Wednesday, November 18, 2009

a snag in the road

Here's the rub: I hate this "novel" that I'm supposed to be writing this month.

Oops.

I've discovered that the only way that I can make myself keep going on this challenge is to change direction completely. So, I'm keeping the 7,200 words that I've put in, inserting a page break, and starting a different story!

Yes, I realize I might be crazy, but I've had a story sitting in front of me for months now that I feel NEEDS to be told. And it's my job to tell it. Why not start now? :)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

a charming snippet

Okay, here's my proof that I've actually been working on my novel. =) My total word count at the moment is approximately 6650. I'm making progress, but if you care to do the math, you'll find that I'm decently behind schedule. However, I'd like to point out that this is easily the largest block of fiction I've ever written, so that's an accomplishment in itself.

Below is the opening of Chapter 2. Yes, 2, just because I like to keep you all on your toes. ha. It's completely unedited save for spelling errors, so beware of utter stupidity that may seep in from time to time. Enjoy it. Or don't. But if you don't, please don't tell me that you hate it until December, because I can't do revisions until then, anyway! =P


Raelah Taryn Arabella
Ides: Month of Flowers (May)
Day 1 Notes

The last thing that I ever wanted was to marry for anything other than love. And for me to sit there and listen to my parents tell me that they had already selected my husband, and that there was nothing I could do about it, just about broke my heart. It may be true that I didn’t have anyone particular in mind yet, but I’m only seventeen years old, so is that really expected? Why couldn’t they have promised Celia to this Prince Athan? I know that sounds terrible that I would be willing to sacrifice my sister, but I actually wouldn’t do it. I’m just curious why no one thought that she would be a suitable match. After all, she was twenty-one already, and no one other than I was aware of the fact that she was preparing to run away with Count Orion once the summer came.
I had allowed the news to sink in, however, and like any good princess I had resolved to honor my parents’ wishes. I would leave with Prince Athan of Greater Pontleroy when he arrived, and I would marry him when the time came. And after that, I would do my best to serve the people of Pontleroy as their future queen, even though it meant leaving my family and my people behind. Because that is what a princess must do.
That resolve existed a fortnight ago. Today, I am not sure that I will survive the evening, now that I have met him. I saw him from my window when he first arrived, and I knew immediately that this was bound to go poorly. He was the most handsome creature I had ever laid eyes on, with hair as black as midnight – so dark it was almost blue – and bright brown eyes that would have been fantastic if he hadn’t also been the most dejected man who ever lived. The task that had been set to him weighed on his posture and his features like he had been sentenced to death. It was in that moment that I realized he had absolutely no interest in me regardless of the type of person I was, and it was also then that I decided to become as undesirable as possible. Why, if he didn’t want me, I would make sure it was for a reason. And I’m sad to say how stunningly I succeeded.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

it's all about that first step...

I did something a little crazy today - I signed up for National Novel Writing Month.

The goal? Write a 50,000-word (approx. 175 pages) novel from scratch in 30 days.

So far, I have a plot line, a tentative title, two main characters who can't stand each other and about 130 words. I suppose that's a good start, considering I started working on this about 5 hours ago, and it took an hour and a half of that to decide on names. What can I say? I'm particular about names.

You may be wondering what possessed me to sign up for a month of insanity. Well, the best conclusion that I've come to is that I've all but stalled out on my writing out of fear, and that's not a good enough reason to stop working. If you never take the first step, you'll never walk anywhere. So this is my step out the front door.

A real challenge. A real deadline. If I don't make it, it's only because I didn't put forth the effort to succeed, and that's no way to work or live.

So, I'd love it if you ask me for updates on my progress, because I'm going to need my friends to spur me on - that's why I'm putting this out there in the first place. If I have accountability, I'll be that much more encouraged to finish what I've started.

If you have any interest in the story I'm working on, let me know, and I'll send you a bit of it, because knowing that I'll be sharing it with someone will help me make it as good as possible. It will be unedited for the most part, though, so please bear with me in love (especially if it's not Dickens quality!). ^_^

So here's to November, and the completion of Charming!