Verowire woes - how to reliably solder it?
Drag a scalpel blade along the bit you want to tin, making a bright copper spot, and dip into flux, before inserting into solder blob. 

The insulation is self-fluxing once it gets up to temperature, but this trick gets copper into contact with hot solder immediately, speeding up the process. 

Also, arrange a fan to remove the smoke; it contain isocyanates which aren't very nice to breathe.