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.