Got Plagiarism? - Check Your Writing with Grammarly
I use Grammarly's plagiarism checker because my mother always said that imitation was the greatest form of flattery, and because the internet took her advice too literally I no longer can.
When I'm writing and fear I may be imitating a beloved writer too closely Grammerly is my "go to" tool to ensure that my words are indeed my own.
NaNoWriMo, An "Illuminata" Prayer & Earl Grey "London Fog Latte" Recipe
Whew! The last two weeks of October feel like a daze! My husband was tasked for a surprise deployment and so he's off doing Air Force things and I was swamped with volunteer obligations, and making my boys Halloween costumes. I also had to help my younger son transform a cardboard box into a Police Car for his Kindergarten's Transportation parade that conveniently took place on Halloween. Last night my boys actually got to celebrate Halloween and show off their Minecraft costumes. They had a great time and their costumes garnered a lot of attention from kids and grownups a like so I was happy they were happy.I can not believe we're already three days into November and I've not written a single word for NaNoWriMo! My friend Michelle challenged me to write the 50,000 word goal in five days, yes it's absolutely insane but apparently there are a lot of us who are keen for the challenge, all you need do is Google, Five Day Novel (#50K5DAYS). I'm going to start that on Tuesday or Wednesday, but today I will be jumping into NaNoWriMo today! Yay!
I cleared off my desk of all the crafting stuff that had accumulated and tidied up my office and I'm ready to go! I made myself a homemade London Fog Latte ( at Starbucks ask for the London Fog Latte, if you get a blank stare from your barista, simply ask for an Earl Grey Latte with a shot of vanilla syrup.) I've got my playlist cued and just recited this prayer I love by Marianne Williamson who in my opinion is a profound writer of prayers, via her book Illuminata: A Return to Prayer This prayer speaks to me and I like to recite it before I begin writing as I've found it helps me relax and clear my mind of all the clutter. I thought I'd share it with you just in case you were feeling stressed out over the 50K word count goal!This prayer is listed as a "deliverance" prayer in 
Illuminataif you've got a copy and want to look it up for yourself.It reads:
Dear God,
Deliver me to my passion.Deliver me to my brilliance. Deliver me to my intelligence. Deliver me to my depth. Deliver me to my nobility. Deliver me to my beauty. Deliver me to my power to heal.Deliver me to You. Amen.
~Marriane Williamson
Happy Writing!
NaNoWriMo, An "Illuminata" Prayer & Earl Grey "London Fog Latte" Recipe
Whew! The last two weeks of October feel like a daze! My husband was tasked for a surprise deployment and so he's off doing Air Force things and I was swamped with volunteer obligations, and making my boys Halloween costumes. I also had to help my younger son transform a cardboard box into a Police Car for his Kindergarten's Transportation parade that conveniently took place on Halloween. Last night my boys actually got to celebrate Halloween and show off their Minecraft costumes. They had a great time and their costumes garnered a lot of attention from kids and grownups a like so I was happy they were happy.I can not believe we're already three days into November and I've not written a single word for NaNoWriMo! My friend Michelle challenged me to write the 50,000 word goal in five days, yes it's absolutely insane but apparently there are a lot of us who are keen for the challenge, all you need do is Google, Five Day Novel (#50K5DAYS). I'm going to start that on Tuesday or Wednesday, but today I will be jumping into NaNoWriMo today! Yay!I cleared off my desk of all the crafting stuff that had accumulated and tidied up my office and I'm ready to go! I made myself a homemade London Fog Latte ( at Starbucks ask for the London Fog Latte, if you get a blank stare from your barista, simply ask for an Earl Grey Latte with a shot of vanilla syrup.) I've got my playlist cued and just recited this prayer I love by Marianne Williamson who in my opinion is a profound writer of prayers, via her book Illuminata: A Return to Prayer This prayer speaks to me and I like to recite it before I begin writing as I've found it helps me relax and clear my mind of all the clutter. I thought I'd share it with you just in case you were feeling stressed out over the 50K word count goal!This prayer is listed as a "deliverance" prayer in Illuminataif you've got a copy and want to look it up for yourself.It reads:
Dear God,
Deliver me to my passion.Deliver me to my brilliance. Deliver me to my intelligence. Deliver me to my depth. Deliver me to my nobility. Deliver me to my beauty. Deliver me to my power to heal.Deliver me to You. Amen.
~Marriane Williamson
Happy Writing!
My Writing Playlist
I've never actually posted one with regards to what I was writing, but I got a little inspired yesterday, with all my sharing and so I thought I'd share some more...These songs I find either inspiring in some way or are relevant to my manuscript's theme...I'm sure I'll add more songs to this list as my mood, or the story progresses...
I've been feeling creative and inspired...
Here's what my Muse has found pleasing...I made this little graphic so I could print out and tape into my journal - but quickly discovered that my printer is out of ink. Grrr, I purchased those before I left Miami, but I guess not using them for nearly six months can make them feel all ignored and decide their not in a printerly mood.I so do love Shakespeare's Sonnet 43... The way it speaks of yearning is so poignant. I'm totally channeling this feeling for one of my characters.The photo I used I found via Tumblr. Apparently it's a statue located in Rome. So it's on my list of things to see when we visit. I just have to figure out where.Music definitely helps rev up my creativity. I recently discovered The National, I've had their album High Violet on near constant replay. They're heading straight toward being one of my favorite bands.
Florence + the Machine 
... Two songs specifically I've found to be quite thematic, for my writing these days, Cosmic Love and Blinding off of the Lungs album.Le Sigh. Love those. Here are a few links to the two albums I referenced. These links are affiliate codes...Stuffing A Bra, and Plot-Holes
One of the things I struggle with when drafting a novel is plot. Or rather really big plot-holes that the Titanic could re-sink itself in. I have to remind myself that (for me anyway) character is more important. I love character driven novels and so it is very important for me to write a novel with characters who are real. The plot holes I know I can fill in later so long as I've got the main plot points down.I wrote myself a little note to remind me of this...
Of course, a character who stuffs her bra, actually could be pretty cool to write! I was simply using this analogy to remind myself that I want real characters, not ones full of fluff and nothing substantial.Happy writing!
You know she's a writer.... #amwriting
She can be frequently seen staring off into space.People have described her as having "her head in the clouds".She loves to read...Voraciously.[Adverb heavy yes. But still applicable. Besides... I like an adverb now and again.] I've had my butt in my chair and my hands mostly on post-it notes.I've been busy story-boarding my manuscript in an attempt to figure out some plot points that just weren't working for me and how to best arrange a few things that "need" to happen.I've also been dealing with more "skin cancer" crapola -as I've had to have three more skin extractions and am convinced that I should change my name to Frankenstella.But it is something that had to be done.I'll get more into it in a later post.My post-its are calling me.xo,nicole