#it’s really odd to think that realistically in 7/10 years I could be converting one of my bedrooms into a nursery 🥺😬

[study-early]

January 1st 2017 feels like a long time ago, but it still feels odd that a whole year has passed. This year has been a hectic year to say the least. I've not been particularly active on here, but a lot of things have happened, good and bad which I have learnt from, both in my academic and personal life. 

 1- Keep Looking Forward 

This sort of falls into two areas. 

 When starting my second year of University, I lost focus on why I was actually there. I had applied to university in the interest of learning as much as I could, but had forgotten this over my first year. Others aspirations, career advice and department information, all the events and new things at university had distracted me. It left me de-motivated and in a cycle of feeling like a failure and too much of a failure to do anything about it. I was aiming for everything, not what I wanted. 

 If you're very busy, sometimes you end up living day to day. There's nothing wrong with this, you need to get through now to get to tomorrow. Any student who has had several deadlines on the same day or experienced final exams knows sometimes you just need to pull through. However you shouldn't forget why you are doing what you are doing now. It's the same for the future. It shouldn’t be like that all the time. 

 Look ahead, whether that's a month, a year or years away. I had also lost focus on what I actually wanted to do, focusing on what I thought was the right thing to aim for. Aim for what you really want, whether that is related to your studies or not. Keep reminding yourself why you are where you are now and where you want to go. 

Write down your goals and what you want

SMART Goals are particularly good- these are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely (Have a deadline) 

Review these from time to time, regularly if you can

Look back at what your previous goals were, if you've had it long enough, go back and look at your studyblr a few years ago 

Listen to others, but don't compare yourself to them, you do things your own way 

 2- Your Studies Aren't everything 

 If there is anything I learnt this year that Studyblrs seem to need to remember is that your studies aren't everything. Celebrate your academic accomplishments, celebrate graduating and celebrate your careers, but don't focus on it too heavily. 

 A career doesn't need to be all encompassing, you have a life outside of it. You can get gratification outside of it. Remembering this helped me a lot. I'm interested in science and technology, and whilst I know almost nothing about coding, I’ve read a lot about Artificial Intelligence. A lot of talk about AI is about the loss of jobs. When you put all your aspirations on a career, hearing this is pretty discomforting. It was nerve wracking for me, someone with my entire career ahead of me. 

 Make sure to give yourself time out. There's so much out there now on self-care, but actually give yourself time out. Have things outside of your studies you put effort into and get joy out of. Only you know what this is, it can be totally embarrassing or be 'useless' to your CV but if it improves your life you should pursue it in your spare time. 

 On this point, friendships and relationships are perfectly good things to work on. In theory, I could work more and get firsts instead of seeing friends or travelling home at weekends. I use the phrase in theory, because in reality I would definitely have a breakdown. Your social life isn't in direct opposition to your grades. Even if it is, it's totally valid to choose your social life. It's about balancing the two, not eradicating one.

If you plan your time, make sure to plan in time for things other than studying  

Alternatively, give yourself realistic goals of what you want to achieve in a day, then leave the rest of it free for your interests 

Take up a new hobby or something you've always wanted to try 

Got a friend you've thought about seeing but haven't? Or someone you want to get to know better? Go for it, message them or meet up with them 

 3- Get the right amount of rest 

 Similarly, resting is about balance. You want to keep your stress down but not keep yourself in a state of idleness. 

 Being busy doesn't necessarily mean you are at your most productive. Resting is not doing nothing. For one, your brain needs sleep to process information, form links and consolidate your memories. Second, taking breaks, even when you're awake provokes a similar process. (x) (x) (There’s plenty of research out there if you’re interested in it)

 This year I learnt the importance of rests after I went over a month without going home and ended up in hospital. It's a hard lesson to learn, even then sometimes I would push myself too far. Often, as soon as I gave myself a break, the façade I had been keeping up by being busy would crumble down. 

 Do a little bit of rest and other things a lot to keep your stress down, but make sure not to be too idle. This summer, I let depression leave me in a state of doing nothing. As soon as I got a job, just working in a café, doing that little bit of work helped me get going. Taking a small step helped me to study for my Autumn exams, as it got me moving. 

Keep in mind if it's worth staying up to study more, or if it would be better to sleep 

Find a sleep schedule that works for you, aim for 5-7 hours, and closer to 10 if you're a teenager 

Naps are good in moderation 

Sometimes doing a little bit makes you feel a lot better 

Try telling yourself to do 20 minutes of studying, and if you want to keep going, keep going, if not, stop 

 4- Exercise 

 I was as sceptical as anyone of the suggestion that exercise was good for managing your stress and especially sceptical when suggesting it to manage depression. However I'm a convert to the idea. 

Exercise, and other basic routines, are a base for you to improve your mental health. Anti-depressants, eating regularly, exercising, sleeping enough, all the small pieces of advice you get can seem trivial. They seem especially trivial, when you have relapsed and feel as if they have failed you before, that people tell you these things will make you better when they don't. 

 I say they're a base, because that's what they are for me at the moment. Recovering from a mental health problem is not inspirational leaps forward, it is constant work, constant discipline and constant failures. It's like taking on an extra job, except that it's all the time and you never get holidays. The aforementioned list has been a base for me to recover, some days I can do these and work through the big things, but other days they are just there to keep me going. If I go to the gym, or if I make dinner, I feel like I've achieved something. Looking after yourself in a little way makes things a bit better, to give strength to improve.

 Exercise as beneficial is definitely something I have learnt this year. In the past it has been a negative experience for me, being lonely in school lessons and punishing myself for insecurities in my body. This year I've changed my attitude to exercise, as a tool to improve my mood, to release energy, to refresh my mind, wake me up or tire me out for bed. 

It was difficult, to part with my money, to have the courage to go the gym and use the equipment (I’m terrified of falling off the treadmill and the men looking at me in the weight room), but all this made me happier for overcoming my fears. Little struggles and little achievements helped me with the bigger struggles.

Take walks if you haven't got the opportunity to do much, a 30 minute walk isn't actually as time consuming as it sounds 

Talking walks in nature, or parks if you're in a city, are really relaxing, at least in my opinion they are Walks are also a good time to meditate or practice calming techniques, especially if you walk to quiet spots 

If you're interested in a team sport find out if there's a team you could join, most are pretty open to all levels 

The internet is full of things you can do in your house, or with no equipment, more than I could list 

��5- Sometimes you need to 'Fail' 

Perfectionism sucks. Let's be real here. I'm not the only one who takes anything less than what is the best as a failure. Over this year I've learnt to try and ditch this idea.

 As you might’ve guessed, it's been a bit of a rough year for me. Expecting myself to be perfect and outstanding at everything is a large part of this. One thing I've learnt, especially in the months after I left hospital, is that sometimes it is better to do something half-assed or badly on time than to do nothing at all. You’ll get a higher mark on an assignment if you hand something okay in than if you don’t hand it in at all. 

 Similarly, things won’t always go perfectly straight away. You need to practice things and sometimes things don’t work at all unless it’s been a long time. For me this year, I missed out on the societies at university because I expected to make friends straight away and got nervous if I didn’t. Expecting everything to be perfect means you could miss out on good things. If you’re starting University this year, remember this, you may have chosen the wrong place or course, but you also may not be settling in straight away.

This is about mindset. Most of it is learning, something you figure out on your own 

Stop putting yourself down, look at what you are good at. Write down what you like about yourself, accept your achievements, think about what others would think of your thoughts 

Reframe your view on mistakes. Try to foster a Growth Mindset, look at your mistakes as opportunities to improve 

Be realistic about your goals and give yourself goals you can actually achieve 

Remember no one is perfect and they all make mistakes, repeat this to yourself.     

6- I've given up on hand writing notes 

 There's not really a lot to say here. It's also something that lots of people have said already on here, Writing out pretty or 'aesthetic notes' isn't everything. 

It can help you to study, but don't let the time doing this outweigh the benefits. I largely stopped because it was easier for me to take messy notes in class or on a laptop, then not write the up until before an exam. Also because for several of my subjects, it wasn't mostly memorisation anymore but understanding of concepts. Writing nice notes weren’t helping me understand more, and they weren't useful for my group projects or writing essays. 

 This isn't to say I don't think it has it uses. I still take notes the way I did during my A Levels for Spanish, but that's more memorisation. Essentially, take notes in the best way for you and what you’re learning, not what people have said is best or what looks best for your blog. 

Do whatever form of note taking works for you 

Try out different methods of studying and notetaking, to see if you find something that works better for you 

There's plenty of software for recording classes, mine was paid for by a government grant, but there are plenty of alternatives 

Actually listening in class, instead of taking notes, has always been useful for me in understanding content, or at least taking very brief or messy notes, with shorthand phrases 

 7- Taking other notes 

 Whilst I don't carry folders of notes around anymore, I do take a notebook with me everywhere I go now. 

 It cost me 95p from the University shop, it's not particularly pretty inside or out and I've used it as a coaster quite a few times so it's covered in ring marks. I take it almost everywhere with me. If I'm going somewhere with decent lighting and a chance of sitting around it's coming. 

Notebooks are great for keeping all your ideas together in one place. A rough book can be a first point to remember things, before you put them elsewhere. And if you want you could keep some sort of journal or diary. 

For me, it's been useful just to work through things at times I usually wouldn't, like on the tube or on a walk. Often your best ideas are at times you're not at your desk working. I've got notes about assignments, blog posts, public lectures I've attended, meetings I've been to and just a general mess of ideas. If writing helps you think, it can be an aid in thinking and planning. Writing out my thoughts and having these all in one book helped me to process and plan this year. 

8- Alcohol 

When I turned 18 and could legally drink, alcohol went from being something that would make me throw up to something fun and sociable. Too many bad things, embarrassing things, traumatising things, that have happened to me this year have been related to alcohol. Alcohol became a crutch, making social situations unbearable without it, and to me drinking more and more in these situations. 

 At university, the view of what constitutes a normal amount of drinking is distorted. At least in the UK, people drink a lot. Like a lot. And from what I've seen, people at my university in London don't even drink as much as elsewhere in the country, but it’s still a lot. 

The normalisation of binge drinking is dangerous, as it causes so many problems for people but these are not seen as being as problematic as if they were illegal drugs or other forms of self harm. And that's what binge drinking is, a form of self harm. The increased risk of cancer from alcohol use is massively underestimated by the public and I’ve seen first hand the immediate damage to people’s emotional, mental and physical health I’m being fairly dramatic, but it feels like 99% of the time alcohol abuse is treated so casually, it’s disturbing. 

One of my biggest study tips for other university students out there would be to drink less. Obviously, not everybody drinks, but at the same time at university it feels like everybody drinks. If you drink, you probably know going out and getting wasted doesn't just take up the time you are doing it, you can lose a whole day of work from being hungover. Do this every week and it adds up. From my experience, going out once a week was below average for freshers. 

I'm not going to be judgemental about this. I'm hardly in a position to be, considering I'm not completely sober. But it's something I've sadly not seen on study tips posts before, even though many people first take drugs or drink at university or college. Sorting out any problems you have with drugs, including alcohol, helps a lot in general, not just with your studies. 

9- Remember the Good Things

One of the nicest moments I had recently was when I reviewed goals I had set over a year ago on my blog. After having a quite frankly terrible year I expected to have met very few of them. However I had actually met quite a lot of them. 

Suddenly I remembered all the effort I had put in during the last year, and actually recognised it. Take a little time to think about what you’ve achieved. When you get praise actually listen. Appreciate yourself and your efforts. 

Look back at 2017 honestly but recognise all you have done this year. 

 Happy New Years!

[jaimistoryteller]

2017 Complete Set of Author Confessions

All 31 answers are below the cut!

1. Introduce yourself & your WIP!

My names Jaimi, use whatever pronouns you’re comfortable with for me as I have no preference. I spend a lot of time writing. Some for work, some for pleasure, a lot for stress relief. I also do pencil and digital sketches.

I’ve got 22 WIPs that are active,  49 that are inactive, and countless other ideas to work on. So, I think I will go with Paths to Home, one of my ‘inactive’ WIPs that I am very partial to.

Current summary (which might later change, again):

One wrong choice was all it took for Iov to destroy his life. Now he has a chance to set things right. Then there is the impossible: he meets soulmates, and despite his failings, they want him. How is he going to be everything they need when he can barely be what he needs for himself?

Due to the actions of his family, Sparks now has more responsibility on his shoulders than he’s ever wanted. If not for the support from his friends and ex, things could have gone a lot worse. What’s the odds that he would meet his soulmates while trying to do the right thing by his family?

2.  Do you create your own characters or base them off an existing person?

A bit of both. It all depends on my story and the characters within.

Then there is the fact I know multiple versions of them, not all of which I share with the world. Some of my characters I design as D&D characters to start with, before converting them into story characters, because D&D is a great way to build characters.

Some of  my characters are a mix of different people I know.  Or I will check with people I know who have had similar life experiences to what I am writing to make sure that the character is written in a respectful manner.

I also do a lot of research to make sure that characters are fleshed out and an individual, not just a stereotype.

3. What’s your great MC feature?

Since I started with Paths to Home, I’ll stick with that.

There are technically six main characters, two separate but connected triads.

Triad 1:

Iov Asmik - he lives in constant fear, yet manages to do his job well. He’s a caring person, something that has caused him grief in the past, but is something both his soulmates love about him.

Emere Tereiti - she’s blunt, sassy, and affectionate to those she cares for. She’s very family oriented and loves traveling. Her beliefs are a bit elastic, coming from different parts of her family traditions.

Pavel Zherdev - while quiet and unassuming, he’s got a core of steel. He feels exceedingly lucky to have met both of his soulmates through his work.

Triad 2:

Afanas ‘Sparks’ Balakhnov -  his best friend describes him as loyal, fierce, protective and deadly. He’s not always sure those are good traits, but they work well for him.

Sitara Misra - a cheerful woman who felt almost a compulsion to travel. She believes in respecting others traditions, and feels that only through communication can people learn to live together and accept each other.

Nazreen Awn Dastyar - in many ways she’s very traditional, and that leads to a bad match. However she’ll do anything to protect her daughter and it end up leading to her meeting her soulmates in the long run.

4. How do you select flaws for your characters?

Honestly? I don’t. I let them tell me about them.

Sometimes what seems like an advantage is actually a flaw. Sometimes what seems like a flaw really isn’t. While I do have character types I seem to be drawn to (deadly people who like kids *cough cough* seems to be a favorite), I let them tell me all about themselves. Sometimes it takes talking it out with someone else (thank you my lovely writing partners) because they are being rather tight lipped about themselves, but I have very few characters that I can just shift between stories and come up with same tale.

Some of the most common flaws for characters I’ve written in Paths to Home: arrogance (yes Aither, dear, we’re looking at you), temper problems (still looking at you Aither, along with Jon, Alec, and Sparks), fear (I know, how’s that a flaw? it is if you let fear rule your life, *glances at Iov*), and inability to adapt (more names than I care to list) for a few of them.

5: What year(s) is your WIP set? Why did you pick that time frame?

It starts in 2001 and goes through 2014 so far.

The events in Different Paths that spawn Paths to Home happen in 2001.

It may end up split into different stories, but for now, it’s all one long tale that covers from the beginning of Iov and Sparks relationship, through the years to when they figure things out with their respective soulmates, and each other.

6. How would your WIP change if set 1500 years in the future?

Um, I’d have to move the entire series as they are all very closely tied together.

As for changes:

It’d probably be in space or on a colony

There would be even more diversity (although I am quite proud of my current diversity. Sparks & Iov are Russian, Pavel is Ukrainian, Emere is Maori, Sitara is Hindi, Nazreen is Iranian Muslim, and that’s just the main characters, the secondary and background characters have even more diversity)

The base soulmate concept might do some changing, how would soulmates evolve in a universe with so many other species?

Probably way better medical and mental health services available

I’m sure there are other things, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

7. Is your MC an introvert or extrovert?

Alright, so rather than just doing the introvert & extrovert, I’ll do the MBTI for each.

Iov Asmik - Introvert  -  ISFJ T

Emere Tereiti - Extrovert - ENFJ A

Pavel Zherdev - Introvert with extrovert tendencies - INFJ A

Afanas ‘Sparks’ Balakhnov - depends on the day - ISTP A or ESTP A

Sitara Misra - Extrovert - ENFP A

Nazreen Awn Dastyar - Introvert - INFP T

8. Are you a fan of the happily ever after or the realistic ending?

I like both equally. It all depends on the story that I am working on.

Happily ever after gives the hope of things being good and pleasant once the trails and hardships are done.

Realistic endings show that things may be right, or they may go wrong, but there is always another chapter to the story.

Paths to Home is a ‘happy for now’ ending. Where the story ends is with things going positively. There could be future stories that reveal what happens after this tale ends.

9. Pick a theme song for your antagonist

Okay, there isn’t really a primary antagonist in Paths to Home, as it is Man vs Self for the conflict. While there are situational ones that affect the Man vs Self, I’m not gonna figure out songs for them. Instead I will do a song for each of the primary characters.

These songs are from those I currently know, and are liable to change as the story goes or I hear new music. The names are links to the YouTube song

Iov Asmik - Longer by Caleb Kane

Emere Tereiti - All Soul Night by Loreena McKennitt

Pavel Zherdev - Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse

Afanas ‘Sparks’ Balakhnov - Down and Out by Tantric

Sitara Misra - Xin Ren by  Ramin Djawadi

Nazreen Awn Dastyar - Crawling in the Dark by Hoobastank

10. Sock Sunday, share a pic of your favorite socks or slippers that keep your feet toasty while writing.

Umm, I don’t wear socks around my house, my cats steal them, but here’s my foot blanket instead.

11. Character Swap! YOU are now the MC

Errr. I have six MC’s, so lets see what I can do with this.

Sparks - getting swapped for him would be stressful, I’m sure, however of the six primary characters he’s the one I am most like personality wise, so I’d probably do alright as him. As I am ace-pan, I could easily deal with having two female soulmates as long as they don’t mind the lack of sex.

Iov - I am much more dominant in my personality, so I wouldn’t have ended up in the situation he is in. However, I probably would have ended up on my own or in prison because his family sucks ass. I’d enjoy having his soulmates for myself. Emeri and I would have sass matches, and Pavel would be the calming force.

Nazreen - hmmm. I’m non-religious, so that negates part of what led to the situation she starts off in, nor do I have/want children, however I think I’d do alright, it would just take patience and understanding. Having Sparks and Sitara as soulmates would work well, they could have any sex needed, and I would have cuddle partners. It’d be interesting to see ow I would relate to her family.

Sitara - while she is religious, her beliefs are similar to what I believe in life. She’s got the sort of calm that I wish I had, and I think that I’d have a difficult time with her role within the tale.

Pavel - he’s the one I am second most like personality wise. In a lot of ways I think I’d do alright as his role, however there are a lot of thing he would have dealt with better than me.

Emere - while she is my favorite of the six, and we have a lot of things in common, there are also a lot of things that we have nothing in common about. I’d do alright in her role, but she is definitely a far nicer person than me.

12. How much romance is in your WIP? Share a moment with us!

Well, a lot and a little. As it’s a story with two different soulmate triads getting to know each other and develop their relationship, there is definitely romance. However as it is my aro take on romance, it might not come across so much

Sparks, Sitara & Nazreen

Shaking his head, he returns to the original situation, he’s got two soulmates and a daughter. He should do the proper thing and offer marriage. First he’ll need to get a ring for each. Actually this could be the perfect time to get them something that can be used for self defense. He’s been with Sitara longer, so she’s the one he should ask first, and he should make sure that her ring is something that she will enjoy. He’s still thinking of that fact when Iov comes in, a sign that the day is about to start since his assistant is very prompt for showing up in the morning, even after nearly a decade working for him.

Iov & Emere (cause I don’t yet have one for all three of them)

"May I?" She asks softly, shifting just a little closer.

Slowly his eyes open despite the fact he is terrified of what he will see but they are just too moist to stay shut. What he does see takes his breath away. Emere's got a luffa in her hand, and a bottle of his favorite scented body wash in the other. She looks almost pleased when their eyes meet through the steam. Dark eyes gleaming like polished jet. Her dark mocha cream skin almost shimmers in the water. Ebony hair is plastered to her skin, hiding much of her torso.   "Hello Koa," she hums softly. Blushing, he ducks his head, "Hi."

13.  Is your WIP more of a fine wine, cheap bear, or mixed drink?

Hmmmm, hard liquor is my immediate answer, however as that isn’t an option & as Paths to Home is going to be massive, I’m going to say it all depends on where at in the story you’re at.

There are moments that are like a cheap beer: a slow build that leaves an emotional hang over after setting it down.

There are moments that are like a fine wine: watching the way their relationships develop and how they connect is worth savoring.

Then there are moments like a mixed drink: one minute your fine, the next you feel like you've been sucker punched.

14. How evil is your antagonist on a scale of 1-10?

Well, there isn’t any one antagonist in this tale, and each one varies on their levels of how evil they are. However here are a few of them that occur throughout the tale. Have the alignment based on D&D 3/3.5 standards and the numbers being 1 least & 10 worst.

Fetis Ilarionovich Asmik - NE 8 - father of Iov, he is a cold, cruel, and abusive man 

Asyar Maroun - LE 5 - Nazreen’s first husband, he portrayed himself as something he wasn’t to her family and revealed his true nature when she was at his mercy, or lack there of.

Karl Bychkov - LE 6 - he was one of the Balakhnov competitors, when Sparks takes over he tries attacking the Balakhnov complex, despite the fact it is mostly children.

Marharyta Kucher - NE 2 - social worker who tries to cause problems about a single 27 year old man having custody of 31 children

Heloisa Wyatt Paiva - NG - she’s not an antagonist in the traditional sense of the word, however she helps Iov deal with his trauma and mental health concerns, making her his primary antagonist 

15. Word Count Report

Currently 50k and not even close to 1/5 done.

The vast majority of what I have is bits and pieces.

I also have a very detailed outline, which is not my normal way to write, but with this story being so bloody huge, I figured it was a good idea or I would end up constantly having to go back and add things to replace stuff missed.

16. Does your WIP take place in one or multiple settings?

Multiple settings. While there is one primary setting, the Balakhnov Complex in Moscow, Russia (made up for the story), there are a lot of other scenes that take place in various spots across the world.

Emere is Maori and travels as a private tutor before making her way to Moscow, so there are several places because of her job

Sitara is an Indian Hindu, she travels a bit to visit her family and when she takes a teaching job in the Balakhnov building.

Nazreen - Iranian Muslim who originally leaves home because of a marriage

Then there are other settings for different plot points

17. How does your MC feel about snow?

Sparks - he doesn’t care one way or another. He knows how to ski, snowboard, and snowshoe.

Nazreen - she doesn’t know what to think of snow the first time she sees more than just the lightest covering, she enjoys it with plenty of layers on and enjoys learning how to snowshoe though she feels clumsy at first.

Sitara - she sees it as a natural wonder and natures way of cleaning the slate, winter is when she deep cleans her greenhouse, though she carefully tends her plants to keep them from freezing and is thankful for the specialized glass which helps retain heat and generate electricity

Iov - definitely lives in the wrong climate, he hates the snow because it makes him even colder than he already is. He doesn’t mind the wetness or even the whiteness, but definitely can’t stand the cold.

Pavel - he likes snow, finds it fun to play in, but would be perfectly fine with less snow. He’s thrilled that he lives and works in the same building so he doesn’t have to worry about accidents in the snow.

Emere - she finds snow amusing. While she’d like to encourage Iov to go outside more, she doesn’t push too much because she knows he doesn’t take leaving the building all that well and easily gets sick.

18. Shout out an author day! Who do you build a snowman with?

I haven’t built one in years, but the last time I did so was with my grandpa.

Before that I built them with either neighbors or cousins.

While I it’s not asked, I’m still going to go with which MCs like to build snowmen or not.

Sparks - insists on taking the kids old enough to play in the snow on the roof to build snowmen

Sitara - she has no problem watching as they build them, but has no interest in doing so herself

Nazreen - she doesn’t understand why someone would want to make men out of snow, but allows Safiya to join the other children when she wants to

Iov - avoids snow whenever possible, grudgingly makes a snowman with his soulmates

Pavel - loves making snowmen, finds it relaxing

Emere - she enjoys Pavel’s excitement but is indifferent herself.

19. The Grinch stole your manuscript. How do you persuade him to give it back?

Errr. I wouldn’t. I would either rewrite it or steal it back. Possibly trick him into returning it. I think, however, that the Grinch and I would get along as I am not the biggest Christmas person due to things that have gone wrong in the past.

20. What kind of cookie best describes your MC.

Sparks - sugar cookie - comes in one really base flavor and is easy to make, but can be adapted to most situations

Sitara -  Bredela - she’s calm and often considered serene but is multifaceted like the many flavors of this tasty cookie.

Nazreen -  macaron - she’s quiet and shy, but like the cookie colorful and layered, it’s just a matter of getting to know her.

Iov - oatmeal - he seems simple on the outside but inside is way more complicated.

Pavel - chocolate chip - like the cookie that can be complicated or simple, he always retains his soft base even through the flavorful additions.

Emere - gingerbread - spice and sweet in equal measures, can be soft or hard as the situation calls for

21. What kind of cookie best describes your antagonist?

Welp, still don’t have the traditional antagonists but using the four mentioned:

Fetis - burnt sugar cookie - he looks like he’s trust worthy and decent to people who don’t know him but is truthfully hard, stale, and burned on the insides

Asyar - biscuit - plain and simple, but likes to dress himself up to make himself look better

Marharyta - butter cookie - has the potential to taste great as long as things are done right, same as she has the potential to be a good person but does cruel things for the power rush

Heloisa  - sugar cookie - simple and easy going, she occasionally likes to decorate or dress up, but mostly prefers to just be herself

22. Who does your MC kiss under the mistletoe?

*snickers* well that could be an interesting situation indeed.

Sparks - he doesn’t care who it is, friends he’ll kiss on the cheek or hand, his soulmates on the lips, forehead, or cheek depending on the situation

Sitara - she will make a show of kissing her partner, mostly on the cheeks, but she’s not bothered with a chaste kiss to the lips

Nazreen - she’s uncomfortable with the tradition and tends to avoid mistletoe as much as she can

Iov - he’s terrified of over stepping his bounds, and avoids the mistletoe whenever possible

Pavel - he enjoys any excuse to kiss his soulmates, although he understands Iov’s limits so he tends to keep it

Emere - she doesn’t care about mistletoe and will ignore the custom depending on who she is near. She will also make a person back down if they are trying to force someone else into kissing them.

23. What is the greatest gift you could give your MC?

That’s a bit complicated. Pretty much none of them have physical gifts  that they could be given. Instead each has an emotional gift

Sparks - peace of mind. He wasn’t even 30 when he ended up with 31 children under the age of sixteen with him as custodian. Most the time he feels like he’s doing alright, but sometimes

Sitara - sense of humor. She is a literal person when it comes to words spoken, which isn’t always a good thing, and occasionally sets of misunderstandings.

Nazreen - self-confidence. She has a hard time adapting to life in the complex, mostly because she doesn’t understand how it can be so smooth.

Iov - trust. He has a difficult time trusting that anything good in his life will last, mostly he feels like he is unworthy

Pavel - support. He loves and supports Iov and Emere, and sometimes forgets that he needs the same from them

Emere - patience. While she does good with children and Iov, she’s not always as patient as she should be with other people, particularly adult males, which makes her feel bad when she gets snappy with Pavel.

24. Author confession is on Christmas break!

Since there isn’t an official question, have a picture of the first triad in Paths to Home: Nazreen, Sparks, and Sitara

25. Author confession is on Christmas break!

Since there isn’t an official question, have a picture of the second triad in Paths to Home: Emere, Iov and Pavel

26. Favorite moment of 2017

I’m not sure if that’s personal moment or writing, so I’ll do both

Personal: Getting back in touch with my best friend and getting fan art from one of my stories, they’re about equal. 

In Writing: managing to knock my WIP count from 34 to 22. That took a lot of effort and I still managed to pull it off while adding almost 70+ new works as well. 

27. Best book you read this last year?

Hmmmm. Best book, I’m gonna go with one of my old favorites: Take a Thief by Mercedes Lackey

Best fanfic: Alec & Fenrir by @leavesdancing

28. What is your biggest writing accomplishment this year?

.I’m very pleased with my two Bond event sets of stories:

Moments in Another Life: A series of connected short stories and prompt tales about the Q, Alec, James, Harold, John, and Jared. Each one builds on the previous one.

31 Days of Bond Flash Fics - a series of short stories based a variety of prompts. (Despite the fact that December went horridly, I still managed to get all the prompts done before the end of 2017)

29. Any regrets with your WIP so far?

Nope. Not a one.

However I have changed a few spots because they did not fit as they were within the tale. Sometimes I keep them for if they were to happen in other stories, other times they get completely deleted.

Although I did put Iov through hell with my writing partners assistance. The poor boy.

30. Use a GIF to express how you feel about the new year.

Can’t go wrong with Blanche, she gives some of the best reactions.

31. Happy New Years Eve! Selfie Sunday! 2018 Goals?

I don’t do selfies, but here’s a picture of my eldest cats Sota & Taz, helping me by sleeping on my mouse.

2018 Goals

I know I did a goals list already, but some goals off the top of my mind, and I will compare them later to see how similar the two lists are.

I wanna get down to 15 WIPs. Some of the WIPs I want to finish:

Letters and Cards (John/James S. omegaverse) John and James spend a year writing to each other rather than talking in person, though they exchange hellos when passing the letters.

Advent (Q/Alec, Q/James, Alec/James, Q/Alec/James)  Relationships change and evolve over time, most of which is expected, but sometimes it's the unexpected that are the most enjoyable changes.

Kingsman Academy (Eggsy/Harry shifter verse)  All shifters are required to take lessons learning how to control their abilities. Harry is a teacher at Kingsman Academy where new shifters between 20 to 25 years of age go for their training, he is also a snow-leopard, one of the rarest varieties of shifter, so he is surprised when the newest student is a snow-leopard as well

Souls Entwined (Max/Jacob, Eggsy/Harry omegaverse) Things are forever changed for Max and Jacob after a chance encounter years before, and a discovery that changes everything.

Trail & Error (Jace/Eric, Chare/Aidan) The story of how Jace & Eric and Aidan & Charlotte work out their relationships

Healing (Peter/Wade, Steve/Bucky, Bucky/Wade) Choices can have life altering affects as most superhumans can attest, so Peter and Steve are both aware of some of the effects that their choices in regards to their favorite assassins are going to have, some of the other effects are completely unexpected

Learning to Live (Vash/Meryl, Knives/Milly) Vash came back after the fight with Knives, and brought him with him, now can the four of them learn to live together as each person deals with their own emotions, the past, and the future. Mostly based off the anime, however there are a few manga snippets thrown in as well

Choices (Hermione/Severus)  A twist on the idea of Time Travel, what happens if Hermione gets covered in time dust from the Time Room and uses a Time Turner to try and help in the war against Voldemort?

I want to finish Unexpected Meeting so I can publish it.

I want to finish Paths to Home so I can start posting it.

*fingers crossed* that this year goes better than last and all my goals can be reached.