This Story is Actually Going Somewhere!

I just can't wait to get there! I have all these ideas for my novel, plot sequences and exciting happenings that I just can't wait to have happen to my main character, but of course my fingers, and my brain, as so slow. It's not that the in between parts are bad, but I just can't help but anticipate these events which will really change Nola's life forever. Like, right now, she still doesn't know about her magic...or heritage. I'm so excited to reveal it to her, to have something happen to her and see how she reacts to it. Will she be freaked out? Excited? Well, I already have my answer...I know exactly how it will make her feel, considering the climate in France and all over Europe really during the 18th century and before regarding "magic."
Sometimes it feels as if I'm just plodding along, filling space until I can get to those momentous occasions, but then I remember its going to be those middle parts that really make the book, that make it something people will devour and enjoy word by word instead of just put down because it's too slow to develop or not engaging enough to bother continuing.
I have reached 28,000 words now...it's not fully in sequence but it's 28,000 usable words that really add to the story at different times in her life. I just have to string them all together. I figure, if I write 2,000 words per day, plus at least triple that each day this weekend, I could actually get to 50,000 words by the NaNoWriMo deadline (Nov. 30th)!
No problem, right? Ha! Tall order. But most importantly, I'm actually getting somewhere with this story. Can't wait to see where I take it tomorrow night.
I nearly fell asleep over my laptop tonight, mid-thought and mid-sentence! 1 am bedtime last night (morning!) is definitely not conducive to good writing sessions...thankfully, my mom called and woke me up. Thanks Mom! Managed to get a few more words out.
Till tomorrow.

Snowy Slush and Late Night Mush!

There is a winter wonderland of slush outside, and my desire to merrily sing Christmas tunes has been sated. There's just no rejoicing to be had when you're sloshing around in scummy looking wet snow! But it started out rather majestically...come January, when the deep freeze sets in and sticks the snow to every living and inanimate object, I'll probably wish for the changeable nature of slush! Till then, bring on the sunshine. And sleep...can't wait to curl up in my flannel sheets tonight because, (what else is new?) I'm pooped.
More success writing tonight. It appears I need a good 2-3 hour window to be really productive. By the time I finish searching for that word that's on the tip of my tongue but just won't come out, or research whether or not 18th century France had ice boxes, it takes 3 hours to get a good chunk of writing done. It frustrates me that I can't have that much time each night of the week! And, when I do, by 10:00 Bailey is staring at me to rub her, and let her out to pee and then put her to bed. Yes: I communicate with my dog. In fact, I know all the different tones of her barks like a mother does her babies cries! Right now she's guilt tripping me with the biggest sighs I've ever heard emitted from an animal. They can be roughly interpreted as: "I don't understand why daddy is in bed sleeping, and I'm not!"
I feel like I've made some really great progress on the story. My characters are developing on paper (they're already developed in my head), and they're actually getting places geographically and emotionally...the story is slowly unfolding! Nola's 6-year old self is firmly esconced in France, elements of her character being revealed through her actions (like galloping a pony through a field to her mother's chagrin)...it's a whole new story. To explain further, I started this whole idea on a completely different bent, at a later date than 1782. It was so EXCITING and I loved it...but it needed more background. Then, adding the background with flashbacks made it too choppy and felt the pace of the narrative was lost. So all those flashbacks and now an entirely new book on their own, a prequel in a sense to the original story, now book 1 in what will inevitably (because, as you can see, I'm wordy) become a multivolume saga!
Amazing how you start with one thing, and it ends up completely different in such surprisingly pleasing ways!
I just kick Bailey off the couch before she falls asleep again...when she gets to that stage I must physically drag her off while she gives me the evil eye (ha, should have put me to bed sooner, mum!). She'll hang 3/4 off the couch before finally relenting to drop a foot to the floor.
I'm hoping to pull some passages soon (all those flashbacks) from my first manuscript into this new one, the first attempt sitting at about 30,000 words right now, and that will hopefully boost up my word count drastically. I'll never make it to 50,000 by the 30th in order to (try to) win this NaNoWriMo competition, but I'll keep trying! No matter what, progress is progress, and if I continue this pace past the 30th, I'm guaranteed to finish the book sooner (and get published?!!!!!!) than if I had never bothered to enter the contest at all. Amazing what a little competition will do.

Novel Word Count: (drum roll....) 11,098!