Nano 2010- After Action: Let's not do that again.

It's entirely possible that I misspelled my title. I can't get it to not look wrong, now

This nano was an experience I was not expecting. I have devoted my life to writing in November for the past two years, (my family can attest to this) and word count has never been the issue. I mean yes, I usually burned out at about day 25, but I was already at 66,000 words, or some such thing.

And then this year I opened up my doc, and I felt like I had adequately drained myself dry if I could wrench 500 words from my chest and shove them onto the page. It was HAAAAAARRRRRRRRRDDDDDDD. *dramatic drape across the couch*

I can identify two reasons why this was so desperately painful.

1. I was trying not to completely fail at work. I'm leaving in December and moving into the big city, and I want to go out on a high note, not on a "good grief, what is WITH that woman?"
2. I didn't have a plot. 

Reason one is pretty self explanatory. But it led into reason two, as well. You see, when I went into my last two nanos, I'd spent eight or five months thinking about the story. I knew who my characters were, I knew how the plot started and ended, if not the middle, and I knew the political structure of what was going on. (This is important when my default is to make people a. work for the govt, or b. rage against the govt.) So when I went, "Oh, I'll just put people on a train and make them talk to each other," I did have material to work with. This time I- what DID I start with? 

Oh yeah. I knew one MC woke up with no memory, another MC thought she was going mad but really she was telepathic and in scene two she's going to be recruited by a government security group, and my other two MCs were going to escape an assassination attempt and, uh, survive. While all of this is terribly shiny, it isn't really what you would call a PLOT. And with me spending my time while working thinking about (shockingly) my work, I didn't have any time to MAKE a plot. 

So then for 50,000 words, I basically flailed madly around trying to figure out who was important or not, and why people were doing things and if that was important, and HOW ARE THEY ALL CONNECTED? It was my finest moment. (Not really.) Fortunately after about 20,000 words I was able to recognize that I had whole sections that totally contradicted each other, so basically this wasn't a usable first draft. From then on it was able to be a world-building exercise, so my flailing was in broader and less coherent stripes. :D 

Even so, by the last day I was 10 thousand words behind. Which led to amazing things like this. 

Hmmm, his name was breathed pretty distractingly into his ear. Hmmm. Hmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The hmming here represents what’s happening because I can’t tell you Peter’s internal monologue. But I’ll do some stage directions.

AMBROSE: Put one hand on the back of Peter’s head, and rove around there. With the other arm, the one with the hand holding the knife, hang it down Peter’s back so that you hold yourself up with your elbow. Also, stand on your toes so you can knock teeth with him more efficiency. Also, make sure to knock teeth. Objective is to trade tongues, and you should try that diligently. It’s possible that the latch for your tongue is in his lips, so be sure to bite those several times. Otherwise, use your imagination. And your hips.

PETER: Do what feels right to you. NOT LIKE THAT- oh. Okay. Well, um. Yeah. We’ll take an intermission and you just- you do that. Okay.

When we left our anti-hero, he’d been breaking the law regarding legal ages for consent in the prep kitchen of a restaurant. (Peter is underage.) And when we return, Peter is STILL breaking the law regarding legal age for consent...

And he’s just produced handcuffs. I”M TOO YOUNG TO SEE THIS. *hides face while the cuffs levitate into the air by themselves, catch Ambrose’s hands and lock them behind her and hold her there while Peter steps away* Wait, what?

Yes, Audience, you read that correctly! (Audience? What are you doing in here watching freaky sketch happen? Not only many of you underage, there are sharp thing in here! You may become injured!) Peter mentally handcuffed Ambrose, and much more shockingly, he STEPPED AWAY. And it’s not just to admire the view with her shirt hanging open, though that was definitely a useful side effect of it. “Sorry, Ambrose, the Queen’s going to be paying for your meals for a while. You’re under arrest for illegal shellfish use, and use of mock firtute.”

“... and I don’t use mock firture!” Ambrose finished in angry, pretty tears. “It’s real!”

“That’ll have to go to a panel of experts to decide.” Peter said in his best tortured hero look, caught in the grip of virtue and following it nobly. Also, I hate myself. “But I know a holding temperature for mock eff when I see it. Did you really think you were fooling anyone?”

“You were fooled.” She glared. Breathing hevily, too! Well done, Ambrose, but Peter’s the virtuous hero, he’s too strong for you. He’s- um, Peter. Eyes up here. *snaps fingers* PETER. Eyes UP.

“I was having a little fun while we were waiting for the backup to get here.” Peter smirked. “Thanks for the entertainment, by the way, honey.”

EXIT OF REDNESS THEN WHITENESS THEN BLACKNESS THEN REDNESS THEN CHANGE SCENE.

This is the first make-out scene I've really written with more of an "that looked complicated" write-off. I think I'm going to go back to that method.

But yes, due to complete madness and some creative use of punctuation, I finished Nano!

HUZZAH.

Now I just have to re-write everything.

"I'm going to dress professional. And by that I mean MY profession, not a streetwalker."

(Title quote from online conversations. Where all the insanity happens.)

I've learned so much this Nano. Like how I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE SAME SUBJECTS. Governments, Trust, Grief and Family, oh HAI! And colourful hair. That seems to be a theme. (And Fire. Heh.)

And also how what seems to be easy writing is actually based on MONTHS of thinking about the story, the characters, and how it all fits together. If I actually have to think it up when I'm writing it? I am lucky to crank out 500 words an hour.

Also I'm Lazy. :D

But I got my hair cut last night!

I've been told this makes me look Taller, Shorter, Thiner, Curvier,  Healthier, Younger, Older, Prettier, and "just better!"
So it's magic hair?
(Either way, I like it. ^_^)

Without further ado, I usher in Sylvie Stone!

Sylvie: *nods to everyone, with a slight smile*
Interviewer: "How old are you?"
S: "19, sir."
I: "Height?"
S: "5 feet 4 inches, sir."
I: "Do you have any bad habits?"
S: "Nothing that interferes with my work, sir."
I: "What’s your hairstyle?"
S: *mild panic as this must be a trick question* "Regulation, sir."
I: "Have any kids?"
S: "No sir."
I: "Favourite food?"
S: "I enjoy pomegranates and strawberries, sir. Though usually not at the same time."
I: "Killed anyone?"
S: "Yes sir."
I: "Hate anyone?"
S: "Yes sir."
I: "Any secrets?"
S: "Yes sir."
I: "Love anyone?"
S: "Yes sir."
I: "What is your job?"
S: "Sir! I am a Licensed Driver in the employ of Her Majesty, Sir!"
I: "Are you a boy or a girl?"
S: "Female, Sir!"
I: "Family? You can- tone down the yelling, Stone."
S: "Sorry sir. I do have living family, sir. My mother and father, and two sisters and a brother. Sir."
I: "Best Friends?"
S: "That would probably be my brother Goward, sir."
I: "What was the most surprising moment in your life up until now?"
S: "I try not to be surprised, sir."
I: "Where would you rather be?"
S: "I don't understand the question, sir. I'm sorry."
I: "Ever wish to be something else?"
S: "I believe everyone's wished for more income, sir." *smiles* "But that's about the extent of it."
I: "Ever kissed anyone that's not a family member?"
S: "Could you define "kissing," sir?

"

She's just a bundle of personality, is our Sylvie. :D

“A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.”

So yesterday I wrote a little over a thousand words!

*cringes*

Please don't shoot me! I tried! I just- got distracted by other characters?

Alright, that is an excuse and not even a very good one. I'll try to do better. I HAVE to do better, or I'm not going to finish. So yeah. *nods* Note to self. Concentration is for cool people. Look into that.

And now I need another interview so I can figure out who on earth I'm writing! Or, who in space, because it's SF... Anyways. Say hi to Sym, everyone!

*Sym greets the chorus of "hi's" with a guilty flinch, and then glares at everyone*

Sym: "What's your problem? Huh?"
Interviewer: "How old are you?"
S: "Green."
I: "Height?"
S: "I don't care what any of the girls said, I can't fit through there. They just like whining. It's their hobby. Whining and being stupid."
I: "Do you have any bad habits?"
S: "You know, that depends on- Wait....  Why do you ask?"
I: "What’s your hairstyle?"
S: "I don't understand the question."
I: "Have any kids?"
S: "Dozens. Get over it."
I: "Favorite food?"
S: "There are kinds of food?"
I. "Killed anyone?"
S: "I've got amnesia, see. No idea. Probably thousands. OR YOU COULD LOOKING IT UP YOUR SELF ON YOUR FLATLINING COMPUTER YOU"VE GOT THERE YOU GIRL. So no, no idea really."
I: "Hate anyone?"
S: "Only stupid people. So most of humanity, yeah. And all girls."
I: "Any secrets?"
S: *smirks*
I: "Love anyone?"
S: *Tries to continue smirking, but goes red.* "Whatever."
I: "What is your job?"
S: "No idea. Like I said. You're a moron and a girl."
I: "Are you a boy or a girl?"
S: *So. Much. Profanity.*
I: "Family?"
S: "What do YOU think, machine-headed girl-idiot-child?"
I: "Best Friends?"
S: "No one I'd tell YOU about."
I: "What was the most surprising moment in your life up until now?"
S: "When I woke up and didn't know who I was." *laughs*
I: "Where would you rather be?"
S: "Where else COULD I rather be?"
I: "Ever wish to be something else?"
S: "Have something else? Yeah. Be someone else? MASK no."
I: "Ever kissed anyone that's not a family member?"
S: *so red*

"but I think you'll be good to me/ I'll be so good to you."

Today, at work, my plot finally arrived. It may have been fifteen days late, but it's HERE!

Which really means I need characters. I realized, (belatedly, I know,) that my brain was still stuck on short stories. In them, you really only need one character trait, or maybe two. There just isn't time to fit other things in them? And now I'm trying long form again. MUST SHUNT MY BRAIN ONTO NEW TRACK.

This post, therefore, is my attempt to nail down one of my characters. Say hello to Johanne, everyone!

Johanne: "Hi." *dry tone*
Interviewer: "How old are you?"
J: "Seventeen? Why do you ask?"
I. "Height?"
J: "Tall enough..."
I: "Do you have any bad habits? "
J: "That depends on who you ask, really." *bright, fake smile*
I: "What’s your hairstyle?"
J: "It's- hair." *looks at hair, nonplussed* "Dark and in a ponytail?"
I. "Have any kids?"
J: *stares* "Wow. That's just- a special question. If you've seen me out and about, that would be my siblings? You know, not every family has 2.4 children? Some people get a bit edge about cutting their children into five pieces and only keeping two of the limbs. I'm just saying."
I: "Favourite food?"
J: "Sandwiches? You know, I really don't have an absolute favourite. I like cold food, but nothing really stands out."
I: "Killed anyone?"
J: "I'd like to exercise my right to legal council."
I: "Hate anyone?"
J: "Is my lawyer here yet?"
I: "Any secrets?"
J: "Have I been keeping my desire for a lawyer secret? Because I think I've been pretty open about that."
*Later*
New Interviewer: "Do you love anyone?"
J: *small grin* "I wouldn't say I'm incapable of emotion, no. I'm quite close with my family, even when we don't get along. They're very important to me."
NI: "What is your job?"
J: "I'm a student, but for medical reasons I'm studying at home."
NI: "Are you a boy or a girl?"
J: "Well, that sales woman was certainly lying about this shirt being flattering to my so-called curves." *looks up as the pause stretches on. "That was a real quest- girl." *sits back and folds her arms, eyebrows raised.* "I am medically female."
NI: "Family?"
J: *pause* "I wasn't cloned, no..."
NI: "Best Friends?"
J: "Are you capable of using verbs? I think that's the questions we're all waiting on!"
NI: "What was the most surprising moment in your life up until now?"
J: "WELL DONE, you. I applaud your use of language. I'd say that moment right up there, when you spoke so eloquently- that has to be in the top five."
NI: "Where would you rather be?"
J: "Thank here? How long do I have to list places?"
NI: "Ever wish to be something else?"
J: "It is my fondest and most heartfelt desire to be a knife. Or a feather. I don't know what I want. Where are you GETTING these questions?"
NI: "Ever kissed anyone that's not a family member?"
J: *totally red* "N-no?"

So there's Johanne. Touchy and mad, and not at all as worldly as she likes to tell herself. :D

I think I like her. :D

Nano Week 2: "[Insert Witty Quote Here]"

So, as you may have heard, Nano is HARD.

Picture's worth a thousand words? Darn it, I just need eight more pictures to catch up. ^_^

And it just continues to BE hard. Gosh and Golly, it continues to be hard. This may be for a myriad of reasons, including my lack of plot, the fact that all my characters are the same person, or even the rest of my life, which is devouring my brain, soul and memory by the day. University searches, I LOVE YOU. (Wait, that last part was a lie. Oops.)

But the fact remains, I am stuck. I mean, my settings are all pretty, but there's only so much drive I have to talk about settings, if there's no PLOT!

*pokes novel with a stick*

Nano Week 1. "Cause I've seen it before-"

• Words I should be at: 11,669
• Words I am at: 7,519
• Stories within Stories: 3
• Characters who don't have names yet, despite being featured prominently: 2

This has been- hard. Despite what I've been accused of, I do NOT have words on tap. I'm pretty much dry, this year. :P And the fact that I never have any idea where my story is going is also- fun.

Basically I've been motivating myself for a week with the hope of getting to this one line.

The prince stretched out again. “Stone, we’re having air conservation issues. I really must insist on informality. Call me Highness!”

Now what do I write? o.O

---

P.S. I'll update later today with a Character Call and excerpt.

What's that you say?

Something about November?

It starts TOMORROW?

You mean, in 70 minutes?

Well, this would be a good time to announce that I am planning on Nanoing. See my Handy Dandy badge in the side bar for proof. :D

I'm doing a SF story that I have done entirely NO planning for, and I'm still trying to finish a short story for a competition in the next 70 minutes. So yes. Expect deteriorating levels of sanity over the future time line.

(And coherency is totes for n00bs, right? Right. We're so true.)

NaNoWrapO

I need to stay away from "clever" titles. This is clear. But I'm going to let that one stay, for teh lolz. *cough* It's time for the tradition, the wonder, that is Nano Wrap-up! WHOOOOO

(I just washed two hours of dishes and now have tea, can you tell?)

I'll start with a shout-out to my characters. *beams*

• Adam - It just gets worse. I'm sorry. But you're so FUN to break. *cough* I'm sorry about the girls. And the torture. But really, it wasn't THAT bad...
• Nanami - You'll feel better later. I'm sorry. I really am sorry, but sometimes the only way is to break and re-form. You had shiny travels?
• Laura - I didn't want to like you, but I do... You haz mad skillz, woman. I don't want to know what they are, but still. Props to you.
• Ewan - Heh. Heh. Don't look at me like that! You KNOW you asked for it. You just attract violence! I uh, don't know what's going to happen to you. I think fights are gonna be involved. Aren't you HAPPY? Don't use language like that around me, young man. You love it, I know.
• Ethan - You're a jerk. Too bad I keep liking you! Stupid dis-loyal jerkface pretty boy. *growls* I'm gonna make you PAY.
• Mr. Theyneker - Stay away. Seriously. You scare me. Seriously. AWAY. I mean it. *hides behind anything large and locked*
• Amelie - *salutes* You were random and I like you. I like your back story. I like your distain. I like that I'm never going to see you again, Lord Willing.
• Dijimon - Jerk. Go away.
• Claude - You're a random pretty boy who keeps morphing roles and I named you to annoy a fictional characters, what can I say? I'm going to make you fail, soon. Enjoy your life.
• Katie - Hi, you're pretty. Let's break Adam together.
• The Duke - I will find a way to involve you later, Fop. I WILL.
• Islay - You're sweet, and awesome! I'm sorry I'm using you. Er, have a new pair of shoes?
• Sidney - You are still my favourite bit characters. I'm gonna bring you back. ANd then the Bad Girls can fight to see who you are married too, cause you're awesome. *hugs* I'm sorry about the whole prison thing.
• Mrs. Swallow - I'm sorry about your son. You're lovely. I really, really am sorry. *cringes*
• Hana - You're WAYYY to perky. Go perk over there kthnxbai.
• My Bad Girls - I less than three you all. I'm sorry about the whole prison thing. I'm gonna get you out? GJ with the torture and kidnapping and all. I promise it'll be better in the edit, too.
• The Train People - I thought you were my favourite bit people. Then I realized that you're actually another novel. Someday...
• Jim - I'm not sure yet if you're a good guy or you just killed a bunch of kids. But you're pretty. Um. *unsure* I'm sorry the flirting lines I gave you were so lame. I'm sure you're MUCH smoother than that.

I think that's everybody! Aren't they wonderful, and doesn't my story sound cheerful?

Now to go over what was actually accomplished. (And what I learned)

1. I wrote 66,690 words on a story that doesn't show any signs of stopping any time soon. There is srysly a LOT that has to be revealed and dealt with. *I take a moment to weep* (My plots are weeds. They grow in directions I don't want them too, take root in strange places, and Do. Not. Die. Also I'm wordy.)
2. The story started as a fantasy which was shiny and full of teenage fun, and it became, well, steampunk featuring betrayal, deception, and death. I mean, if you start with your MCs being terrorists, there are only so many ways it can go. (I'm pretty sure that I'm still writing YA, but I have a potential to get dark. You want hope? You're going to have to WORK for hope. Also, teenagers are so flexible for one reason only- to heal faster after they've been broken. There will be breakage.)
3. I tried to keep continuity, and keep plotlines under control. I failed. (WRITE A DETAILED OUTLINE AND KNOW WHAT YOUR EVER-LOVEING PLOT IS. I AM NOT EVEN JOKING, SELF.)
4. I realized today that I came up with most of this plot a.) when a family member was moved to palliative care b.) while waiting around the hospital for this person to die, and c.) while being attacked by normal life after the death. (When in a setting like this, you will think your plots will be nice and light and frothy. They won't be. You'll do things like putting a main character on death row for a murder they didn't commit- for the sake of character development- and seriously consider not getting them off- and think it's just normal and cheerful teen drama. Be Aware Of Your Mental State When Plotting. Also, what was up with the invisible kids that I cut on the first day? Srysly, brain, sleep is good for you.)
5. After, I think it was 18 days straight, I burned out, and needed to take a break. This felt awful, but I did write better after taking a day off! (Writing is wonderful, we know this. I still need to give my mind time to catch up and develop sub-plots that make any kind of sense.)
6. And finally- After much non-production in the final days of nano, I turned off my internet for six hours and wrote over 5 thousand words. (I am easily distracted, I shouldn't try to stay on twitter, facebook, chat and blogs- and write at the same time. It will not work.)

There you have it! My profound wrap-up. Now if you'll excuse me, my family hasn't seen me in a month.

Done.

"I remember black skies, the lightening all around me..."

Song of the day!

Also this one. *cough*

In terms of writing, my little sisters today both realized that they had improperly backed up their YWP novels. So they were both down to about a thousand words apiece, and had until tomorrow midnight to get their handwritten pages up to a word count of 8k. Tears were shed, especially since they are both at the hunt-and-peck stage. So myself, my mom and my 18 year old sister stepped in to type for them. Which is my excuse for my wordcount. :D Isn't family jolly?

Wordcount;

• Daily: 2,129
• Overall: 65,682

Today I broke Nanami- again. Poor girl doesn't know how much she still has to lose. ^_^

ALSO, Stephanie Perkins gave me *63,588 GIANT GOLD GLITTERY STARS.* I am awesome. I'm so awesome.

"...they were going to the church to be married, he was pressed and sent on sea..."

Yes, I'm still listening to The Once.

I listen to traditional music, and I'm PROUD.

*cough*

Also, my brain LEFT me today, so my objective is to make it to 70k. Since today was a fail. *nods*

Wordcount:

• Daily: 1,942
• Overall: 63,558

ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT OH MY HYPERVENTILATION.

"GOT IT?" "Yes Sir!" "I"M A WOMAN." "Yes MISTRESS!" "That'll do."

Today, I turned off my internet for six hours. No one I wanted to talk to was online anyhow, so I'd only be distracting myself with bad reasons. And in four hours of "writing" I'd managed 147 words. So hey, what did I have to loose?

This is what it looked like.

*I turn off wireless and promptly hyperventilate*

*drinks tea, feels better*

*writes*

*And writes*

*drinks coffee*

*and writes*

*drinks grape and tonic*

*wonders why she is drinking something that tastes like cough syrup*

*writes instead*

Exciting, I know. But i'd forgotten what that feels like, and now I'm a bit blurry around the edges. YAY??? (Also, I watched what I was writing go steadily more and more sketchy. BUT IS STILL YA!)

The final damage done was; *drumroll please*

Wordcount;

• Daily: 5,498
• Overall: 61,623

WHICH MEANS I GET TO MAKE A NEW WORDLE.

Have an Adam Excerpt!

On the whole, he really did not mind this mode of travel. True, it was strange, and you never knew when you would be expected to wear a mask to dinner, (thank goodness the Duke had mentioned that to him,) or get stuck in a washroom where all the doors looked like walls. These things notwithstanding, though, he kind of liked it. If only he had someone to share it with, that was the only real issue. And, to be honest, that was hardly the the fault of the Zeppelin. He smiled ruefully out the window, and looked down to find a new plate featuring spiced pork loin, garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. The good points about this assignment really did outweigh the bad points.

“Hello, buddy!” Adam nearly choked on a bite of pork as the Duke’s hand descended on his back. “Have you met Melinda?”

Adam swallowed as quickly as possible as he stood up. He cleared his throat. “No, I have not had that honour.” Which one was Melinda? The Duke had two quite beautiful black women accompanying him. They smiled behind gloves of coloured satin as he bowed.

The Duke grinned. “You need to get out more, Hewitt!” He kissed the cheek of the woman in blue and silver next to him. She raised her eyebrows at him, then rippled a small laughed. Adam did a quick ring-check, and relaxed internally. Both she and the Duke were wearing single bands on their left ring fingers, so that was all right. With the high heeled shoes that showed off her toes, and hair pinned artfully high on her head, she was taller than the Duke. The Duke blinked one eye, then the other, and grinned at Adam again. “Mind if we join you?”

“No, not at all.” The waiters had already brought over another table, and were adding a second place setting. Adam held out a chair for the other woman, who was also over six feet tall in her shoes, and dressed in green and copper, sans ring. She sat down gracefully, and smiled at him. It was a rather wonderful smile, to be honest. Adam sat down and sipped his soda water with lime as the Duke, Melinda and her nameless friend ate their soup and salad.

“Katie hasn’t been feeling well, sadly.” Melinda grinned across the table, then covered her smile with a hand and a cough. She looked seriously at Adam. “My sister catches flus with shocking regularity, it’s quite sad. Almost monthly.”

So they were sisters? “I’m, sorry. That sounds unfortunate.” The Duke found this funny, judging by the grin directed at his sorbet. Adam wondered why. Monthly sickness sounded terrible- oh. Oh. He turned red, which made everyone laugh, not unkindly.

“Is is unfortunate.” Katie twinkled. “But I’m over it now, and ready to meet these fascinating new people my sister has told me so much about.”

But, the duke and Melinda obviously knew each other, and they were wearing rings, which had to mean- she was talking about him. Adam cleared his throat. “The feeling is mutual, Miss.” He turned red again. “I mean, without the monthly sickness, but maybe...” He gave up and joined in the round of laughter. “I’m pleased to meet you, Miss, how is that?” He offered her his hand.

Katie smiled as she shook it. “Better. And call me Katie.”

“Adam.” He found he was still holding her hand, unexpectedly, so he kissed it. She smiled slowly and covered the expression with her other hand.

Kthnxbai.

"And kids, always remember to write safe."

Wordcount;

• Daily: 1,258
• Overall: 56,146

I seem to be marvellously on track to enjoy a wonderful 25k-in-three-days weekend if I want to hit my goal. Yay?

Also, I had to ask a lot of questions about making out. (Thank you, you know who you are) Srysly, where do people put their arms? Arms are LONG, people, and they bend in limited places. And don't you get neck cramps? Teenagers are silly. ^_^

"I have a book!" "Wait? What do you mean! Explain!" "well Jen, when a writer and a story love each other very much....."

So I was rummaging around to find my plot-bunny file, and I found the original one that I wrote down for Karma Police. This amused me greatly, so I decided to share. I'm generous like that.

-Karma Police

-unpleasant teenagers

-betrayal?

-fantasy/dark green

-Honour belief-lost-fight-do they stick together?

-Everybody dies?

-Fog

AND as you may have noticed from my rummaging, writing was a little- not so much. (I'm so glad no one expects coherency from me on this blog. It makes me smile)

Wordcount:

• Daily: 1,221
• Overall: 54,712

Srysly, that is the level of my fail. ^_^ IN OTHER NEWS, Adam is trying to be a prat. He's trying HARD. And Ewan makes me happy. Here, have a Ewan-Excerpt.

Some whiny kid at the front of the car kept whining, and whining, and whining. Ewan tried to pull his hat over his eyes. It fell off onto the floor, He got off his chair to reach for it. It had rolled under the seat. Ewan reached for it, and stabbed his finger on a tack sticking out of the seat. “Mage.” Ewan made this sound so angry that the small girl two seats back decided to shock her friends with her horrible new curse word as soon as she got home.

Ewan sat back in his seat and stared out the window, sucking his bleeding finger. This day could end at any time, and that would be fine with him. He checked the clock at the front of the car and groaned. Only mid-afternoon? A whole day on the train, and a whole night- with a freakishly loud snoring man next to him- and now this day. Was there no mercy in the world? Clearly not. At least they were in city limits now. He decided to go get a drink. Ewan unfolded himself from the seat and made his way to the front of the car, where there was a machine that dispensed canned drinks. He braced himself against the door and the wall and fished some coins out of his pocket. The beer was bound to be warm, but it’d be better than nothing.

The machine rumbled internally and stuck. Ewan fell against it as the train went around the corner. The machine made an ominous clunking noise and vomited forth two beers. Score! He scooped them up and turned around with a grin.

The grin froze in place when presented with his new arch-enemy, the steward. The skinny bitch’s expression was faintly gloating. “You can’t drink those here.”

“Say What?” He glared.

He held out his hand. “You can’t drink those in a public space. There are kids here.”

Ewan stared at him. “Why are they for sale in a damn public space then?”

The man shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, sorry.” He snapped his fingers. Ewan hadn’t seen someone so clearly not-sorry for quite a long time. He knew the type, though. The censored steward wanted him to beg- acknowledge his position. And then if he did, it was about fifty-fifty if the moron with pin stripes on his soul would give the drinks back. Ewan handed him the beers wordlessly and started back towards his seat.

Behind his back, there was a popping noise as the steward cracked one of the beers. Ewan’s shoulders went up, but he kept walking, If the gentleman wanted a fight so much, he’d be damned if he was gonna give him one.

The kid was still whining as he passed. What did he want this time, a hat? Yeah, a hat. Ewan paused in the aisle and glared at the kid till the squirt made eye contact. “How’s it feel to want?” He growled in his most don’t-even-not-today tone.

The boy hiccuped and hid behind his mom. Ewan could feel the steward approach him from behind, radiating disapproval. “Is this boy bothering you, Miss’ess?”

The woman in question, comfortably into middle age and clearly weary of traveling, smiled crookedly. “Why yes, but he seems to have calmed down now, thanks to this young man.” She directed a smile at Ewan, who touched his forehead in return and retreated to his seat, Behind him, he heard the woman continue talking. “Are you allowed to drink on the job?”

Heh. So not everyone on a train was out to get him. Porters, yes. Moms, maybe not. ThereWasTheSignForTheStationHellYes. Ewan was already on his feet and pulling his coat out of the overhead rack. He lined up by the door. The steward was yapping about safety rules- like he cared. Like anyone cared. Ewan was off the train as soon as it was within jumping range of the platform.

"And you wonder/ wonder/ can you last much longer/ this cloud you are under/ will it cover you/ desert rose..."

First of all, I LOVE Desert Rose, by White Heart. So much. Oh wow, how I love that song. It's one of the few desperate songs I clung to as a teenager, which still translates now that I'm, y'know, a grown up. You should hunt it down and buy it. :D

Wordcount:

• Daily: 2,613
• Overall: 53,622

I, kinda kinda only kinda got inspired again. A little bit? *smiles*

"Wether tis nobler in the mind to eat arrows- No. Wait."

Wordcount:

• Daily: 853
• Overall: 52,021

The day was a fail- BUT

I FINALLY BROKE FIFTY KAY.

WHOOOOO!!!!!

*big, smily face*

You know what that means? That's right, a WORDLE. *happy happy sunshines*

Oh, and word count is *mutters*

• Daily: 1,327
• AND OVERALL IS NOW: 50,181

Now I only have to write 30 k in eight days to win my self-appointed nano goal. Easy, right? :D

Word count:

• Daily: 3.672
• Overall: 48,851

Tired now,

In which I blog to avoid writing.

I am not sure that I've mentioned this, but I'm writing Karma Police in five POV*s. Why, you ask? Because I'm crazy. DUH. *cough* Anyhow, yes, each of my five MC^s are taking turns telling you what is REALLY going on. (I also took a brief jaunt into letting Ewan's mom talk, but that's only because she's faded and hopeful and brutally honest, and I heart her. *cough*)

ANYHOW. This is rather different for me. I've written three other stories before, and DNL, seriously, I had no idea what I was doing. I don't even know what I did. It was fun, but yeah. Plot? I LAUGH in the face of plot. And then there was Merchant's Daughter, which was only slightly better, and by the end of it I was sticking inside Adelheid's head, come what may including passing out in the middle of important scenes. (Easy way to end a scene? Noooo, I'm sure I wasn't thinking of that.)

Then there was Expendables. Oh, Expendables. My poor, deformed, mortally ill child. You need so much surgery... I don't even know what I was doing at first. It was Nano, okay? Then I wrote a serious portion of the story during a deep funk/exploring the grieving process (it's fun!) By the end of it the thing had been riding me so long it was just like opening a vein and letting the story gush onto the page. Messily. And there was pain. Characters talked on top of each other, so I just wrote it that way. I changed POV* mid scene- mid PARAGRAPH. I don't even know what I was doing. SO MUCH SURGERY.

And now I have Karma Police! Which I am trying to keep under control.

Never mind that I avoided one bit lump of write-many-many-many-words-on-me-noew-plz by throwing in a handy dose of amnesia, and avoided another scene that wanted to turn into five mini-adventures by, uh, wait, I didn't avoid that, did I? My bad. *cough* Aren't Zeppelins shiny? And TRAINS. And suspenders. Heheh. Suspenders.

*drifts off into a trance, staring at suspenders*

So yes. *cough* Control. I'm trying to keep control.

I even have an outline, isn't it shiny?

Yes. I'm colour coding POVs. So I can keep track of when someone new needs to talk. ^_^ And anything indented means it's a flashback.

Am I INSANE?

Er, yes, clearly. SO clearly.

But yes. I'm really enjoying the comparison between POVs, though you probably won't. *evil chuckle* However, it does mean that when I do finish a scene, it's not easy to just DIVE into the next one, because most of the time the next one is inside someone else's head. So I have to eat some chocolate, and listen to appropriate music, and braid my hair- er, well, maybe not, but it's HARD, okay? *whine whine whine*

I really should to traumatize Nanami now. KThnxBai

Footnotes: (Because my little sister mentioned she might be reading this now.)
*POV - Point Of View
^MC - Main Character

Well, *I* had a fun day.

So, when at nine pm I still hadn't written anything, I gave up, read Wicked Lovely, and watched 21.

It was fun.