottle of Sleep Easy Radox so I can have a relaxing bath while I do my reading.

Right, the kids are watching their dose of after-school TV, so I'm going to get an hour studying in before I have to make their tea.

Love & Hugs,

Jenni xxx

NaNoWriMo 2008

Well, November is officially National Novel Writing Month, where you have to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. I signed up last April, so I have to do it now!

I've got a brief plot line, a title and the start of my character profiles, but I'm scared that I won't be able to keep up this year due to the fact I have loads of studying to do. I'm going to give it my best shot though.

My daily word count target is 1,700 words (around 3-4 pages), every single day for the 30 days in November. It's a hard target, but achieveable. The working title of the book is 'Broken Glass'. It is again in the Chick-Lit genre, and is narrated by 26 year old Cassie Flynn.

It's the first book I have attempted to write in first person, but I wanted to try something new this year. After all, NaNoWriMo is all about getting the words down and not worrying about the outcome. It could be a load of rubbish when November finishes, but the fact that it will be on paper will be an achievement.

I want to do this, this year dispite everything that is going on in my life because I want to prove to myself that I am independant, and I can achieve anything I set my mind to, no matter who I have with me supporting me.

I will update nearer the time with a plot synopsis and maybe even a few sample scenes for you to read. I still haven't decided whether to write it in diary form or chapter form yet (maybe both?).

What I am looking forward to the most is the challenge. I took part in JulNoWriMo, where the target is the same, and reached just over 40,000 words on my book 'Poppy'. When July had finished, I missed the pressure and challenges of writing 1,700 words a day, and having a set writing routine.

I have also been doing some research on women's magazines and I have loads of article ideas, so I need to crack on with writing and submitting them for publication. I am determined to get some more publishing credits before the end of 2008.

I've just received an email from my tutor, so I'd better go and read it, and then get on with my studying before the morning slips away.

Take care,

Jenni xxx