#calmnowrimo

[drabbleitout]

CalmNoWriMo Intro

Absolutely jumping on this brilliant idea from @winterandwords as I'm desperate to get back into writing and into the TB world!

Time Borrowed WIP Intro Here

Writing Goal

Focus on hitting important plot points in my chapters and getting them to flow

Doing the most work on the first & last 3 chapters

Not setting a certain word goal

Shooting for 4 chapters a week

I haven't worked on writing nearly all year and I want to use this as an opportunity to try and get back into the swing of things, dig into this draft, and get back into the writeblr community!

Draft 1 Word Count: 135.058 Draft 1 Chapter Count: 25

Self Care Goal

Stop doom scrolling

Read more!!

Set a bedtime!

I also wish all the best to everyone else out there partaking in NaNoWrimo and CalmNoWriMo! I'm also going to be updating my progress as I go — no matter how slow! I'd also like to send out more asks and interactions to fellow writers, regardless of participation, just to get back in the community!!

[indecentpause]

woke up at 1:00 am for no reason and zoned out watching teenage mutant ninja turtles, couldn't get back to sleep, instead did 1k-ish words on the Puzzle rewrite, and will get more in if I can't get a nap :')

Josselin spends the next few day holed up in his room. He barely speaks to you, and when it does, it’s in short, clipped, nervous phrases. You try to tell yourself he’s just working on the case, but he seemed to really value your opinion at the station, and you’d hoped it meant a connection of some kind. Someone who likes you. Someone who respects and values your opinions. Someone who values you. Someone who cares. But now he only comes out for water and the bathroom. You haven’t seen him eat and he barely showers. The cats are in the room with him, and he keeps his doors closed except for when they’re eating. They must have another litter box in there. So you don’t even have little Familiar’s energetic company. He doesn’t ask you to look at anything and he doesn’t ask your opinion. You don’t know the ins and outs of drug dealing, and you kind of don’t want to, but you do know what addiction and overdose look like. You know what signs to look for. He doesn’t even ask you about that. And you feel like shit for worrying about it, when a twenty year old woman is dead and nobody knows why. You think you have problems? Shut up, Meara.

General taglist:  @ohsugarfoot @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athenswrites @kaiusvnoir @magic-is-something-we-create @idreamonpaper

Puzzle taglist: @winterandwords

[literarynecromancy]

Calm NaNo Goal: Finish the first chapter at all costs (っ◔◡◔)っ❤

That being said - I'm literally fighting for my life over here as I am in the middle of med-switching. Which is always fun, yaknow? That and I've realized very, very quickly that I have a BAD tense problem in my grammar and it's driving me crazy.

===============================================

Creaky caravans slowly being met with the sound of grinding gears was a sign that the travelers in said caravans were approaching their destination. Freshly-obtained wounds had made them all weary, and the growing cacophony meant that their safety was assured for the remainder of the journey. They all could rest and it would be met with nothing more than the steadily growing sound of heavy machinery and the landscape changing from the sparse, dead trees to none at all. Even the very few fauna that could usually be spotted were nowhere to be found. There was no need for anyone to keep watch alongside the barebone hunks of metal and light that served as their navigators either. Pure peace - the headaches would more than surely be worth it.

Those who lived within the steadily-approaching walls of the towering city and left for trade or change of scenery always told tales of their assured safety. Life within the city being one assured of order and justice, and the lack of illness that was often seen elsewhere was nonexistent. Especially as they climbed the ladder of success and advanced upwards - level by level - improving their life as they went along and witnessing innovation at it’s absolute finest amongst it all. It was something that these travelers were looking forward to observing as screechy wheels moved them along a beat and broken road. Only patched in parts that were necessary for those who could not afford something like the Angelia Line. Or in their case - those who preferred traveling via road. The unwavering dawn meant that those in the caravans who were conscious could watch their approach. The din of sound having come so much sooner than the silhouette of the actual city - which showed through shrouds of smoke only when the sun was high enough itself to light up the skyline behind it. Gaining some impressed noises from anyone that hadn’t been near before. It was just a dot on the horizon - but the fact that it was still showing from so far was enough to invoke the awe of those who had only heard stories of the enormous powerhouse in the southeastern peninsula. The temporary head pounding the last thing on their minds as that dot grew in size with every passing hour - then every passing minute.

[backburnerdio]

CalmNoWriMo Update #1

Days: 1-4 Progress: Slow, but still progress Focus: Decent

Patch Notes:

Combined Ch 2 & Ch 3

Surveyed progress on each chapter & created summaries

Chapters 1-4 & 23-25 need a complete overhaul

Marked sections that can be omitted

Ch 13 & 24 have alternative endings -it's time to choose!

Section to Share:

cw: gun violence One of them got a hold of Garnet, taking two to drag him to the floor. They eagerly began pummeling him, kicking at his head and middle.

"Leave him alone!" Beau vaulted over servers, their attention drawn and weapons raised. A bullet grazed along the side of his head, arm blocking more from eating into his chest and neck. But he didn't slow down. He tackled the largest of the members, arm hooking about their throat, throwing his weight to topple them. His boots screamed against the cement floor, scrambling to get himself on top of them. He elbowed their weapon away, driving a fist across their face.

Garnet grabbed the ankle of another, yanking him off their feet with enough force the back of their head struck the ground.

"He has a Synthetic with him. Neutralize them both."  A warped command on their comms. Beau looked up, finding the gunner emerging from the stairs was different. Heavier. Something like the armor Ives wore in dangerous situations. They lifted their rifle, slinging the thick barrel attachment into a defensive position –aimed for Garnet.

Beau shoved himself up, scrambling for balance, hands catching him as he threw himself forwards.

"Beau!"

He gripped the side of a server rack, yanking the bolts from the floor with one solid tug, and threw it. There was the thunk of the grenade launcher and an explosion of shrapnel and smoke. Beau threaded himself through the hole of the missing rack, audios buzzing feedback as he rushed through the smoke. Drawing Garnet's gun from his plackart, he emerged from the smoke before it could clear. On the gunman's right. Glaring. Pistol pressed to the slot in their helmet beside their ear.

"Drop your weapon!" He ordered loudly, glaring at the man through his visor. He slowly looked over at Beau, a moment of shock before turning his uzi and holding down the trigger. Beau slid under the arc of shots. HUD mapping the direction of bullets as they left the barrel. He slid around for the stairs, keeping the line of fire away from Garnet, before springing at the gunman. Beau grabbed their vest, their armored arms driving down to knock his grip free. He ducked under a swipe of their gun, grabbing the barrel of the grenade launcher before driving a kick into their side.

They sailed to the foot of the stairs, gun dropped, collapsing into three other gunmen.

"Beau, get down—!"

The blast drowned Garnet out. Audios screeching harshly before going silent. Beau's HUD cut in and out, code rolling in an attempt to sync information to visuals. It was several minutes before his optics connected, filled with static. He saw the ground rushing up to meet him before his vision went out.

Connection Lost Loading . . . System Error: tn_status_io_timeout_

[backburnerdio]

CalmNoWriMo Update #2

Days: 5-11 Progress: Somehow slower??? Focus: Horrible, really

Patch Notes:

Split Ch 22 to give readers a breather

Fixed Ch 13, 23, & 24

Rewrote Ch 21 to accommodate new plot point

This week was really tough to keep going mostly due to my day job. It took a lot of coffee. But I think I'm slowly getting over my fear of coming back to this wip and starting to love it again!

Section to Share:

"Thank you for what?" Garnet blearily skewed his face.

"For sticking with Ives, standing up for him. If you hadn't listened to him, given him a chance, we may have never found Ryker."

"I dunno what you're talking about. Ives' job is to get information. He had it, I just put it to use."

"No, Ives shared with me what happened in the locker room, when Royston wouldn't listen to him." Beau smiled when Garnet looked away with a mutter. "But you did. You listened to him –when you didn't have to."

"Look, that jagoff Royston is always pissin' me off. Who the fuck does he think he is? Ives isn't on his squad anymore. Technically, he's on mine. I was the acting C.O."

"So, you were protecting Ives?"

"Yeah –no, wait. No! I was keeping Royston from thinking he can just come in and do whatever he pleases just because Ryker isn't here."

"Right," Beau stretched out in the booth.

"The important thing was finding Ryker, and we did that."

"Because you helped Ives, you trusted him." There wasn't a response to this. Beau continued to stare, tilting his head trying to see into Garnet's face. He became suddenly fixated with the surface of the table, refusing to look up. "You didn't have to listen to him. You didn't have to stand up for him either. With Royston. With orders. You told Thatcher you gave Ives orders to go down to the basement. Ives shared his log with me. You never gave Ives any orders."

Garnet's cheeks expanded with air, holding it for a moment before releasing it on a sigh.

"Yeah, okay. Alright? Yeah. You got me." He smeared at his face, tipping his head back. "Happy?"

"Already was when I saw you helping Ives."

"Oh my God, let it go," Garnet massaged his brow, hiding his face.