Serena's · NaNo · Journal

So...I kind of lost touch there in the end. I pretty much stopped writing in the last week and watched my word count stagnate. I just wasn't feeling my story. I wasn't feeling writing. I wasn't feeling anything in general. It wasn't pleaseant.

The last day of NaNo was a revelation for me. I had over 11,000 words to write in one day. I asked my boss if I could switch my days off that week knowing that I'd never be able to pull off that feat without having the day to myself. And...fifteen minutes before midnight, I finished with 50,030 words and validated my novel into the winner's circle. Not only was it a great personal triumph but forcing myself to write really helped the creative process. I didn't know what direction to take the story in so I started writing about the lives of the side characters and how they came to join up with Oliver. And boy, have they had interesting lives. Oddly enough when I'd been coming up with the characters I couldn't think of anything. Forced to a deadline of writing it was all suddenly just flowing from my brain to my fingertips and onto the computer screen. They told me their lives. And they were so much more than I had ever imagined. So cool.

So, what am I going to do with this now that NaNo is over? I don't know. It doesn't make a very interesting novel. But there are some great individual stories in there. I might break it up into a series of short stories or...it would make a great graphic novel if I felt like drawing it. We'll see. At least it isn't all crap.

And now I can get back to my normal life. Although the whole time I was writing these other stories kept intruding on my NaNo novel so who knows...I might still be writing after all.

So, I crossed 30K several hours ago. Didn't make my goal of 4-5K but with 2K more on the board I'm still 2 days ahead of schedule. Tomorrow I've got a lot of chores to do and then I'm going to lunch with my friends and then its D&D night...again. So, my goal is to get all my chores done by 1030 (completely doable if I get up around 8-830) and then hit the keyboard until lunch, around 1. If I keep at the pace I've been writing (1K every half hour to fortyfive minutes) then I should be able to squeeze about 3K in. Let's hope so.

Storywise, I'm very caught up in all these flashbacks about Kit's past. Which is great, because hey, he's finally getting a personality. And...he's in love with this girl, who is a noble, and he's a peasant so...it doesn't look good for him. But! If he kills the dragon he gets the girl so it's a win win...if he doesn't die (well...we already know what happens). And! The girl is very much like Taryn in attitude, so I can see why he's so drawn to her now, if he was in love with a similar type girl in the past. Isn't it funny the way these things just start to work themselves out?

All right, just by the skin of my teeth. Got 28K just before midnight. Woo! So, made my goal for tonight. Tomorrow I'm going for 4-5K. More if I can swing it. Don't know, I have to stop by work for a bit and also do chores (the house is a total wreck). But! I have faith in me. :)

Poor Taryn and Kit. Every time they kiss it turns into a disaster. Keheheheh. And poor Oliver and Delia. She's so setting herself up for heartache.

Ah well, got to 21K. I had a good run today and I'm getting close to the halfway point, then it will all be downhill. For now...I'm going to treat myself to a little reading before bed time. Nighty night.

20K! Waaaaahooooo! *dances the celebration jig of jigginess*
Ummmm....now onward and upward people! Onward and upward.
Actually, I have a lot to do. I've had all this crazy stuff go down and now I don't know where to go. I've got to connect some dots and fill in LOTS of descriptions. Bleah. I'm hoping I can get to 21K before bedtime so that it'll be an even 10 I've written over the last two days. And! When I get to 21K I'm going to reward myself with reading my favorite passage from one of my favorite books. (there's nothing like rewards for motivation.)

I just posted this little gem to the NaNoisms thread in the forums:
'Oliver....oh, Oliver. I don't know what to think right now. I think I'm going to need some time, to think about things for a while.'

Gee...ya think?

*headdesk*

Ok, so make-out sessions are not totally brainless fodder. I've actually come up with two really great ideas...all stemming from the impromptu make-session Taryn and Kit were having. First it started as 'hey, let's make out because we're bored' and now it's progressed into Kit having a flashback about his past, before the seal had been put on, and also with an idea of what is sealed inside him and how it can come out a little bit. This thing that's inside Kit is a bad, bad boy. And it turns Kit into a bad, bad boy. The trigger right now is a kiss, but there might be others. Boy is Taryn in for a surprise! Teeeheeeheee. :)

I have a little bit over 10K. I'm falling behind because of my crazy work schedule. I did try to write something last night (around 3am) and then emailed it to myself but it was only about 500 words.

Got home around 730 this morning, then watched some tv before I crashed. Woke up about an hour ago and I got to leave for work in about a half. So...I'm going to try to get to 11K before then.

Can't update my WC cuz the NaNo site is down apparently. Hopefully tonight I'll get home around 230, that would leave me with some time before work tomorrow to get some words in.

I just passed 9k. Still ahead but not as much as I'd like to be. Tomorrow I have a weird work day (doing work stuff in the morning, then off, then going in at night late to stay overnight). Yeah.... So, anyway. I'm going to really pound out a few K tomorrow. My goal is to hit at least 12, maybe 13. Or more.
The story is progressing slowly. I might have to browse the forums for an idea on spicing things up a bit. Need some action to be stirred.

I'm over 7k now. Good thing I'm ahead, not sure how much I'll get written today, although I'd like to at least do the minimum goal. I have to work in a minute for 10 hours then D&D right after...they'll probably be out of here by 10...that leaves me a good hour or so of writing tonight.

Ah well, off to work. NaNo will have to wait. Sadly.

NaNo has begun! I'm off to a pretty good start, ahead by almost a day. Today, when I finish all my house chores, I'm going to see how much more I can get ahead by hitting the keyboard for a few hours.
If the cat will leave me alone...he's sitting here attacking the curser going across the screen as I type. So cute though, what are you going to do?
Anyway, I'm at the point where Kit is first coming to Oliver's office. I skipped a section where Kit's attacked on the street just because I wanted to get to some things I already had planned out. I can always go back later and put that in.
I've discovered I use the words 'ostentatious' and 'ornate' alot. Why? I don't know. Ah well, whatever. That's for the editing process, later.
Now, off to fold laundry so I can get back to NaNoing.

So, as so often happens with NaNo writing projects, my story has completely evolved from it's original premise.

Going on with this whole 'something is sealed inside of Kit' thing, this is what I've come up with. Whatever it is that's in him has the potential to bring about great destruction. There are two opposing forces that are after him; one that wants to release the seal and the other which will do anything to keep it from being unleashed. I haven't as yet decided which is the side that Oliver is on...probably the side that wants to protect Kit and therefore the seal. OR!!!! Breakthrough! Eureka! MAYBE he is a neutral force that is there to observe and there are TWO people after him, not just one. Huzzah! (typing things out always helps me think better)
The side that wants to release the seal wants to do so believing that it will bring balance to the world again. They aren't really evil but they are willing to kill Kit to release the seal and they are willing to kill others to get to Kit. They believe what they are doing is the right thing for everyone.
If the seal was to be completely broken Kit would be destroyed in the process. At least the Kit that we all know and love today. But Kit is like a phoenix and will be 'reborn' as something new...or something closer to what he was before he had his memories erased. I've decided this will definitely happen, and it will happen at the climax of the novel. Kit will relize the only way to win will be to die. But the seal can only be broken by someone that loves him. (this is why his memories were messed with so badly and he is a drifter on the streets....the likelyhood of ever finding someone to meet that criteria is slim to none...at least until Oliver takes him in.) Of course, Taryn will have to kill him (I'd already planned on her falling for him anyway).
Ok...now that I've gotten that out of the way...why does everything that I come up with only raise more questions? Like, should Oliver really be neutral? Maybe he is the one all along that wants the seal to be broken and that's why he's taken Kit in to begin with. Maybe Oliver is like Chaos...

Argh! This is making my head hurt.

Ok...back to thinking.

Searching around, scratching my head, staring into space trying to come up with plot ideas for this year's NaNo novel. And...nothing doing. I did come up with a few things this morning that if I iron them out might be able to be built upon.

I've been thinking about Kit's memory loss; why doesn't he remember his past? What *is* his past? Then I began thinking that someone did like a mindswipe on him or something. Clearly he's been messed with, but he doesn't remember anything about it, nor does he particularly care (that's been implanted of course). What if he were sealed somehow? What if he a very dangerous creature that's been sealed away to protect the world? And what would happen if that seal was to come undone?

This would tie in neatly with why Oliver is so interested in him. But it also raises more questions. Like...what are Oliver's true motives? Is he really all that good after all? I can't imagine him as a bad guy. Maybe he knew about Kit being sealed. Maybe he was even there when it happened. Hell, maybe he was even a part of it. But then maybe something happened so that Kit was lost somehow. And he had to find him. Hmmm. Maybe there is someone else looking for Kit too. Someone that wants to unleash the power in him, to use him to destroy things.

Another question would be, what exactly is sealed away? What kind of danger is Kit to everyone? And now that his memory's been altered how will he react when he finds out about his true past?

Pretty excited about the new direction things are moving in. Still need to hammer out a few details (and apparently come up with a villain...oh joy!) so I have a lot of work to do the next day and a half until NaNo begins. Better get crackin'.