New Year, New Stories.

I have realized that I have issues finishing stories. I have no problem starting them, but life seems to stop me from continuing and finishing them. I currently have 8 unfinished stories. Three are from creative writing classes I did in 2013/2014. They were short stories so they are technically finished, but I want to continue them into full-length novels. I love all of my stories. My first novel is my baby and it is the one I’ve spent the most time on and the one I’ve wanted to publish for the last 8 years. But I started something the other day and it’s nothing like anything I’ve written before. This would be much easier if I had some time to myself. These stories are in my head and I know where I want them to go, but school and being a wife and mother seem to keep me from being able to go any further. All I can do is try to balance it all I guess. Can’t live the dream if I don’t try.

-BLP

Always in the Way.

It seems as though no matter how I plan things, something always gets in the way. I’m a procrastinator; but not in the sense that I’m just too lazy to do stuff. I do my best when I’m under pressure. I have gotten 95-100% on every single one of my essays for my Women’s Literature course. I usually do my essays on the day they are due. I had two hours to complete two 5-paragraph essays for my midterm and I got a 95% on that. It’s just how my brain works. My dilemma is NaNoWriMo and school clashing. There are 11 days left for NaNoWriMo and less than 30 for school. I’ve got to really work hard if I want to finish NaNo and do well in school. I’m hoping I can do it. My brain just needs to get out of its own way.

My biggest issue, that I no shit just realized this morning, is that I am completely stuck on my novel. I have 28,537 words and it’s just a prologue and three and a half chapters. 20k more words will not finish the novel, I know that. I also know exactly where I want the story to go and that, my friends, is the problem. I do my best when I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve been writing this story in my head for over 8 years. I know the beginning and I know the end. I know the middle too, but I haven’t written it yet. All the plot twists and dramatic dialogue pieces are jotted down scratch paper and in notebooks. I even have some saved on my computer. I am so excited to get this out there. It’s been in my head for so long and I’m dying to share it with other people. I’ve got my author buddy, Mira Day, to help push me. She’s read what I have so far (8 years ago and recently) and she swears it’s a good story. I believe it’s something fresh and it could do well. How well? I don’t know. But it can’t hurt to try. Even if I don’t make any money off of it, to know that it’s out there for others to enjoy is all I really need. And even though this blog is probably not reaching anyone right now, it still helps to get it all out. So if you are reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea what that means to me.

-BLP

NaNoWriMo!

This will be my first year actually participating. I may or may not finish. I have a handy little calendar on my desktop to help me keep track of how many words I should be writing per day. Now all I have to do is come up with a plot and some characters.

-BLP

I hate Monday.

I hate Mondays and I hate online college courses. I just went from having all A’s to having 3 A’s and a B. The worst part? The B is in my Women’s Lit course. I love this course. Well, I loved this course. There is nothing more discouraging than receiving a D because of something you can’t control. I have an ex husband and I have 2 children with that ex husband. I took my children out to his house on Friday. I took them early enough so that I could get some birthday shopping done (my daughter turned 9) and then be home in time to finish my assignment. I have to cross a bridge to get home. At 7:20pm, when traffic is supposed to be over, I get trapped in a massive amount of it. No idea what’s going on and no way of getting home. I finally made it home at 10pm, which is an hour past when my assignment was due. I decided to do it anyway and I made a note that I knew it was late. I wake up this morning, hopeful that she will understand my issue. Even more hopeful that she might let it slide (just a little) because I’m definitely her best student. But no, she gives me a D. It makes me want to give up. It makes me not like her very much. It makes me very sad. I went from a 97 to a 90. I know that I posted late, but the first part of my assignment was done. I just don’t understand how it merits a D. A C, maybe, but not a D. I had this same teacher for another class and I passed with a 100 as my final grade. I never get below a C on assignments. I very rarely get below a B. With everything else that’s going on right now, this doesn’t help. It’s a kick in the face and I don’t know how much longer I can do this. This really stinks. I just hate not doing well in school, especially in a Lit course while majoring in English. This picture sums up how I feel today (and every other day).

And on that note, I’m going to study for my Lit midterm. This should be interesting.

-BLP

Meet my friends.

So I’ve been writing this book for quite some time now. So much has stopped me from finishing it. That’s the nice way of saying being a mom has broken my brain and I can’t concentrate on anything anymore. I’ve procrastinated more in the last few years than I ever have before. But I’d love for you all to meet my characters and I’d love it even more if you loved them as much as I do.

I met them eight years ago. At the time I started writing, we were around the same age. I’m older now, but they have been blessed with remaining in their twenties forever. Lucky bastards. These characters came to me in the oddest way. I say odd because I’m pretty sure no one likes the band I’m about to name. Or no one likes to admit that they like this band. I’m one of those people. You know, the kind that jams to them when no one’s looking and would rather drink bleach than openly admit that they like this band. Well, I guess I’ve just admitted it. I found these two people while listening to the song “Far Away” by Nickelback. I can’t help it, I love their ballads. Anyway, my husband at the time was in the Marine Corps and we had survived two deployments. An idea popped in my head and Taylor and Ethan were born. And so was their love. I sat and wrote in a notebook for hours every day. I still have every word I wrote saved. But then bad things happened and I had to let them go. Eight years later, I’m fighting harder for them than I have ever before.

My passion is writing. I love words. Reading them. Writing them. Saying them. I have started so many stories, but I’ve allowed everything to stop me from finishing them. Not anymore. So please, take a few more minutes and meet my friends.

Taylor is my favorite person in the fictional universe. She reminds me of everything I wanted when I was around her age. She’s smart, she’s pretty, and she’s determined. She wants to get married and start a family, but she wants to have a career first. She wants to have her own life for a while. Then there’s Ethan, my very first book boyfriend. He’s tall, dark, and handsome like most leading men are. But he’s also the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. He wants a love like his parents have. He wants a love like his grandparents had. He wants it all, but being in the Marine Corps has made it difficult. Taylor and Ethan are set up on a blind date by their mutual friend, Claudia, but there’s one problem, Taylor hates Marines. Hesitantly, she agrees to the blind date, but she is amazed at how wonderful of a person Ethan turns out to be. Yes, she seems like a bitch, but she has her reasons and you’ll find that out when you read the book.

It’s more than just a romance; filled with difficult decisions, tragedy, love, friendship, and miracles. I promise that once I finish this book, you won’t regret reading it. And I will love you forever.

-BLP

Oh. Hello there.

Welcome. This is my first post on WordPress. I’m not tech-savvy, so this is a tad bit confusing to me. I hope you’ll stick with me as I learn the ropes. Thank you for stopping by. It means the world to me.

-BLP