W.I.P. A Little Late

 Happy Valentine's week!

I know I'm a few days late, being sick is the pits.

There are a few projects I've been trying to keep in the works. Today I'll post a snippet from NaNoWriMo 2020.

When they entered the house Katherine nearly gagged on the excess of dust hanging in the air.  They walked in further, and Rhys opened one of the windows. A breeze came in stirring up the dust in the unused building. Katherine sneezed.

“A bit dusty?”

Katherine looked over at her newly found brother. There was a sly smirk on his face. Casually putting her hands behind her back, she scooped up a bit of the dust. Walking over to him she gently blew it into his face, smiling. As he inhaled it, she stepped back, knowing what would come. As if on cue he sneezed.

“A bit dusty?” She asked scarcasticly.

Putting on his best fake smile he stepped forward, scooping up a handful of dust and walking towards her. The smile turned into a genuine grin when she moved away.

“No…” she started, backing away a memory flashed across her mind. “Rhys, don’t you dare . . .”

What have you been up to this week?

W.I.P. National Novel Writing Month

 

Welcome to November 2020!

Or, writing 50,000 in 30 days and trying to keep everything in order and have something coherent come out of it all.

I participate in National Novel Writing Month each year. Usually it’s where I can get thoughts down or other random ideas that have crossed my mind. This year I began trying to finish some chapters for a novel (the idea ran out) so I began another (which ran out). Now I am re-editing and re-writing some old pieces of work which still counts. So, here is a little tidbit of what I’ve been working on.

The day she went off to college was the best day of her life.

She was sad to leave behind friends, they were all sad to go their separate ways, but it was a new beginning. A new time to escape from their little town and move on to different things, to see what the world would become for each of them – graduation day was full of mixed feelings.

While everyone spent the weekend preparing for a summer full of fun, relaxation, expensive trips, or travelling, she spent it packing all of her belongings.

In spite of the mess she usually had around her, she’d gotten rid of everything that was absolutely necessary. All the small things that could be given away she sent on their way to others who would appreciate them better. By Sunday she had everything she needed to begin her new life away from home.

“Hey, why are you still up?”

She glanced up at her mom. For some reason she wasn’t finding it difficult to feel sad about leaving.

“Just making sure I have enough room for what I’m using tonight.”

“You do know that even college students come home on occasion,” her mom sat on the bed. “I’m trying to understand why you’re packing as though you’ll never come back.”

She sat down beside her mom.

“Yeah, I guess I could leave some stuff –”

Her mother shook her head, “No. You don’t have to explain Catherine. Sometimes we need to take that plunge, pack up, and move into what the world has to offer you.”

They shared a side hug.

“I guess I’m a little sad you’re moving a couple states away and not staying closer.”

Are you participating this year? If so leave a little blurb with what you’re writing.

W.I.P. NaNoWriMo Excerpts

Here's a little few snippets from what I did last month. Enjoy!

(Critiques are welcome!)

The following morning I was all packed.

I was fully ready to be off this vessel and back on dry land. Sure, I’d finally gotten my sea legs, but there was nothng that could beat walking on your own two feet without the threat of being heaved to.

“Does this mean you’re holding him to his word on this one?”

Mary came into the room. She had managed to keep herself, and three children packed and tidy the whole trip. What was it like to have that kind of stability in your life?

“Why not,” I folded a nighdress, trying not to cringe. I hated wearing those things. “We’ve at sea long enough. And there have been plenty of ports. I don’t know why he’s being so picky.”

She sat down I the chair by the desk.

“Perhaps he’s waiting for family?”

I took in a breath.

Did this mean she was confirming that he and she were – no.

“It would be interesting to finally meet his family.” I did my best to be vague. I didn’t want her assuming she was jealous of their relationship. I could get a husband risking everything for his wife. “See who his wife is.”

I put it out there, hoping she’d confirm it.

She laughed, “Well, I’m surprised he hasn’t told you.”

Please just end the misery!

“Told me what?”

Her eyes twinkled. That mischievous glance that I’d seen her give before.

W.I.P. National Novel Writing Month 2019

Well.

Back to the month of something in the air that drive us all to write over 50,000 words.

Here's a snippet of what I'm working on, how about you?

“Take those two away.”

The voice of the Erlkonig startled her. She turned. Watched as the Guard escorted the two offenders of magic away. She couldn’t call them parents at all – they hadn’t raised her. They hadn’t been there her entire life until they wanted something from her. Of her.

They tried to put up a fight. Without magic, they were nothing.

That could have been me.

The thought haunted her.

If she had been raised by these two, she would have wound up on the other side of the coin. Between light and dark she was already walking along the grey line. She knew going to the dark side wasn’t an option. Yet, there were also repercussions for going too far into the light.

Her parents had gone to both extremes.

When the sounds of protest from them faded, she was left among a crowd. While they were all friends, it was still too much.

The power the book had blasted had drawn out everyone within the town boundaries.

“Miss Smok?”

Her name cleared some of the daze in her eyes. Her mind was still foggy. There was a haze that was trying to clear.

Shaking away the cobwebs she saw the forest.

Across the field she watched someone emerge from the shadows of the trees. They stumbled slightly, as though the legs were unfamiliar on land or with the land. They stumbled a while before straightening and looking up. At her.

What are you up to this month? Leave a comment below.



EDIT: I posted this on Monday.....do I get points for being early?

WIP: NaNoWriMo

This year for National Novel Writing Month I've gone back to my roots. I've been fleshing out some of the scenes of a story that's been long in the making.

Here is a little excerpt for you. Always: comments and critiques are welcome.

“I feel a connection to this story Keef. This story intrigues me; I need to know how it will end.”

Keef sat back, disbelief and concern fighting for his attention.

“Ya think this story yer after is gonna end well?”

32 spread his fingers wide, “I can’t say a thing.”

They both leaned back in their wicker chairs. The soft hum of a fan overhead keeping time with their thoughts. The wind blew through the trees, bringing the smells of gardenia and coconut. From off the water the salt air stirred these together. It could have made a decent perfume. Birds called out to each other. A few critters ran amok among the foliage and branches of mangroves.

Keef sighed, then took a drink. He cleared his throat once, twice. A few more minutes slipped by.

“32,” Keef cleared his throat again, “what happens next?”

32 sighed, a soft release of breath that barely stirred the air. He’d been thinking the same thing since finding that first clue in the islands public library. A sort of note pressed into an old book of laws and regulations. A book no one thought to look at twice, or even once. His only reasoning for picking the book up was to prove a point to his neighbor. The note had been written almost a century before. The neat, precise hand could belong to anyone, there was no sign of a rushed hand.

What are you working on this month?

Book Nook: Day Late, Dollar Short

Firstly: I'm in the last few weeks of school.

Secondly: I'm doing NaNoWriMo.

Thirdly: This completely escaped my brain yesterday.

Fourthly: Well....I don't really have a fourthly, so we'll continue on to the actual blog.



.....



My brain is too fried this week.

Come back next week.

NaNoWriMo 2016

I've been competeing in this self inflicted tournment for a few years - it's down to the final two days.

While it's a struggle to write at leas 1,667 words a day (though I always strive for 2,000 because I am an overachiever), for 30 days, it's not all that impossible.

Writing is a wonderful art form - it's something that every single person on the planet has done for years. We've all written a story at some point.

With that in mind - writing a novel - which is the same as 50,000 words (in it's entirety) - it's not all that impossible.


Writing out - or writing in - is one of the best things that we can every do. Creativity and imagination in all its forms helps us cope with the world around us. It keeps us able to go through the mundane life of work and life.

Don't give up writing - don't give up the imagination - keep on writing out those stories. Continue working on those works of art because only you can do what you do.

We need you.

Be creative.

Be moved

Happy Post Halloween!

Or Happy All Saints Day!

And for those of you who are writers - Happy NaNoWriMo!

There are a few topics I could potentially cover in this weeks exciting addition to Fickle 'N Freelance Forever. After some debate (mostly with myself), I've decided to focus on writing.

At one point in your life you have sat down and written a short story. At one point, you have attempted to write a book. And at one point we all try our hand at novel writing. It's a fun exercise in using your imagination, using an idea from a random source, and a chance to finally use all of those SAT words we were all forced to memorize (or remember until the test, forget, then come back to years later).

First things first: What is NaNoWriMo?

    Na (National) No (Novel) Wri (Writing) Mo (Month)

Basically you write 50,000 words - which is the equivalent of writing a novel.

You can go over this number count, but it is the basic goal hundreds of thousands of people strive to meet each November.

NaNoWriMo - the link here will take you to the main page of the event. From here you can read more about the challenge, sign up and track your progress, read pep talks from actual published authors (James Patterson did a pep talk one year), and find a group close to you and meet with fellow writers.

There are always events going on in whichever region you sign up with. Each year there are at least four "Write-In's" round about where I live.

A "Write-In" is where a bunch of writers congregate in a specified location (sometimes Ikea), and sit in a large space (the cafeteria) and write for a few hours.

Writing with others is beneficial, as you can interact, bounce ideas off others, and help them with blocks or other writing things.

Not only is WriMo an excellent opportunity to meet fellow writers, but it's a way to set new boundaries for yourself. Try it - see what sort of stretchniess occurs when you attempt, and finish a 50,000 novel in the course of 30 days.

Now - 50,000 is a daunting number. The site breaks it down to a simple format.

    1,667 words a day X 30 days = 50,000

Simple, right?

I prefer to use 2,000 words a day - that way if  I fall behind I already have a few hundred in my arsenal (as getting sick each November is always in the works).

Have an idea you've been mulling around in your mind? Something interest you that you've always wanted to write about? Now's the time!

You are writing a FIRST draft here - it doesn't have to be professional. It doesn't have to have perfect grammar, perfect editing. It is a ROUGH draft.

The whole point of this is to get the idea down. Get in locked in place - save all the revisions and editing for December.


How about it? Care to join me on a writing journey this month?

I will be participating this year, if you want a friend: CatherineSilver