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NANOWRIMO 2016: DAY XX 

Did I really forget to post this here? I’m horrible! But look at that panic-fueled ending. 

Nailed it.

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NaNoWriMo 2016: Day 28

I’m going to try my best to finish tonight. I spent my entire Thanksgiving break catching up and now I only have about 4k words left. Overtime at work could start at any minute though, and I don’t want to get this close to the end just to lose all my time.

So, tonight we finish!

Random excerpt:

Maya whirled around and let out a sudden, loud groan. “I knew it.” Her first night unsupervised and the little gremlin had reappeared. “How many times do I have to beat you up before you take the hint and leave?”

“I don’t mind,” it said with its sharp-toothed grin as it gazed up at her.

“You… don’t? I stabbed you in the head.”

“I recover quickly,” it said with confidence. “You used to do much worse before. I enjoyed it, master.”

“Master?” she echoed. “I used to? You’re clearly confusing me with someone else.”

“There is no doubt you are our master,” it insisted. “No doubt at all. We’ve been watching. We know it’s you. You can’t escape again.”

Maya took a quick step backwards. “Okay, lets just calm down. Do you realize how threatening that sounds? You can’t call someone your master and then proceed to threaten them. I’m pretty sure that’s not how that whole system works.”

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NaNoWriMo 2016: Day 26

I don’t know how to stay focused. Why is this so hard? Oh yeah, because Pokemon came out this month. How dare it. And I’ve been working overtime again this month. Butts.

Words so far today: 1675 Words remaining: a ton

Excerpt:

“Oh! I’ve gotta write this down.” She slipped her hand away and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to dig through her bag for the ratty journal she carried. She whipped out a pen and began to write.

“Monday the 31st: 7:34pm @ route home. Stepped into their HQ. Got away.”

“Their HQ?” the man read over her shoulder, and she whirled away to hide the page from him.

“It’s rude to read over someone’s shoulder,” she mumbled.

“It’s rude to get someone’s help without explaining the situation,” he shot back.

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

The man turned away and ran his fingers harshly through his hair, smoothing it back from his face. “Then I guess I’ll be on my way.”

He turned, only to pause as the girl’s hand reached out and caught the back of his shirt. He glanced over his shoulder. “Tell me what’s going on.”

She stared down at her journal, still holding it open with her free hand. “I don’t even know what’s going on. It's a little scary.”

“You don’t sound very scared.”

“I’m not good with emotion.” She blinked up at him again, her large, black eyes boring into him. He squirmed uncomfortably.

“Did anyone ever tell you you look like a serial killer?”

Despite his words, he started walking again, fighting the urge to smack her hand away from his shirt. It’d just been ironed.

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NaNoWriMo 2016: Day 6

NaNoWriMo is back again! And once again, I have signed up for it. Also once again, I find myself immediately behind. But that’s okay! I’ll stubbornly catch up eventually.

Must... ignore... sleepiness...

Wish... I didn’t... work so much...

For now, enjoy the synopsis of this year’s novel! (yes, I’m starting another new one. That makes 4 WIPs and 1 in planning, I think).

”People can't control what they look like, and they certainly can't help it if their face or awkward smiles remind of something entirely different. Say, a certain monster whose disappearance still haunts and troubles its many abandoned servants.

When one especially loyal servant stumbles across a girl whose eerie attempts at a smile look strikingly familiar, the girl finds herself with a fan club she'd much rather shake off. But these creatures have been seeking their master for far too long to be put off by the fact that what they have now appears to simply be a regular human girl.

As they continue to persistently follow the girl, others become aware of the claims of who she really is. With the growth of her spotlight status and the uprising of strange demands for her future, she takes action to deter their motives in the only way she can -- by claiming she has a fiance.“

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I’m going to write about this someday.

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When people read my books in front of me.

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Chapter 33. 69,755 words.

I just killed a main character, and it feels real bad.

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Chugging along!

“Get back inside!” she shouted, shoving her hand against his chest.

He staggered back toward the doorway, eyes bulging. “But what about-”

“I’m fine!” she shouted, and leapt down the flight of stairs from the porch. The momentum of the leap slammed her fist into the head of a furred monster who’d charged them, bowling it over. It gagged as her foot collided with its throat, and then lay still. “Stay inside!” She had turned to look toward him as she spoke, and instantly regretted it.

She’d never seen such horror in his eyes.

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Looking over my planning documents and I see this line:

"Haha, I think my... my guts are spilling out. Gross, right?" 

Man. Someone’s in trouble, and that scene’s coming up.

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Almost to the point where my edits rejoin with the originally written story. Then new content can begin! Finally!!

The fork dropped to the plate, and she realized her eyes were stinging. When she looked up, he could see them glisten oddly in the darkness.

“K-Karen?”

She was crying.

He stiffened, unsure, and then reached out slowly. Without thinking, he’d pulled her into his arms and held her tight. He expected her to pull away, to flinch and push from him, but she didn’t. He felt her arms slide around his back and grip at his shirt, her face pressing wet tears into his chest.

��Today we…” Her voice came out in a weak rattle. “...we were in a lot of trouble, weren’t we? I thought he was… gonna cut through my neck. It felt like I was coming apart. If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve...”

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Signed a lot of books tonight and it feels so surreal... Thank you!!

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me: sometimes I wish I'd broken a bone

me: I want to be able to write about it accurately

coworker: are your characters going to get into that kinda trouble?

me: ...

me: ...

me: is that a real question

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Working again! Returning to a story I started two years ago and revamping a lot of things. The part I just changed requires everything after it to be re-written. Oops.

That’s what happens when you take such a long break between working on a story. You rethink things and make a lot of changes!

No word counts because these are weird edits and additions, but here’s part of a new chunk.

Excerpt:

“What are you doing?” he grumbled. “Let go of-”

Then he felt it. She was shivering against him, her body wracked by heavy, uneven sobs. Cautiously, his arms wrapped back around her, but his movement was stiff and awkward. His head turned to the side, staring away into the gloom of the alley.

“Listen, it’s okay. I know you didn’t let it happen. I’m not mad.”

“I’m never going to…” she choked through her sobs. “...be able to face him again.”

For a second Rhyas was hit with the urge to shove her away. She wasn’t crying for him? It pissed him off.

“He was going to… to train me. We could’ve…” ‘Gotten closer.’

The last words echoed in his head, and Rhyas rolled his eyes in irritation. “I’ll train you,” he promised gruffly. “You don’t need him. Family bonds? Don’t make me laugh. You saw how easily he dismissed you to do what he wanted. He didn’t even hear you out.”

He realized her crying seemed to be growing louder and decided to be quiet. 

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NaNoWriMo 2015: Day 30

I finished! I slacked a ton but I buckled in at the end and took advantage of the holiday and time off work. Now I have two half finished stories to work on in my spare time, without the pressure of a deadline. I think that might go better. P:

Words today: 1,950 (includes 29-30th’s) Today’s par: 50,000 Total words: 50,412

Excerpt:

“Don’t move,” she whispered again, catching Ellie before she could even begin to pull away. “Stay still and close your eyes. Don’t move. Don’t look.”

“Don’t look at what?” Ellie stammered, her eyes wide as she gazed at the elaborate light show. It grew brighter, blindingly lighting up the dark forest.

But she managed to see something splash against the ground at her aunt’s feet. She caught sight of a glint of metal protruding through her aunt’s stomach. She saw the trickle of red running from her aunt’s parted lips. And she saw the shadow looming behind her with its malicious grin.

Then all she saw was blackness.

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NaNoWriMo 2015: Day 24

First update post of 2015. Better late than never...?

I’ve had an extremely hard time focusing this year! I even started one novel, got to around 15k words, and then lost interest in the main character and stopped. I decided today to switch it up and jump back in. That’s probably why I haven’t posted excerpts either. Just wasn’t feeling it.

Well, today the new novel starts! Or rather, it continues. It’s one I’d started before... But regardless, here’s an excerpt to celebrate!

Words today: 8,026 Today’s par: 40,000 Total words: 23,234

There are many things you don’t know, that you haven’t been told. We were waiting until you were older. You’re still young, too young.”

“What…?”

Briefly, Amelia looked pained. She rose, releasing the girl’s shoulders, and turned away once more. “Come, we can talk as we go.”

Will I make it? We’ll see!

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I am writing a tiny bit every day, but not often enough to make a post about. But, I’ll throw up a little status update today! Er, tonight. It’s almost 3am.

Words today: ~2,078 Total words: 26,069

Excerpt:

The jaguar turned toward him for the first time since it’d knocked him to the ground. It paused, glanced around, and then stepped into the river. Barely a second later, it’d swatted a good sized fish onto the shore near his feet.

He stared at it disdainfully. “…I don’t eat raw meat. I’m not a savage.”

It snorted and gave him another impatient eye roll. They’d since passed into a more wooded area, and it trotted over and grabbed a large fallen branch between its jaws, which it proceeded to crush with zero effort. It piled the wood together and leaned down so close that its snout nearly touched it.

Its jaw moved, and the demon heard a low, familiar sound that made chills run down his spine. It was a sound he hadn’t heard from another creature in a long, long time. He took a cautious step back, his body growing tense as the air around them seemed to grow heavy. The cat exhaled slowly, and a blue fire burst up around the branches, charring the wood in an instant. It sat back then, tail curled around its feet and eyes watching him expectantly.

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Exhaustion finally wins, but I got some work done beforehand! In total, I’m already further than where I got in last year’s NaNoWriMo (slightly embarrassing).

Words today: 3,051

Excerpt:

“Can’t exactly go wandering around anyway, can you?” His deep voice oozed triumph. “And even without the st… stains, you look like a recluse freak with that hair.”

“Yeah?” she snapped, her hand swatting him over the head. “And what’s with that white color you’ve got? They let you dye your hair in that insane asylum? And visit the tanning salon? …hey. H-hey! Open your eyes!”

She slapped him again and the demon jolted. His briefly limp grip latched back onto her ankle. “What the hell?!”

“…just making sure you didn’t die,” she sighed, sitting crouched beside him. She glanced him over, then surveyed the area once more. “Do you know where we are?”

“There’s a… town, several miles further down. It’s a shithole. They got… back-alley doctors, if you want a fix-me-up.”

“…I don’t,” Kira grumbled.

“Well I do. Take me there.”

She stared down at him blankly. “…excuse me?”

“Take me there.” His lips stretched into a tired, but sly grin. “…or are you gonna live with the fact that you murdered someone?”

“I wouldn’t call you someone,” she grumbled, but she knew he’d gotten her. She couldn’t live with any more guilt. “…can you even stand?”

“Nope,” he replied flatly. The embarrassment had turned into another form of torment, making him much less reluctant to admit it.

Rolling her eyes, the girl caved to his whims instantly. She leaned down, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and hauled him to his feet. “You’re heavy.”

“It’s called muscle. Look it up sometime, skeleton.”

“Funny…” she mused. “I seem to have beaten your ass a few times already without it.”

That shut him up, and at last she was able to proceed with some quiet.