NaNoWriMo: Snowfall (Excerpt)

Malinda’s eyes widened and she found her mouth suddenly dry. It took her a moment to find her voice, and when she did at last speak it was hesitant. “Bastet,” she said, as though not sure it was possible. An Egyptian goddess incarnate, standing in her living room?

“Indeed so, Malinda Rae. Do you not offer homage to me?” asked the goddess incarnate standing before the fire still. “Do you not ask my blessings upon the fullness of the moon?”

The witch was still at a loss for words. Esmerelda broke the silence with a plaintive meow which caused Malinda to giggle. “I’m sorry. I’m just not very used to goddesses appearing in my home,” she said finally.

Bastet nodded, her slitted eyes betraying a kind spirit. “I know, though I suspect you will need to get used to it rather swiftly, my dear. That child who Osiris claimed on your steps left you with a charge, and I fear you accepted it.”

NaNoWriMo: Snowfall (Excerpt)

“Well don’t look at me. I didn’t take it in. I left it out there with him when I called nine-one-one.” Malinda frowned thoughtfully. She had left it, right? Esmerelda just sat there with that very haughty feline manner, and it drew Malinda to reach for the canvas bag. “I suppose I should see if there’s anything useful in it,” she said as she started to fiddle with the clasps.

“I wouldn’t do that unless you’re absolutely sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Malinda let out a startled cry, dropping the bag onto the floor and looking around her living room when she heard the voice. It was feminine, whispery and faint, like it was being heard above a strong wind, half carried away by it. “Who, who’s there?” she asked, her voice suddenly a bit worried.

NaNo Prep: Free Write

NaNo on Facebook gave us a prompt a few minutes ago to free write for 5 minutes. I’m supposed to be writing for thirty minutes a day, but probably won’t get that far before work, so this will likely be very short. I’ve created a new account on the NaNo website, so I can completely divorce myself from the previous appellation I was using after my breakup. It’s a very freeing thing for me, to completely remove all traces of that name from my world. The next step I need to take for that is a burning ritual, but that can be done on the next new moon. I think a new moon is a better time for such a ritual, since it signifies new beginnings to me.

I’ve been thinking about what I want to write this year for NaNoWriMo. I’m considering something in the world I started in last year, but I’ve decided that that world needs a -lot- of building before I can write in it effectively. I need to know more about it in order to expand the stories. It’s possible to make the single novel into a series, and I tried to leave the ending such that it led to a second novel, though I’m not certain I did so terribly well. Perhaps I’ll practice writing series’ of short stories this month, in preparation for a longer series of novels/novellas.

NaNoWriMo 2014 Preparations

Yes, I’m going to do it again. I’m going to be crazy enough to write 50,000 words (or more!) in 30 days. On top of that, my work schedule is more hectic. I’m full-time now, training five days a week starting very soon. Luckily, I’ll have a month to get myself in a habit of writing daily again, and probably more on my days off. Unless things change, those’ll be Tuesdays and Saturdays, which are good for me. It means I’ll have a day I can spend with Jason when he does have a day off, and a day which I can devote to long bursts of writing. Plus my schedule will now be set, which means I can get up and write before work, knowing exactly when I’ll be working. This is what I wanted, a stable schedule in order to have more regular time to write.

I still have no idea what I’m going to write, though. I haven’t even edited last year’s novel. It desperately needs it, honestly, but I’m not going to ‘cheat’ and use NaNo 2014 for that. It’s going to be all writing, something new. Maybe I’ll finally get to writing Thirty-Three Days into something real, or maybe I’ll start the second part of the novel which I started last year for NaNo. Or maybe I’ll rewrite the concept I started last October. I really, really enjoyed the concept, it just became really disjointed, and I think I can take the ideas and write them more concretely now that I’ve had some time to think on it.

Of course that brings me to the dilemma of what to do in October.

I don’t want to run the risk of basically writing all my ideas for NaNo 2014 in October, but I really need to get into a writing habit again, since it’s been a long time for me. I love writing, and I feel like I’m happier and healthier when I’m writing, but after a year almost of not writing I know I need to get back into the habit. I also need to learn how to work it into my daily/weekly schedule. I suppose I can use the month to work through a backlog of writing prompts, and that will help me get into the habit of writing both for a word-count and on a regular schedule. Both will be good for me.

—

I found myself wanting to read through some of last year’s novel, and I noticed something interesting. I didn’t remember a lot of it. I don’t know what that means, really, but there were a lot of details I didn’t remember whatsoever. I guess that says two things: first, that I really need to sit and read the story so I can edit it, and that a lot of that story came to me in flashes of pure inspiration, but didn’t stick with me. Is that a good thing? Maybe not. If it wasn’t memorable to me maybe it wasn’t memorable at all. Though realistically, it’s a rough draft. It’s a first draft, and by no means a finished novel. It needs a lot of work before it’s a finished novel. I haven’t even considered really publishing it somehow. I think it has the bones of a series, but that requires work I haven’t been able to put into it yet. Yet.

Twilight Garden Progress

Now that I’ve finally managed to pay for my Scrivener license, I have been able to keep writing on the novel I started during NaNoWriMo. I’m over 60k words now, with probably 2 chapters to finish. Then, it gets put away while I work on another story that’s been begging to be written for a couple years now. I’ve allowed one person to read the rough draft, though there are a few others I’m ready to give it to as well. I’m very anxious about it, honestly, because I feel like most of what I wrote is a pile of messy garbage, but I’m too close to it, I know that.

Now that I own the program, I’m using it to help me organize my poetry too. I’ve got a lot, and if I’m ever going to publish any of it, I need to be able to put it in collections. So that’s another project I’m going to be beginning in the coming weeks. I have a lot of writing projects planned, in fact, which is what I want to do. That, and knitting. But I talk about that elsewhere.

Winner Winner

As of today at around 2:30pm, I have written over 50,000 words. My novel is not complete, and I will keep writing until it is (that’s part of the deal I made with myself when I started this adventure) but I have officially won my first NaNoWriMo. After trying (not-so) seriously for 4 years. I’m so extremely proud of myself.

Several people have asked me where they can read the full text of the novel. I haven’t posted that anywhere yet. For one thing, 50k is a lot of text, and I don’t know how WordPress will handle that. Second, it’s not done, and I’m not sure I’m ready to post it. It needs editing. Really. This is the first time I’ve written anything that I didn’t edit as I went. It’s the first I’m I’ve written anything that I wouldn’t immediately submit. I wouldn’t offer this as a finished anything. It’s done, but certainly not finished – and it’s not even really done.

So I will post it to be read at some point, but for the moment I haven’t done that yet. As I edit sections probably, I’ll post them to be read. I won’t even worry about final editing before I do that, because I want other people’s opinions, not my own. I know this story is somewhat indulgent and likely droll, but it was my first attempt at writing anything substantial in -forever- so I really just wanted to get it written.

I’m going to go do something else for a bit. Knit. Cuddle my cat. Watch television. I might watch the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special again. And again. I’ll write more tomorrow I’m sure. I’m in the habit of it, and I still have more to say. But right now, I’m basking in the glory of such an immense accomplishment. I might even have a drink, before 5pm. Yeah, I just might.

NaNoWriMo Progress

I have reached 45,000 words today. I’m so incredibly close to winning NanoWriMo that I can taste victory, though I know the novel won’t be finished at that time. I still have several more chapters at least to write, and I just finished my 13th. That’s alright though, I’m going to keep writing until it is finished, and then enjoy the knowledge that I, Tania Allen, have written a freaking novel.

He took her around the waist then and lifted her down from the carriage, coming very close to the Princess for just a moment before he stepped back. “It is safe as long as I am with you,” he replied, a playful tone in his voice. He offered his arm to her then and she took it gladly. They walked towards a small gazebo in the center of the village and more people appeared from houses and work- buildings. As they reached the gazebo the Lord of Elves guided her to a seat and then took a place beside her. An older man with greying hair and beard approached, glancing to the Lord of Elves briefly before he returned his focus to Morgan. “Your Highness, you honor us with your company today,” said the man, obviously some sort of local authority figure.

Morgan found herself tongue tied at first, able only to smile, but then she extended her hand to the man, who bowed over it a little awkwardly as though he were unsure of himself. “It is my honor to be able to visit with you today,” said the Princess, smiling at the gathering group of men, women and children. “It is my delight that my schedule allows me to leave the palace to see those of you who might not get a chance to visit me there.” She glanced to Lord ElfLord as she spoke and he seemed proud of her, which bolstered her confidence. He stood then, standing a little apart from her, and spoke in his gentle tenor.

“Her Royal Highness does not have much time, but we wish to spare a few moments so that you can meet her and see with your own eyes that she is indeed returned to us,” he said.

That’s a little bit out of my last bit of writing. The story has definitely veered off book a bit, but not so much that I feel like it’s unfocused. I’m loving it, truly, and can’t wait to go back and edit, because I know there are parts that need fixing.

Post-NaNo To-Do

1. Copy poetry into Scrivener
2. Purchase Scrivener (with Winner’s discount!)
3. Continue writing daily. (Aiming for 30k a month total writing I think.)
4. Start submitting poetry/short stories to journals and/or magazines
5. Furiously knit hats for Nerd Wars dissertation

NaNoWriMo Week Three Goals

1. Continue writing every day, at least 1500 words (I’m nearly done my 50k and 1500 words will put me finished well before the 3oth.
2. Make a batch of oatmeal cookie dough.
3. Make a batch of muffin batter.
4. Put away Halloween decorations – into totes and into attic, not just in totes in the hallway
5. Water changes for the poor, neglected fishtanks.

NaNoWriMo Update

Only when he was certain the man was truly gone did he open the door again, walking out to the desk Della was sitting at. “Don’t worry about him. That’s my ex’s father. He’s a blowhard,” he said with a smile. “Why don’t you go take lunch, Della. I’ve got some things I need to handle, and I’ll be staying in the office a while.”

“Are you sure Mr. Morris? I can stay and help with whatever you need.”

He smiled. Oh, she wasn’t being very subtle. “I’m certain. Thank you Della, but I can manage on my own,” he replied, trying for subtlety even though it seemed lost on her. Maybe she was used to seducing her employers in order to keep her positions for a while, Kieran thought.

She pouted slightly, but hid it with a quick smile. “Alright. Have a good lunch Mr. Morris,” she said, gathering her purse and her bookbag and leaving the office.

He walked back into his office then, and closed the door. He looked at his phone, chuckling as he felt just a little nervous. He pushed the nerves aside though, and dialed Morgan’s number. It rang half a dozen times, then clicked into her voicemail. “Hi, you’ve reached Morgan’s phone. I’m probably busy right now, but leave a message and I’ll call you back soon as I can. Beeeeeeep.”

I’m over a third of the way through my days, and over 40% of the way through the 50k words needed to complete NaNo. I don’t think that 50k will finish my story, so I’m going to have to keep going until the story is told.

Already I’ve discovered a few things about my writing along the way. One of my protagonists is an unknowing antagonist, really. The character I thought was going to be the main antagonist is really just a minor player. Magic works oddly in the real world, so I can’t wait to see how it’s going to work now that we’ll get to see the other world.Men in bow-ties and pocket squares, and temps, are not to be trusted.

Also, I’ve learned that I can be disciplined enough to write 2k words every day. I’ve managed it almost every day so far. Or close to it. NaNoWriMo is a curious thing, because it ‘forces’ you to write a novel-length rough draft in far less time than most authors write their rough draft. If I can do this, then why the hell can’t I do this every other month of the year? I don’t have to finish a novel a month, but surely I can finish the few I have rattling around in my head, and make room for more.