Interim (Rain's Nano)

[♥ Rain]

Passed 30k.

My 30kth word was, ironically, "past."

And you know what? I still have an MC to introduce. I just started with my second. ...ahaha. @__@ I dunno. I think I can keep up this pace of 3k a day pretty well. It's encouraging. I dunno how long my plot will last, but well, I'm not going to worry about it. I know it will pass 50k. If it ends before I reach 80k, then I'll find something else to write. But I have very high hopes that it won't. I'm sort of verbose. xD

And so. I did 4 minute word wars against myself. Seeing how much I could write. And I sort of impressed myself because I was writing over 50 WPM pretty consistantly. So I ended up with 2.3k in 44 minutes of writing. But it took over an hour, because there were breaks in between the wars, but I think that kept me fresh. It was good for me. I know I can write in small doses, particularly when I'm writing something interesting. And I finally got to an intersting part.

Yayyyyy 32k. =D Heading for 35k tomorrow. I'll finish 50k earlier than last year. That's encouraging. I was only writing an average of 2732 words a day last year. I want to up it and keep it at a steady 3k this year, at least. That's good enough for me.

[♥ Rain]

I hit 38k tonight. Heading into the fourties tomorrow. Into my fifth chapter as well. My chapters are always (always) long. Longest so far is only 10k, though. Shortest is my prologue, which is 2k. So. Um. I dunno.

I'm awesomely exited. I'm finally starting to edge into the fun part and I have bookworm characters! And a humongous library! And... ummm.. ...an alternate universe that I'm trying to make the characters figure out for me!

I'm having more fun progressively. As I'm still setting up and haven't introduced my third main character yet, though this baby needs a ton of editing and stuff, the end product of this first draft will be huge. I doubt things will start to go too much faster, really, so. Um. Here's to 80k by the end of the month and we'll see how far that takes me. xD

[♥ Rain]

I'm halfway done. Over halfway done. 41k, yo. >3> I'm so proud of myself. I still need to introduce that dratted third character. I have too many settings and needless sideplots and and too wordy. But it's Nano. Isn't that the point? If I took out all this, I'd be missing out on some character development and stuff. I know some of it I won't keep, because even for character development, it's pointless. But some of it is good and I think I might keep it. After all, all books are just a series of events. So. Um. 80k here I come.

I so wasn't inspired today. xD Haven't been inspired very much this year. But. Um. Here's to hoping it's just writer's block and I can force my way out of it. =D And of course, here's to hoping that I'll actually think what I wrote was brilliant a few months from now.

[♥ Rain]

November 16th. I got 50k today. =) Pretty close to it as my finishing number, too. And I had a really thoughtful scene right as I finished up.

My 50kth word is "living" which wasn't planned at all and is actually part of "living room" but it sounds really cool as it is.

And yes. Three days earlier than last year, if I'm not mistaken. And I'm finding that this Nano procrastination really does help get things done!

So far, our kitchen has never looked cleaner (it's messy, but you can see most of the counter), I have started a project I had never thought I'd start, and I have started formatting about three books. AT ONCE. It's great! I love this time of the year.

>__> Can't wait until it's Christmas, though. Then this writing junk will be over and my brain could fizzle out like it's begging me to do. Cuz' I have a plot, no problem, but there are massive holes in the plot that make me think a lot more than normal and it's driving me crazy. :3

I have a prediction, though, that the speed of my novel will begin to accelerate. A lot. >D

I just wish it was steampunk. But it's not. Alas, no airships for Rain-chan.

[Shadaras]

*glomps Rain* =D ..was wondering when you'd cross the 'finish' line. And 'living' is indeed a cool 50,000th word. I actually forget what mine is at the moment and am too lazy to check. Probably a name. ((I went and checked. Phoenix.)) And yeah. Whatever. xD ..yay, go Rain-chan! You're going for 80k, right? Which is more or less where I am right now. Which means that I really should go write and hit that. So yeah. xD

[♥ Rain]

Nov 16, 2008 22:10:35 GMT -5 Shadaras said:

*glomps Rain* =D ..was wondering when you'd cross the 'finish' line. And 'living' is indeed a cool 50,000th word. I actually forget what mine is at the moment and am too lazy to check. Probably a name. ((I went and checked. Phoenix.)) And yeah. Whatever. xD ..yay, go Rain-chan! You're going for 80k, right? Which is more or less where I am right now. Which means that I really should go write and hit that. So yeah. xD

^__^ Yes, I am going for 80k. Thank you muchly Shade. Perhaps I can actually have the guts and time to race you next year. XD I doubt it.

Good luck on your goal too. ....were you only going for 100k?

[Shadaras]

Nov 17, 2008 10:40:39 GMT -5 ♥ Rain said:

Nov 16, 2008 22:10:35 GMT -5 Shadaras said:

*glomps Rain* =D ..was wondering when you'd cross the 'finish' line. And 'living' is indeed a cool 50,000th word. I actually forget what mine is at the moment and am too lazy to check. Probably a name. ((I went and checked. Phoenix.)) And yeah. Whatever. xD ..yay, go Rain-chan! You're going for 80k, right? Which is more or less where I am right now. Which means that I really should go write and hit that. So yeah. xD

^__^ Yes, I am going for 80k. Thank you muchly Shade. Perhaps I can actually have the guts and time to race you next year. XD I doubt it.

Good luck on your goal too. ....were you only going for 100k?

xD ..perhaps next year I won't be quite so crazy as I have been this year.

Yeah. 100k by the 20th, so that I have actual free time before my mom's birthday and Thanksgiving and stuff. *shrug* ..I'll keep going after that, most likely, just not at a crazy rate.

[♥ Xivvy]

You know, Shade, there is a point where your passion to write becomes actually nauseating ...

... then again, maybe I'm just jealous that I couldn't hit 100k this year ><

[Shadaras]

Half the time it's not passion. It's sheer stubbornness. xD ..really, Xiv, you did this last year, right? I got to stare at your irritatingly high wordcount then, so now it's sort of your turn.

[♥ Rain]

Wow. I am loser. =D 20k in eight days. I was so ahead I could actually afford that. But I actually had two days there in the mix that I did NOTHING on. DIdn't do that last year. Last year it was just fight, fight, fight right on up to the end. But this year I did not feel as driven. ...but I still managed to make it to 80k. My novel isn't don't at ALL, though. If it gets to 100k, I won't be surprised. xD

Anyway. I made my goal. I'll be slowing down now and paying more attention to life. But I won't be stopping writing until I can get the story finished, because I know if I lose my momentum, it will die a horrible death.

So, lessee. I think as an ending to this board, I should post an except and my 80kth word.

First, the word. 80kth word: and. Nothing exiting. X3

Secondly, the excerpt. How about the prologue? I can't remember it and it's probably really horrible.

SPOILER: Click to show

Prologue

Rain was falling steadily on the deck of the ship. The anchor was down and no one could be seen. A light was on inside the Captain’s quarters, and if one looked in very closely, one could see a great gathering of people. If anyone could open the door to the quarters, there would be no room for them. No, the exact opposite. People would spill out on them and engulf them. That was how tightly packed the Captain’s quarters was.
Upon fighting your way through the myriad of characters, some that might have looked light and gay in normal circumstances and some that might normally be stark and grim, you could see there was still space in the Captain’s quarters, but no one had moved into it. There was a ring around the embroidered bed and only one person was encroaching upon that space. A young girl, kneeling beside the bed, her blue hair catching a green tint in the kerosene lamp’s light. There were murmurs among the crowd.
“Reina, it’s going to be okay.” “Reina, leave Misea, she’ll come around. She always does.” “Misea, don’t leave us!”
But the girl wouldn’t listen nor would the bedridden woman, the woman with the same color hair as the girl kneeling beside her, crying so that her hands were soaked and had wet the bedspread beside the invalid.
“Mother,” Reina, the girl, said. “We’re all worried. We… we need to see you. It keeps the morale up, at the very least.”
Misea, the woman in the bed looked weakly over at her daughter. “Reina,” she said, her voice only a faint whisper, “don’t you dare worry about me. I forbid you to worry. Instead, you must think ahead.”
“What’s there to think ahead about?” Reina asked, choking back another round of sobs. “You’re sick, we must take care of you. Fevers… fevers happen.”
“Not these fevers,” Misea said. “Not this. Look at me, Reina.”
Reina lifted her head to look into her mother’s eyes. They were red-brown like her own. She and her mother were an almost exact replica.
“You know I have no sons. You know I have no other daughters. Reina… come, child. You are to be the successor, like I was for my father. You are to be the one to carry on this mission of our people.”
“Mum—“
“I want it to be you. Hold on to your position dearly, you hear me?” Misea’s voice was rising in volume, louder and louder until it seemed that she was speaking in almost her normal voice—a level just below shouting. The strain showed clearly on her face. “Reina, it’s finally time. I can feel it in the winds. I can feel it in the rains and in the sunshine and in the looks of the crews to one another. You are the one. We are strong enough at last. It may not be for a while yet, but I know we can make it back to Analisea. I dreamt about it as a small child and I know you have done as well. We must gain Analisea back, child. It’s the only hope for our people.”
“I know, mother,” Reina said in a small voice. “Analisea will be bought back with my blood and tears, if no other thing can buy it.”
Misea’s eyes closed for a while and Reina’s breath quickened. “Mum—mother, you’re still here?”
“I’m still here, child.” Misea’s voice had returned to its previous murmur. What she said was now heard by only Reina. No matter how hard the rest of the crew stuffed into the cabin tried, all they could see was a faint movement of lips. Not a word was heard over the crash of the waves. “Reina,” Misea said, “while taking Analisea is our goal toward which we should always strive, don’t forget life. There is a people you must take care of. I have tried all my life to muster the forces for Analisea, and my father tried all his life and my grandfather tried all his. It’s not always up to us when we may or when we may not do what we please. Never forget this and never do something rash. The only reason our people have survived this long was because of wise leaders. Be a wise leader. Don’t you dare put your people at risk.”
Reina could feel her pulse quicken. She wasn’t old. Just thirteen—just thirteen! She wasn’t wise. She couldn’t be. But… her mother… hadn’t she lost her father at ten? Her mother had turned out to be a great woman, hadn’t she? Reina steeled herself and found herself answering. “I will, mother.” It was such a low tone, she could hardly hear herself say it, but her mother seemed satisfied, because she leaned back into her bed. She had been stretching up to see her daughter. She had been staring her right in the face. Reina felt hot as she watched her mother relax in the bed again. She turned and looked at the first mate, Antilles. His face was long, his normally lively eyes dark as he watched his captain. Reina turned back to her mother, not wanting the crew to see her tear-streaked face and burning cheeks. She would be their new captain. She couldn’t show weakness.
Misea’s face was sunken from her illness. She had holed herself up in her cabin for a week now, and all the trays the cook had sent in had only been picked at. There was rarely much food taken off of it, even her most favorites. Whatever flesh she had had on her had disappeared in that week’s time. Reina knew it was her mother—the same eyes, the same hair—but it was the end. There was nothing that could deny that for her. She… she was the new captain Haddock. Captain Reina Haddock. How did that sound? Reina licked a tear off her face that had rolled down unnoticed. It was salty, like the sea she had grown up in. When she looked at her mother, tasting the tear, so cool and so pure, it almost seemed to calm her down, reminding her that nothing was over until it was over.
And then she looked at her mother. Reina strained her eyes to see a pulse in the thin neck. She looked expectantly at the eyelids, waiting for them to flicker. The chest, was it rising beneath the covers? Reina looked for all these signs, but she could see none. There was nothing there. “Mother?” she said hesitantly. She waited a moment. There was no response. “Mum!” Her call was more urgent this time. Death hadn’t set into her mind yet. She wasn’t ready. “Oh, Captain, my captain, don’t leave me alone,” she whispered. There was no response. In her childish thinking and reveries, her mother had died before her eyes and she hadn’t seen it. How could this happen?
Reina could feel the tears on her face again and she felt herself give a long, drawn-out sob. She was gasping for air, but she couldn’t seem to take any in. The world dimmed around her until she felt Antilles’ strong hands on her back, patting her in the way she had seen him snap her mother out of her recent coughing fits. Suddenly she was breathing again and the light returned to her vision. She could hear the steady roar of the muttering of seventy people behind her. The crew had seen her mother die and had taken it as a reprieve to talk. It was too much and Reina slapped away her first mate’s hands, nodding sharply at him in thanks. Her face was a mask of fury. It had raged up from somewhere within, a place she didn’t know she had before.
“Don’t you dare!” she shouted. The crew snapped to silence. “Don’t you dare dishonor my mother this way. You’ll be quiet in this room or you’ll get out.” She stopped, and found herself to be trembling with anger. There was no noise from the crowd. She turned around and took a long look at her mother, then slowly drew the comforter over the wan form. It seemed an age before she spoke again. No one in the crowd had moved a muscle when she turned around. “Take her out,” she said. “A storm won’t stop a sea captain from having a proper burial. When there was no movement from behind her, she turned around, feeling that strange fury welling up once more. “You can take a woman out for burial without talking, can’t you? I didn’t say you were planks.”
The crew began to mill about, but quietly, as if afraid to incur their new captain’s wrath. Reina stood back and watched the proceedings, her face, which had started out as a scowl, a blank slate, devoid of all human emotion.
The burial procedure for a captain, while little practiced, was a well-known ritual. The crew hastily went about their duties. Misea was wrapped up in her current blanket, the one she always slept in and the covers, still over her head, were tucked in at either end. The blanket displayed her initials and the picture of a lion, which was the crest of the fleet, though it was most specifically known to the captain’s ship, the Heron. Reina watched her mother’s body proceed out the door and when the last crewman had left the room, she too followed her mother.
The crew was standing at attention when she came out upon the drenched deck. All the men were watching her every move. She felt that each splashing footstep she made was being scrutinized and she clenched her jaw. No one should think that way about their captain. She stopped in the center of the deck and turned to face them. Each man was silent, each woman’s face was serious. No one was making fun of her. They didn’t think this was funny. She nodded. That was good.
She turned to Antilles. “The body,” she said. “Commence with the ceremonies.”
Antilles nodded and he turned to the crew. “You heard the Captain,” he said. “Commence with the ceremonies.”
Each man looked to the center of the group, each eye was turned to the body of their former captain. Reina looked up and down the line. In this rain, she couldn’t tell if anyone was crying or not. She knew she herself was crying. She was glad no one could see that she was. “Put the body on the railing,” she commanded. The body carriers turned and did as she asked, then drew away so that everyone might see the sodden blanket lying on the rim. Reina clenched her jaw again, steeling herself for her job. The body was only delicately balanced on the rim. A slight push would send it into the churning waters below. That was her job now. To push her mother overboard. It just seemed sacrilegious, but she knew her mother would want a proper burial. Reina walked forward firmly, trying not to show that she was feeling weak at the knees. With one final look at her mother’s body, Reina closed her eyes and pushed.
The body was unnaturally light, it seemed. Maybe there was no resistance, or maybe her mother really had wasted away to even more of a skeleton than she had previously thought. But when she opened her eyes again, there was nothing on the railing, there was a body sinking into the water, and the whole crew was saluting, solemn as the grave.
Reina murmured a soft “I love you” to the wind. She turned around and faced her crew. “We’ll resume the normal schedule of watches now,” she said. “Everyone resume their post. Inform the rest of the fleet of the occurance. I’m going to my quarters.”
It was almost with habit that she turned toward her previous room, the one next to her mother’s. When she realized her mistake, that she really was supposed to be in her mother’s old room, she almost turned around. But her mind quickly reminded her that at least for one night… maybe she could give her mother’s room a rest. A moment of silence for the dead. It was only right. Yes, Reina’s mind was made up. She would let a vigil be kept. For the week her mother was sick, she’d stay out of that room. No one would enter that room. No one at all.

Oh, and a special bonus. A picture I've been working on of Reina. It's not done yet, but eh. >_> I'll post what I have. Then you can see how weird she looks. And sorry about the weird green swatch I was keeping on there. xD

[♥ Rain]

Well. I think I've taken the next step. In the week following me getting to 80k, I have written only another thousand, but I got the courage up in me to donate to the cause. And I'm happy. Now that I wrote some last night, I feel like I can do this. It's all starting to get better. Better characters, the subplots are coming together, and editing and finishing are in sight. I know I can do this.