So, my “hot chocolate” has become more like “cold, chocolately water”. …Bummer.

’Ello. I am still alive; never fear!

Today is, naturally, the thirteenth day of NaNo.

I didn’t write much yesterday, but I WILL make up for it today. I was quite ahead by Sunday, so even without writing much yesterday, I only need an extra hundred-ish words today. On top of the 1,670. I have honestly barely paid attention to that. My goal is to get at least the word-par for that day.

And I have decided something.
I hate to do this, feel like a traitor…but it is time.

I am going to actually start using parenthesis in my writing again, instead of brackets.

It is going to take some getting used to…but, alas…I feel I must.

So sad.

Goodbye, brackets. You will always look cooler to me.

In more serious news, I have decided something else: After NaNo, I am going to try really hard to keep up the pace of 50,000 words a month. If I do that, and each book is about the same size, I will be finished with the ENTIRE STORY within a year.

That…is insane.

But so, so exciting and hopeful.

I mean, I have looked at this story and thought, “Man, it is going to take me like five years to finish this. And that’s without any life interruptions.”

But to see that it is actually possible to have it done in a year…that is just…wow. Just wow.

…Anywho.

Updates:

1. Chapter nineteen is done, as is twenty. That means I am ON chapter twenty-one, and I already have some of it written. Actually, I have some of every chapter from here on out already written; at this point, it comes down to just bridging stuff, and adding a few more pieces to the puzzle. I am so close. So close.  

2. I added something at the end, which is fun. (My version of “fun”.) This allows for something to happen that I really wanted to keep…and it also means the book will very likely be twenty-three chapters. Yes, I keep adding; first it was twenty-one…blah blah. Yeah, and the inn part was only supposed to be five chapters. (It now spans fifteen.) BUT…based on what I have, and what seems to be left…twenty-three is a very good guess.

3. Since my last post, I have added these parts to the story:

            ~Her traveling to the city (different from her getting to/into it); it is several different scenes/parts

            ~The aftermath of her first encounter with the half-breed guy

            ~A really awful dream, and the aftermath of it

            ~A different long conversation between her and a half-breed girl

            ~Another interaction between her and those girls, where she allows them to help her a little

            ~A very new twist-idea thing that I thought of, where she tries to leave the city; several parts to this

            ~A conversation between her and her guy (wait, did I say “her” guy?! Hehe!), which actually takes place in book three

And…that is pretty much it, I think. =)

What to call this, what to call this…

WELL!

Today is the fifth day of NaNoWriMo. I am pleased to say that I have been writing a lot; as of yesterday, I had 6,872 words. [I needed at least 6,680.] This makes me happy, because I only wrote about 500 on Sunday --- meaning I had an extra thousand-plus to make up yesterday. Which I did, somehow. …Whew. Writing may not be physically tiring, but it is mentally and emotionally draining. And if you think differently, you probably haven’t written any sort of involved story. ;) ;)

Anyway…some exciting updates:

1. Chapter eighteen is complete.

2. Chapters nineteen and twenty don’t need a huge amount more.

3. Over the past week-ish, or so, I have written the following:

            ~The fifth “rising water” dream [for those who know, it is the recurring one where she is in the glass box]

            ~The aftermath of that dream

            ~Her getting to and into the new city

            ~The first few things that happen in that city [and there are several parts to this]

            ~The aftermath of another creepy dream

            ~A long conversation between her and a half-breed girl

4. Book one itself will be either twenty-one or twenty-two chapters long. I thought twenty-one at first, but I had to move some stuff around, and…yeah. I am thinking twenty-two, just to give myself time to not have to rush things.

5. I have essentially figured out how the half-breed group approaches people…I think. They have some things they try to do --- provide food, extra clothing, and meet basic physical needs --- and then just kind of go on a case-by-case basis. That seems to make the most sense.

What I need to figure out extremely soon:

1. Back-stories for the half-breeds that my girl will encounter first; namely, the ones with the actual group that finds her.

2. Also back-stories for the backup group; but that can be later. Not much later, but later.

3. What exactly happens between the end of eighteen and the middle-ish of nineteen; namely, what happens as she travels from where she is now to the new city.

As everything stands right now, I DEFINITELY think finishing book one by the end of November is possible. More than possible…it is certain. Doing NaNo has been soooo good for me so far. It is somewhat stressful, but it is also great for helping cultivate some discipline in me. I mean, barring something happening, I may even be able to finish book one this week. I have been writing exclusively in it since NaNo began, and I truly do not have much more to do. In fact…

What’s left in book one:

1. The several-day journey from the current city to the new city. It is going to be four days total, I believe. There will be some flashbacks/dreams/hallucinations in this part, which are always fun.

2. The rest of her interaction with the half-breed group, which takes place over a few days as well. I have the initial meeting, another conversation, and then the end.

3. Edit and tweak and make sure everything fits and flows and all of that good stuff.

4. …And…that’s it.

And THAT…is exciting. =D