NaNoWriMo Chronicles: Day 30

I WON

This was probably the most difficult NaNoWriMo for me. I generally don't have to go on 6,000+ word writing sprees, and certainly not on the last day. But this time I did. I missed so many days at the end there (hence my lack of blog posts). Thankfully, I have a family who pushes me to be better. 

I ended the story right in the middle of procrastinating a death, so I really can't write much else about what's going on. Except that I really, really don't want to kill off this character. I have a hard time killing off characters. Maybe I will keep them alive for this draft and make the call in later revisions. 

Anyway, thanks for reading along with this! And thank you to my family for helping me actually succeed! I can't believe it! 

NaNoWriMo Chronicles: Day 26

I'm right on schedule! Wee! The only thing is that I think this means I am definitely going to have to write more than 50,000 words to actually finish the novel. But it will be closer this time than last, I think! 

The novel itself is for some reason hard for me to push through right now, so I've started writing sort of skimming paragraphs until I find something that I'm more interested in writing about. So I will have to fix that in later revisions. But that's for later. ;)
Here's the last bit I wrote currently:

 He reached for something in the back, turned towards the passenger side door (where they entered), opened it, and threw the object. It flew smoothly and quickly through the air until it collided with the trash can they had previously hid behind. 

That's it! I am looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I hope you all are, too! 

NaNoWriMo Chronicles: Day 25

Who is still on track and has two thumbs? This girl! It was hard to catch up, but the struggle to get on track has made the average level of writing way more manageable. It's like some sort of mind trick I've done to myself. 
I didn't use writeordie.com, and I still managed to write enough words. But I do wonder if I could have maybe written them faster had I used it. This may be something I explore tomorrow. 

Story-wise, it has somewhat slowed down. But I think I'm about to lead into our big finale. The grand event, where reunions are had and tears are shed and the reader may be left feeling numb. 
But I'm not there yet. Here's where I am now:

“We make a group just of those who could be recognized,” Jonnie explained. “We make them a group – maybe with a couple of new people. They can be our first response, or last response, or something. They could be the ones doing the most risky stuff, maybe. Just a group that is most likely to get caught, giving the rest of us a better chance.”

Feel free to check out how I've been doing on the NaNoWriMo web site!  As for me, I'll write more again tomorrow. ;)

NaNoWriMo Chronicles: Day 24

I finally caught up! Wohoo! It's been challenging, particularly because I'm sick right now, but I did it! I'm even 95 words ahead of schedule. (A small feat, but still!)
On the note of being sick, though, I'm not really feeling up to writing much in this post. I will say that things are going strong in the novel, though it will need revisions. The main storyline is coming together nicely, though. 
I feel like almost all of my most recent text would be quite spoilery (if it were to ever get published), so here's a random bit of text (since you won't know the difference, anyway, right?)

Shadow looked around the group. Jonnie and Harker were hugging, with Harker's head buried in her sister's shoulder. She had suffered some loss, and Shadow didn't even think to ask (and twinge of guilt rising in her). Adrian and Dan were also close. They were among the few without tears, and sense of jaded acceptance in their disposition. There was one other in the group for which Shadow searched, and found her staring right at her.

That's all I've got! For those who are also writing: How are your novels coming along?

NaNoWriMo Chronicles: Day 23

Day 23, and I'm almost caught up to where I'm suppose to be! It's been a struggle to write double every day, so instead I'm catching up slowly. But given that I am now only a couple of hundred words behind, I should be able to easily catch up (and maybe get ahead?) tomorrow! 

My novel has had an interesting little detour, but I think it does make it have more action to it that it's been lacking. It's definitely had a different feel since I've started using writeordie.com, but maybe it's actually improved it! 

Here is a little bit of the last bit I've written:

"Just focus on me," he added, as she felt other hands hold onto her arms and legs. There was some sort of strap - a belt, perhaps - being used to bind her legs together. The tears started dripping down either side of her face more frequently, thought she struggled to fight it. Shadow listened to his words, and looked at him. She tried to get lost in his eyes, in their depth, read what was in the further corners of his mind through his eyes.

Welp, that's all I've got for now. Talk to you readers later! And for my fellow participants: May you be doing better than I right now! 

NaNoWriMo Chronicles: Day 21

So... I haven't updated in awhile, and in that time I've falling behind. I'm suppose to be at 35,000. I am slowly gaining, though, so there's still a chance that I'll be able to make it in time! 
To get myself to catch up in minimal time, I started using writeordie.com. It has been ridiculously helpful, and I wish I had started using it sooner. I've technically written the 2,300 words I wrote today in only an hour's time. I may even push myself to write faster tomorrow. 

My story is finally getting somewhere - more than halfway through! The first even in the snowball of the end of the story has begun, and I think things are only going to move faster and faster from this point forward. 
As always, though, I fear this year's novel will not be over at 50,000 words, which means my writing may continue to December. 

One of my last bits in the novel currently:

He looked still in pain. And not just physical pain, but emotional pain as well. His forehead wrinkled in distress, his lips pursing together like he is trying to stop some whimper from escaping. There was sorrow in his eyes. Shadow couldn't help but reach out and rub his shoulder, his back. He breathed a deep sigh and glimpsed up, giving a quick smile in gratitude once more.

NaNoWriMo Chronicles: Day 7 (The day I come up short)

It finally happened. Today, I didn't reach my word count goal. I am suppose to be at a minimum of 15,000 (though preferably more than that), and though I wrote later than usual I just couldn't do it.
The fact of it is that this is the first day I didn't write in the morning, and I decided didn't write during lunch. It threw me off, and I couldn't recover today. 
Thank goodness it's the weekend, during which I can power through and hopefully get even further ahead again. 

The story itself is feeling... well, superficial. It feels like it's lacking depth, in its words and its content. Like it's just slaving away towards some ultimate goal that's covered in too much fog. 
Maybe I'll fix it in revisions. 

I would normally post the last thing I wrote, but it's a super huge spoiler for if someone reads it some day, so instead, here's another paragraph that's close to the end:

Geoff grinned at them, a smile as large as anything else on him. Everyone else followed suite. Soon, the people that had looked at them with distrust were now welcoming them with open arms. Shadow found that she was surrounded by smiles and warm greetings. It felt so artificial. Shadow hated it.

That's all I've got for you now. Hopefully I'll have a happier update for you tomorrow!