"What I Said to the Wise Man" | 24,284 words

[Sirius]

Sixth time. =] I'll come up with a more organized first post tomorrow, but until now I just want a thread as a placeholder. x3 I think I may explore time travel this year. =o Which means I need to plan in advance.

Title: What I Said to the Wise Man
UID: 34519
Total WC: 26,813

• Day One: 7160 words
  
• Day Two: 2268 words
  
• Day Three: 2462 words
  
• Day Four: 0 words
  
• Day Five: 2121 words
  
• Day Six: 2185 words
  
• Day Seven: 0 words
  
• Day Eight: 0 words
  
• Day Nine: 326 words
  
• Day Ten: 0 words
  
• Day Eleven: 3045 words
  
• Day Twelve: 466 words
  
• Day Thirteen: 0 words
  
• Day Fourteen: 2064 words
  
• Day Fifteen: 2187 words
  
• Day Sixteen: 2529 words
  
• Day Seventeen:
  
• Day Eighteen:
  

[Nova]

XD I like your title. ^_^

[Deleted]

BA DUM BUM CHHH.

Best of luck. ^_^

[Sirius]

Finally have some semblance of a plot. May or may not stay as is. I mean, I'm sure it will change somewhat but I don't know if I'll like it in a month. x3

Short synopsis because that's all I've come up with:

SPOILER: Click to show

John Doe abandoned his life during 9/11 and started anew. Now, living in California he must run away from his past. But, when a mysterious man starts following him and eventually confronts him, he’s plunged into a world of time travel and mystique.

John Doe is obviously a placeholder name. x3 This is partly inspired by a secret that was on Postsecret a week or so ago. Or at the least the 9/11 "let's give up on this life and be born anew" thing is.

While I didn't much explain it up there, it's going to be a pretty trippy novel with jumps back and forward to the past/present/future/who knows. Have to come up with some kind of timeline as well as make a few other characters because I'd quickly get bored of a story with some random dude traveling around time. x3 But, because of the different time periods I plan to go, I'm sure I could come up with some pretty interesting secondary characters who don't really move out of their time period.

And yeah, that up there is just some rambling. =] This idea needs to be fleshed out a lot more and some logistics worked out but at least it's something to base stuff on. =)

[Sirius]

Been coming up with a few more ideas during the past few days to spice up the novel. Haven't fleshed out much of a plot yet or a motive for some actions I want to be taken in the novel but I figure they'll fall into place eventually.

One major breakthrough in the past few days is the plan to include interview transcripts, diary entries, and reports from someone who (and this may stick) I'm currently calling J. W. Williams. My MC wasn't exactly discreet when jumping around the timeline and stayed in places/had some contact with quite a few people for a long period of time. I'm thinking about having J. W. time travel throughout the novel but I'm not exactly sure about that. I have to get my time travel rules set up.

Because I was a little eager to write something, I'm trying to write a few interviews/reports/ect. I won't be using any of these during the actual Nano but I'm hoping maybe I can squeeze some plot details out of these to use and flesh out my story a little bit. So here's one of those interviews. Some profanity at the end, but nothing to worry about.

SPOILER: Click to show

FROM THE RECORDS OF J.W. WILLIAMS:
SUBJECT #137 - MALE, MID-40S
DATE OF INTERVIEW: MAY 17, 2007
TIME PERIOD INVOLVED: 1986

“WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE HIM ON SIGHT?”
“WELL, SIR, THERE WAS DEFINITELY A DISTINCT QUALITY ABOUT PHILLIP. HE WAS GRUFF, YET INCREDIBLY STRIKING AT THE SAME TIME. IT WAS LIKE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLDS MIXED INTO ONE BODY AND IT JUST…CLICKED.”

“WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW HIM?”
“IT WAS PROBABLY ABOUT MID-APRIL OF 1986. THE ONLY REASON I REMEMBER THE MONTH IS BECAUSE HE LEFT RIGHT BEFORE INVENTORY CHECK, WHICH QUITE FLUSTERED ME SINCE I WAS A MAN DOWN AND WITHOUT ANOTHER SKILLED WORKER IN SIGHT. HE DIDN’T LEAVE NO NOTICE OR NOTHING. JUST LIKE HE TOOK A SICK DAY AND DECIDED NOT TO COME BACK.”

“DO YOU REMEMBER SPECIFICALLY THE LAST TIME YOU SAW HIM? LAST WORDS? ANYTHING?”
“NO, SORRY.”

“I UNDERSTAND. HOW LONG WERE YOU INVOLVED WITH HIM?”
“HE WORKED FOR ME FOR ABOUT SIX WEEKS.”

“WHY EXACTLY DID HE MAKE SUCH AN IMPACT ON YOU?”
“WELL, AS I SAID HE WAS A VERY DISTINGUISHED MAN. BUT THE MAIN REASON WHY I REMEMBER IS AN INCIDENT A FEW DAYS AFTER HE STARTED WORKING THERE. I HAD FORGOTTEN MY KEYS IN MY OFFICE AND I WENT BACK TO THE WAREHOUSE TO GET THEM AND I SAW HIM STANDING THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WAREHOUSE, IN PITCH DARK. HE WAS MUMBLING SOMETHING I COULDN’T QUITE UNDERSTAND. SURE AS HELL WASN’T NO ENGLISH. HE DIDN’T SEE ME, I DON’T THINK, BUT I WAS ALWAYS CAUTIOUS AROUND HIM AFTERWARDS. HE WAS A GOOD WORKER BUT I’M PRETTY SURE HE WAS COMPLETELY make sea monkeysING INSANE.”

“ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO NOTE?”
“WHY EXACTLY ARE YOU DOING THIS?”

“EXCUSE ME?”
“THESE INTERVIEWS. WHAT ARE THEY FOR.”

“I’M GIVING A MEMOIR ON JOHNATHAN’S LIFE.”
“WHO’S JOHNATHAN? DON’T YOU MEAN PHILLIP?”

“I REALLY SHOULD BE GOING.”
“EXCUSE ME, BUT I’D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE make sea monkeys IS GOING ON.”

INTERVIEW ABORTED

It's in all caps because I'm using small caps to format it and I don't feel like changing everything right now.

[Sirius]

Finally have a temporary title: The Outside In. Probably to change.

Have made a few changes to the plot and additions but nothing too major. I'll probably hammer out some serious details over the weekend about characters and how the whole story is going to go down. =]

And then I'll probably type up a long post for here to a) collect my thoughts and b) update everyone, lol. =)

[Sirius]

I've got some things down. I know what I want to do. It's hard to explain but I've got a clear picture in my mind. Let's just hope I can keep it fresh until November 1.

During some inspired note-taking about my novel, I wrote down a few things that really sums up what I want to get at pretty well. Thought it would be interesting to share.

It's a spiritual journey. Alexa is his mistress. Knocked out by accident. Real? Fake? Who knows? J.W. Williams - personification of responsibility, a fact-checker, a wife. Asks the question: Who the make sea monkeys are we and why are we here? Do we exist for others, or for ourselves?

A lot of things don't make sense because I haven't explained much here but I haven't been much at writing things down here (or anywhere) as I plan. I just sort of feel like if I put anything down on paper it will become too permanent and it may lose some of its magic. I want to keep digesting it in my mind -- breaking it apart, adding and changing things before it becomes a rule I have to follow.

I'm more excited for this Nano than any other. I think the quick paced flashes I'm going for will really be suited to the Nano style because I can jump around with ease when I get restless. Should be quite a ride.

[Sirius]

My novel is largely too inappropriate to post on the NTWF, so I'm taking advantage of the parts that aren't bad and posting them. This is when my MC describes (very briefly, in the middle of another scene) his experience during 9/11 and how he abandoned everything. Obviously to be expounded on at a further time.

Ignore grammatical mistakes. When I get inspired, grammar goes out the window. That's what editing is for.

SPOILER: Click to show

Fire, fire.

The smell of burning bodies isn’t pretty. It’s no Glade candle. No apple cinnamon sugar. It’s raw, burning meat. Bone is eaten by the flames. Your eyes pop, your body is turned into a pile of ashes in a matter of minutes. Your whole life, your whole existence gone. Like you were never really there. Just ashes among the rubble.

I saw it happened. Just as two planes hit the towers, my two eyes looked on; amazed and shocked and disgusted and revolted and opportunistic don’t even begin to describe it. It was a chance. KD, you’re dead. Died in nine-eleven. Boo hoo.

And KD can go to California and start again. KD can get the **** away. KD can get the **** out of a bad situation. No one can find me. Three thousand miles away may as well be Niger to most people. East Coast, West Coast; Antarctica, Britain. Completely different worlds. Do they even speak English there? ‘Cept for them Hollywood peoples, do they even exist?

Not where my families concerned. And I use that term loosely.

KD is my main character (Kevin Doe). And I've also changed my title. It's going good so far - 1800 words and counting. =)

[Sirius]

Beginning of the novel. Had to censor some parts out, but I would have to do that with any part of this novel. Too many inappropriate things.

Don't read if you're religious and you'll get offended by people "mocking" anything. And, just as a note, these characters views are not my views in any way. He's pretty disturbed. And there's language. I starred it out but it's obvious what it is so...don't be offended.

SPOILER: Click to show

A wise man once told me that I would live multiple lifetimes. At the time, I thought he was just another street urchin trying to get his hands on another fix but after everything that’s happened, I’m not so sure. I’ve doubted my existence, I’ve doubted our existence, and I’ve doubted my dear Alexa. There are things in this world – behind the very fabric of time and space – that keep our gears turning. When you get a peek at them, you would expect to be met with some kind of amazement, some kind of “holy s**t” moment.

But, honestly, it’s pretty much the same old ****ing thing. Different names, different people, different places. But it’s just one big cycle of she said this, he said that, he ****ed her, killed her, raped her, beat her. There’s no right and no wrong according to human nature. It’s a free for all; myriad things you can do “wrong” but still feel so good. Nature versus nurture, pleasure versus misery. It’s not as poetic, but it works. Life’s not as clean cut, but it works.

This God people talk of. I don’t know if he exists. I don’t know if he implanted one giant wad of God-sperm into the “virgin” Mary. But I am sure of one thing: pregnancy equals penetration. Don’t tell me that ***** was no virgin. She probably got knocked up by her boyfriend and wanted to hide it from her parents. And maybe it just happened to be that that boyfriend was God.

I don’t ****ing know. I think people have studied me, studied what I’ve done. Maybe I have a whole Bible written about me. Anything’s possible. You can’t tell me that Christianity isn’t just this millennium’s Romans or Greeks or Mayans. You can’t tell me that in a thousand years we’re not going to be worshiping Pepsi or tampons or no one at all.

You can’t tell me because you don’t know. You haven’t been there; you haven’t seen what is to come. Who’s to say we’ll even be here in a thousand years? Who’s to say that evolution won’t **** us over? If we’re so powerful, then why can we get the flesh ripped out of us by a lion? Isn’t it only a matter of time before the lions turn on us – grow minds of their own, overpopulate, and kill every last one of us?

Is that what we’re destined to? Is that what we are to become?

I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far yet.

Just passed 8k. =D Going steady...

[Sirius]

D= Now I have an inaccurate Nano graph on the site. I waited too late to update. -tear- I hate inaccurate charts.

Have almost 9.5k. Slowed down the pace today because I was out most of time but still managed to write a few words in the hour I had left before midnight.

[Sirius]

Wrote a really wonderful scene. Can't share it here since it does involve sex, but it's more a catharsis for a lot of tension that I've been building up. While it seems to early in the story to have a catharsis, I decided I wanted to take the story in a slightly different direction regarding one plot line than I was heading so I had to do this. I'm surprised I was connected enough to the characters to be able to right what I think is a very touching scene but I was able to pull it off.

Didn't write that much today but when it rounded towards the end of the day I pumped out a few words. Today was mainly a doubting day, in which I wasn't sure exactly where my plot is going but I have a pretty good idea. I was originally going to focus on the time travel aspects of the story but I feel as though they wouldn't have enough payoff so I'm going to treat the two I have left that I want to do more as spiritual journeys to come to accept certain things in the MC's life rather than actual time travel.

Probably going to end the day at 11.2k, unless I have some inspiration before the day is over.

[Sirius]

Not a bad day. Didn't write at all on election day and did okay on the fifth. I was going through a sort of blah part of my story but now I'm ramping up for some excitement, so I should be able to knock a few thousand out today. =D

15327 right now. ^__^

[Deleted]

I love that the NJ Teacher's Convention is in November (:

[Sirius]

Nov 6, 2008 14:41:27 GMT -5 @eri said:

I love that the NJ Teacher's Convention is in November (:

Is that really why we're off? xD; My school just calls it fall break...

[Sirius]

I haven't been writing.

I feel bad.