That's an interesting site, too. Well worth looking around to see what's going on!
The post was a good reminder that yes, this is supposed to
be fun. My little mini rants in the last
post were just a bit of frustration at seeing the same things every single
year. Notice that I can't even get up
enough energy for a few hundreds words about them this time. (grin)
I completed Beware the Wrath of Bunny Hopper at 74,017 words
last night. After midnight I started the
second book, Devlin 5: The Aldebaran Stopover.
I'm coming up on 2k for it. I
suspect it will go to about 60k. I have
another outline in hand for afterwards, though I may just leap in and write
something without an outline.
Or maybe I'll go rebel and finish up the one novel I haven't
completed yet this year. You know
what? It doesn't matter as long as I'm
having fun.
And there is the thing you need to keep in mind, too. None of us needs more work, do we? None of us needs more stress. Don't let NaNo cause you problems. Enjoy the rush.
For me, I'm going to be writing as often as I can for the
rest of the month. I will not let much
else interfere, except for the stuff I have to get done. I'm remembering what it is like to write with
absolute abandon and enjoy the story just for telling it.
I'm having a great time.
I hope you are too.
And here is a bit out of Beware the Wrath of Bunny
Hopper. Remember, first draft. I hope you enjoy it, though:
At the end of the rock-carved hall we reached an open archway
to the right and a huge room filled with a lot of people. I tried to look around, to see if I could
find Brad, but they never slowed as they herded me across the room. Tables set here and there and I could smell
food. I saw faces turn my way. Talking stopped. I guess they didn't get many visitors down
here in the hobbit hole.
Then, finally, something else occurred to me. I was the only female in the room. No others.
I began to think there was more to not telling me about what was going
on and I felt a wave or righteous indignation.
It was because I was a girl. Cooties!
Oh no!
By the time we got to the end of the room, a tall, older man
with a sour face had stood and come toward us.
I could see he was not happy to see me at all. The others didn't actually salute him, but I
could still tell he was the guy in charge.
He had the look of Mr. Patterson, the social sciences teacher, whom
everyone agreed had been way too long at the job. He did not put up with anything but what he
said was right.
Yeah, I saw this in this guy's face. I was about to get detention.
But then I heard people coming towards us and looked to the
right and spotted dad and my brothers.
"Bunny!" Dad said, and sounded both surprised and
exasperated.
"So, this is the girl child," the older man said,
looking from dad and my brothers to me.
"You thought you had found a way around the oath, did you? Don't tell her anything, only bring her
inside, against my wishes."
"We did no such thing," my father replied, and this
time he did sound indignant.
"Do not make matters worse, Andrew Hopper."
"We did not bring her in Silvanus. You know us better than that."
"I would have thought I did --"
"Hold on there," I said and dared to take a step
forward. "They didn't bring me
in!"
Silvanus looked at me, his grey eyes narrowed. "I did not give you permission to
speak."
Oh right. Well, I was
about to go from detention to suspension, if not straight to being
expelled. "If you want to know how
I got in, then maybe you ought to listen to me, don't you think?"
"And why should I believe what you say?"
"Oh, careful there, Silvanus. Remember whose daughter she is," dad
said, his voice gone oddly soft.
Silvanus frowned, but I could see he wasn't going to give up
his anger. "Someone brought you
in. There is on other way."
Dad put a hand on my shoulder. I think he meant to quiet or calm me, but I
was not going to let him, Brad or anyone else take the blame for what I had
done. I had never feared the truth. "I hid in the back of Brad's truck
after he took me home. I sent him to
take the trash out."
"Damn. Tricky," Brad said with a sigh.
"I watched him when we got here. I stood in the same place and when the statue
asked, I said I was of the blood. It let
me in."
Silence fell everywhere in the room. Silvanus blinked. I could sense the shock that spread
everywhere with a little whisper from table to table. I dared a glance at Brad who gave a little
shrug, but I saw the way his hand was near the sword he wore as well. So did my other brothers and my father. The sight didn't reassure me. I feared if things went out of hand, they
would draw those weapons to protect me.
I saw a whole new world of folly in what I had done. I never expected it to be like this.
Silvanus was staring at me when I looked back at him. "You are lying," he finally said,
but I could hear a hint of disbelief in his words.
"She most certainly is not," dad replied. His fingers on my shoulder tightened. "You know the truth when you hear it,
Silvanus. And I have been telling you as
much about her."
Silvanus stared at me.
His face did not change and I could tell that no matter what we said to
him, his mind was made up. When he gave
a little nod, I knew it wasn't one of approval.
"The girl child must go from here," he said. My father made an exasperated sigh. "And she must forget."
He lifted his hand and waved his fingers before my face. Pretty lights danced around my eyes. I watched them for a moment, wondering how he
did it. Then I batted them away. "Don't do that," I said. It's really very annoying."
His mouth opened. He
said nothing. No one said anything at
all, until finally, my father let out a little laugh. He startled Silvanus who looked back at him
with a shake of his head.
"It won't work, Silvanus. She is of the blood."
Now, go write and have fun!
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