Day 22: A Day of Reaching Minor Goals

Word Count: 1,409
Chapters Written: Chapter Fifteen, half of Chapter Sixteen
Edits Made: 1

I wrote a little bit today, which has brought my word count total up to 35,237. Less than 15,000 words to go! And I have about nine chapters left to write. =)

Day 21: A Day of Little Inspiration

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

No excuses aside from sheer exhaustion. Grr, bad sleep and grr, no inspiration!

Day 20: A Day of Difficult Writing

Word Count: 1,853
Chapters Written: Chapter Fourteen
Edits Made: 2

So I finally got some writing done! And I posted a new chapter here. =) It was difficult to write today's segment because Dorian again refused to act the way I wanted him to act, and Anberlin kept wanting to be a scared little pain in the behind rather than the tough girl I wanted her to be. Meh...

Day 19: A Day of Thoughtful Laziness

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

 Le sigh. Another day of busy living and no writing. I did, however, manage to organize the whole screenplay and novel correlation business. So now the whole plot is outlined, as is the screenplay, and all I have to do is finish writing. Easier said than done, right? Right.

Day 18: A Day of Constant Complications

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

Another day gone by that I haven't written. I'll try to write tomorrow but I have plans that will take up most of the day. Here's to tomorrow!

Day 17: A Day of Minor Success

Word Count: 865
Chapters Written: Chapter Thirteen
Edits Made: 1

Well it isn't the best I could do, but it's something, and that's what matters. I won't be updating for a few days so it looks like Saturday will be my catch up day. Wish me luck!

Day 16: A Day of No Inspiration

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

Well I have to admit that I haven't been feeling the inspiration to write, and unfortunately, this is the time where I really need to get cracking. NaNoWriMo is almost over and while I'm somewhat ahead, another day of no writing could really put me behind. Here's to tomorrow!

Day 15: A Day of Twists and Turns

Word Count: 2,334
Chapters Written: Chapter Twelve
Edits Made: 0

Today my characters all decided to take a turn in the wrong direction. They all decided they would act scared when they were supposed to be strong, act angry when they were supposed to be humorous, and act giddy when they were supposed to be evil. Then I had to fight with myself over whether or not to write out the outline version of the chapter, or write the much more interesting and fun version of the chapter, so I ended up writing a little bit of both, and that leaves me unhappy with the chapter altogether. At least I got a good chunk of writing done, which brings my current word total up to 31,110.

Day 14: A Day of Rebelling Villains

Word Count: 8,645
Chapters Written: Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven
Edits Made: 2

Today I made up for all the days I missed this week. I ran into a serious problem with Dorian's character who decided at the last moment that he didn't want to be the charismatic, charming but vicious villain I created him to be. He wanted to be a bit kooky, a bit mysterious, and he wanted to spend a lot of time checking out Anberlin like a library book. Yes, I went there. But only because Dorian is a bad influence and he made me.

Anyway, I updated my FictionPress account and posted chapter four of Lucidity today. Read on here. =)

Day 13: A Day of Little Sleep and No Work

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

Another day of no work done. I went to a party last night and stayed up until 6:30am playing games and talking, then had no access to a computer for the rest of the day. By the time I got home tonight, I was exhausted and simply could not stand to look at a computer without falling asleep. I'll catch up tomorrow!

Day 12: A Day of Forgetfulness

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

So today, it's my fault for leaving my jump drive at home when I knew I would be at work and could get some writing done. Since I won't be getting home until late, I can pretty much say no work will be done today. Bummer. Looks like I will have to catch up tomorrow. I hope I don't have any plans.

Day 11: A Day of A Different Kind of Work

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

Eh, so all that I mentioned before about using today to get ahead of the game, you guys can pretty much forget. I instead went shopping with my grandmother, bought a nifty new purse and coat and shoes, and finished the third book I was reading of The Hunger Games series. It's my fault for not writing when I had the time to. I lacked in inspiration the entire day and now I want to sew some new clothes for my wardrobe rather than write. Ladies and gentlemen, the trials and tribulations of a crafter. Le sigh.

Day 10: A Day of Editing

Word Count: 989
Chapters Written: Part of Six, Part of Ten
Edits Made: 1

Today I went back and did some editing because after a quick reread, I noticed some of the chapters were lacking in information and conflict. I realized trying to adapt what I had written into a screenplay would be much more difficult due to lack of conflict and dialogue. I have yet to begin working on the screenplay but it seems like it will be more work than I anticipated. Wish me luck!

Day 9: A Day of Uncalled For Exhaustion

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

Today I was exhausted and didn't manage to do anything other than think about how tired I was and beat myself up over how I should have at least tried to write. Tomorrow is a work day so maybe I'll get something written. If not tomorrow, I'll definitely be somewhere on Thursday. I hope everyone is doing well with their word counts! =)

Day 8: A Day of Flashbacks

Word Count: 902
Chapters Written: Chapter Nine, intro to Chapter Ten
Edits Made: 1

And so begins week number two of NaNoWriMo! I'm so excited because this year, I not only am where I'm supposed to be in terms of my total word count, but I've actually had time to write (for the most part) and craft. Last year I was so incredibly busy, I only managed to write the last three days of November, during which I managed to shell out 26,000 words, but mind you, I was trying to make up for lost time, and I wrote until my eyes couldn't stand to look at any type of light without hurting.

So far, my total word count is 19,142. I'm so close to the halfway point, and if I can make it to 25,000 words before this weekend, I'll be ecstatic. I'm hoping to get a good chunk of writing done Thursday because there's no classes, but I also have to convert the first few chapters of my story into the first act of my screenplay for my screenwriting class. Wish me luck! And good luck to everyone else!

Day 7: A Day of Expelling Laziness

Word Count: 10,214
Chapters Written: Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight
Edits Made: 3

I certainly caught up today! However, I'm becoming a little concerned with the variation of chapter lengths I'm writing. Some chapters are only a few paragraphs, others a few pages. I'm hoping this doesn't irritate anyone who reads the story once I post it on FictionPress. Which would be now. So if you'd like to read some of what I have so far, click here and read on! =)

Day 6: A Day of Music

Word Count: 1,144
Chapters Written: Prologue, Chapter Four, Chapter Five
Edits Made: 0

Today I rewrote some of the prologue, and wrote the flashback of Anberlin's mother's death. I also wrote her first encounter with the main villain, Dorian, which I was ecstatic to write. I love Dorian more than any other villain I've written. There's just something about him that makes him really nifty to me.

In Secret NaNo news, I finished my package for my partner! I sewed her a drawstring pouch in this beautiful green damask print with white ribbon. I also found a bunch of keychains from my collection to give to her, and stamped two notebooks and a bunch of envelopes to make stationery for her.

In other Secret NaNo news, we ran into a few problems, mainly regarding the fact that my organizing partner's messages never went through to half the participants, so I had to go through and re-partner everyone up who was on her list of participants. I felt really bad that it happened, but I'm hoping everyone will have time to create for their partners. I may end up making two boxes because one person was left out who I thought had a partner. Hopefully everything will work out.

Day 5: A Day of Catching Up

Word Count: 4,008
Chapters Written: Chapter Three
Edits Made: 2

I've caught up just a little bit, but this weekend I will still have to take care of the bulk of the word count I'm missing. Today's segment is about Anberlin and a flashback into how she got her first job and consequently her first real friendship, then how she got her current job as a chambermaid in a hotel. Everything is mostly meant to amuse, so for now it should be entertaining. Namely the fact that she knocked out two guys with a hardcover copy of Crime and Punishment. Talk about girl power.

My Favorite Scene, Yet To Be Written

A few weeks back, I agreed to review a person's story in exchange for a drawing of Anberlin and Dorian acting out what will be my favorite scene to write. This piece of work was created by artist and fellow author Naomi Chick. If you'd like to see a larger version, click on the picture.

Day 4: A Day of All Play and No Work

Word Count: 0
Chapters Written: None
Edits Made: 0

I have no excuses for why I didn't write today. I technically had a gap during which I could have shelled out a few hundred words, but I didn't. Instead, I had a wonderful time after all my classes ended, spent with a bunch of friends, and stayed out until two in the morning before crashing at their place for the rest of the night. One of the guys we were with is doing NaNoWriMo as well and he and I actually sat down together around three in the morning to try and write a few hundred words in a half hour, but ended up talking about his story and the mystery that evolves around men instead. It was quite entertaining, and this weekend I'm sure I'll be kicking myself for all the words I'll need to make up. Le sigh.

Day 3: A Day of Progress

Word Count: 1,342
Chapters Written: Chapter Two
Edits Made: 1

Once again I'm late updating, but I got a lot written today. I have yet to catch up, but I'm making my way there slowly. I'm hoping to catch up this weekend while I'm not working on Secret NaNo.

Today's segment introduces two of the three villains, Jax Lawrence and Phoenix Berkeley, and the waking world conflict that I'm developing to help my main character reach one of her goals. She wants to get her own art exhibit and Jax is presenting the opportunity for this to happen.

Tomorrow I will be very busy, and I don't know if I'll be able to update this or get much writing done. We'll see. I'm going to try my best. Thursday is my busiest day of the week, essentially me being booked from 9:25am to around 10pm. I will probably stay up late because I don't have anything to do on Friday until 1pm, so I might be able to catch up then depending on how tired I am.

Best of luck to everyone else!

Day 2: A Day of 3's

Word Count: 1,284
Chapters Written: Chapter One
Edits Made: 0

Today's segment is a dream sequence that introduces my main character, Anberlin, by her real name, Anna. It was a bit of a pain to write, but I haven't gone back to edit it yet. I'm hoping that once I do, the word count will increase.

In other news, the event I and iParadigm are organizing, Secret Nano, has begun officially. All the participants have been partnered up and informed of their partners, despite a very brutal resistance from the NaNoWriMo website, which didn't want to allow us to send out any NaNoMail or search for participants. What is Secret NaNo, you ask? Secret NaNo is an event in which participants must send their partner a box of seven gifts, costing up to ten dollars, that relates to their partner's story in some way.

For example, if someone planned to write a story about zombies, their partner, without telling them who they are, would create a box full of goodies related to zombies, horror, and destruction. This was intended to appeal to the NaNoites who had a crafty side that complemented their literary side. We hope to do this again next year as we got a very surprising turn-out this year. Hopefully no kinks will come up and I sincerely wish everyone sends their partner a package. It would be awful to receive one and not send one. Even sending a package late is better than not sending one at all.

Finally, today I received a lovely letter from Kathelyne, who hails from Australia. Her letter will definitely help me create a portion of Morpheus's City in the Demos Oneiron, if not inspire a character who will exist there. I'll add a post later of all the letters and postcards I've received up to now, likely tomorrow.

Here's to tomorrow, a day of catching up!

Day 1: A Day of Semi-Epic Failure

Word Count: 370

Chapters Written: Prologue

Edits Made: 3

So this update is late, but I wrote what counts as the prologue of the story. It's not terribly long, but it works and I don't want to bog it down with unnecessary details. I went back several times to edit it and make sure it read well, and so far it's good enough for the first day of writing. 

Let me know what you guys think of this:

The sky was black above the fields and hilltops of the landscape that never 
seemed to end. But, on occasion, a flash of white would dive from very high up, 
swoop along the bloodied meadow stretching miles and miles around, and disappear 
within the carnage that was the battlefield of the Demos Oneiron. Bodies 
littered the once clean, live space between two lines of hills, home now only to 
death and decomposition. The war was brutal and seemed as unending as the ground 
from which deadened weeds and trees, once living to bear fruits such as 
pomegranates, now disintegrated from the fires started by the warriors to flush 
out their enemies. 

From above, a creature with white wings sprouting from a pale human form 
descended upon his enemy, a black-winged man with similar features and 
blood-drenched chestnut hair. The two brawled violently, aiming claws and swords 
and teeth at appendages and limbs and arteries. The white-winged creature tried 
his hardest, but his opponent's hunger for blood drove him to victory. The 
black-winged man sliced off his enemy's head with one vicious swing, sending the 
skull arcing across the field and to the feet of Dorian Banning.

Dorian, dressed in a pair of grey pinstripe pants and a damask vest, smiled as 
he rolled up the billowy white sleeves of his shirt and bent down to retrieve 
the head at his feet. The smile on his face never left, even as he assessed the 
bleeding head sullying his once clean black shoes, black globs of blood plopping 
onto the leather and laces. He made a noise in his throat at the head, amused by 
the twisted expression on the face, and then looked at it with a sudden 
disinterest. With a shrug, he dropped the head and swiftly kicked it back in the 
direction of the bloodied meadow. 

He reached his hand up and removed his fedora, bringing it to his chest while 
bowing to the black-winged man in the sky several yards away. It was a mocking 
gesture that brought a snarl to the man's lips, but Dorian merely chuckled and 
faded away as a sword came rocketing toward him and burrowed itself into the 
dirt where he once stood.

Meet Anberlin. Again.

I would like for all of you to reacquaint yourselves with Anberlin, our heroine. This is Anberlin Version 02. Anberlin, introduce yourself to everyone, a little more in-depth this time.

Name: Anberlin Maresca
Age: 20
Occupation: Night shift hotel chambermaid, unofficial barista at Street Smart Books
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Band: Peeps Hearts Wasabi (sounds like what would happen if Radiohead and The Pigeon Detectives joined together)
Collects: crumpled pieces of paper, buttons, keys
Hair: reddish-brown
Eyes: brown
Education: currently a third-year student in college
Favorite Food: Jelly beans

Kindly thank holyspigot for this fantastic work of art!

Meet Dorian

Why hello everyone! Guess who today's special guest is? I'd like for you to become acquainted with our villain, Dorian Banning. This is Dorian version 01, everybody. Dorian, please be nice to our followers.

Followers, kindly thank ScarletFrost for providing us with this work of art.

No, Dorian, I'm not complimenting your looks. *rolls eyes* Silly Dorian is a bit egotistical.

Meet Anberlin

Hello all! I have someone very special I'd like for you to meet. Her name is Anberlin Maresca and she just so happens to be the heroine of my story. Everybody, meet Anberlin Version 01.

Anberlin, meet everybody.

The Mandatory Introduction

Hello you! *points* Yes, you there, sitting in front of your computer screen with the weird look on your face. Welcome to my blog dedicated solely to NaNoWriMo. What is NaNoWriMo, you ask? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, a month of literary abandon known as November, or, the Month of Mass Turkey Consumption.

During this month, the goal of each participant is to sit their butts down and scrawl, type, carve, or dictate a 50,000 word novel that will eventually be submitted to the NaNoWriMo website for some such award and the satisfaction that said participant will have shelled out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Sounds like a lot of work, yes? Well you're write. Er, right. Ahem. So enough talk about what NaNoWriMo is. Onto more about this blog!

This blog will cover the thirty days of writing that NaNoWriMo 2010 encompasses. I will post word counts, fun facts, helpful tips and links, character/banner/cover art, and the occasional blurb so you can see how horrendous--er, fabulous--my writing is. Let us begin with my logline, a.k.a. synopsis:

A dark fantasy in which an artist gets sucked into the Greek Land of Dreams and must confront her tragic past in the face of a supernatural force threatening world destruction.

Interested? I certainly hope so. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write a 30-words-or-less logline? Pfft.