NaNoWriMo: Day... oh who cares?! I'm exhausted!

Hello friends and fellow NaNo-ers. I've been trying to catch up this weekend. I did 5,000 words... that's pretty good. But I know I am 10,000 short of being on track. Yikes! You know, this is a lot more do-able in some ways and a lot harder in others. I think if I didn't write so much at work, or have a desk job, I would be much more content and focused at the computer. But as hard as it is to get myself to sit down, once I start writing its really fun to see the story taking shape. Thanks for all the encouragement. It really, truly helps and I appreciate it so much.

Okay, so some of you have been asking, so here's another bit of the story. It's the introduction of our next big character, and if you couldn't tell by this segment, our love interest! Enjoy!

“There’s our boys! It’s about time you got back!” Rose teased.

Three tall figures came out from behind the main work building, with big smiles shining under their caps. Rose jumped up like a school girl to give them all big hugs. She was so excited, Ana thought she just might knock them down.

“Ana, meet my boys.” They all smiled at her as she got up to say hello. By now she had learned to stop bowing at people and so she stuck her hand out awkwardly waiting for them to take in and shake it like the other people do.

“This is Henry, Luke and my son Flynn. They all grew up in these fields together, running about just like Hilda’s little ones do now.”

“Nice to meet you all. I’m Ana.”

“She’s new, just came from The City.” Rose explained. The boys (really it should be men) all tried to hide their look of surprise from their faces but it was hard to do. I guess by now she had shaken off the look of a City Ghost they all them here. But really, she never looked like the type of people that came over on the boat. She’s too frail to be a fighter and not rough around the edges to be a criminal. Plus with all this work outside her body was really changing too. She’s gotten stronger and her skin started changing color. Rose had to explain that the whole color thing was normal. Ana thought that her skin was going to come off!

“Glad to have you here,” Flynn was the first to speak. Ana noticed right away his bright shining eyes from under the brim of his hat. His wavy black hair peeked out over his ears. His smile was just as bright as his eyes too. He seemed very composed and statuesque. He must be the leader of this little band of friends. Ana guessed. It was an easy guess to get right. Flynn exuded that type of down to earth confidence that people here looked to. He reminded her of Lu Lu, but much more calm.

The three men joined them for lunch and quickly ate up the leftovers as they told their, “momma” how their journey went. They had made a trip out past the edges of the city, to the next piece of civilization over. Ana was amazed! First there’s this second city, outside of The City, which was the only thing she knew to exist. She always thought that in the Big War everything else was wiped out. But now she realizes that there was a lot she believed when maybe she shouldn’t have. Now there’s not only a second city, but a third… and who knows how much is out there! A whole world that she thought was lost now opened up to her. All those amazing things she had read in the books her grandmother had hidden for her. Those could be out there for her to learn about. Sure, they don’t have a lot of the stuff that they used to back then, like electricity and cars. Airplanes and computers. Oh, what she would give to see those things. But maybe there’s someplace out there that has them. What else is out there that has been hidden from them?

Anyways, back to the men’s story. The had to take a long journey out to the next city, which was at the other end of the bay, towards the bottom. They were very patient with all of Ana’s questions, which she couldn’t help but ask. They drew a picture in the sand of the shape of the bay, showing her where they are, THe City and this other place they call Morgan town.

“What’s this place where we live called?” Ana asked.

“We live in the Oak township” Flynn replied.

They went there to go get new seeds for crops. They had a good season and had extra seeds leftover and extra dried vegetable so they decided to go and trade. It took a couple of days to get there and so they stayed awhile, learning from the other town’s growers. Plus, they said, a fight broke out with two traveling gangs just outside of the town, so they thought it better to wait.

“Otherwise they might take all out new seeds and then the trip would be for nothing.” Flynn explained.

Everyone was excited to see and hear about the fascinating new plants and seeds the three travelers brought back. They even brought a tree, with a big cloth tied around the roots.

“This is very exciting!” Flynn said, “It’s a new nut tree called Almonds. Now we won’t just have walnuts and acorns we find in the woods. There’s lots we can make with them too. We had wonderful little cakes that their cooks made for us.” That sounded delicious to Ana!

Flynn glanced over at Ana and gave her a little smile. She felt her cheeks go red.

“Who wants to help me choose a spot to plant our special new tree?” he bent down to ask Nicolas and Victoria, who had been clambering up his legs the entire conversation. They jumped for joy at the question, knowing it was aimed just at them! The three went off into the grove of trees to make their very important decision.

Rose looked over at Ana, “Ah, it’s good to have my boys back home. And I’m glad they got a chance to meet you.”

NaNoWriMo: Day 4

Hey there!

So I am doing pretty good with keeping on schedule! We will see how this lasts. The best part is seeing what the characters are going to do next. And yes, Ana does run into some new friends. Here's a tidbit. I promise its not all doom and gloom... but just like in real life, sometimes characters have to go through rough times before the good comes along. Let me know what you think of Ana and her journey as we go along -- AND I want to hear about your stories too? What's your favorite sentence or paragraph so far??

Don't forget to add me as your buddy on NaNoWriMo.org. My author name is danagirl1.

Keep writing!
d

Ana slept like a baby that night. Strange, right? But it had been a long day and a safe cozy spot was all she needed to fall into a deep, deep sleep. She awoke in the early hours of the morning, hearing scurrying feet, not those of rats, but human feet. Her whole body went rigid. Like a dog face to face with an intruder, the hairs stood up on the back of her neck and arms. She slowly moved towards the small crack in the doorway to get a closer look. In the dim light of dawn, Ana could see mostly silouettes, with vague features starting to form in the new light. There was a girl who looked like she was about Ana's age, in her mid 20s. She had long dark hair pulled into a ponytail and swished defiantly at her back. She was angry at the guy, who looked like he was about the same age, a little shorter, scruffy, and lean in build. The girl was holding a rifle, her long arms gesturing with it, pushing it up in the air to show her frustration but not pointing it in any real way to harm the guy.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the girl. The animation in her face as she raised her voice to the guy was mesmerizing."I told you not to come to the boxes today!" she roared, "After all the shit that went down last night, you have to be a complete idiot. You're gonna get us killed."

"That's just it! They'll never expect us to go gathering after all that. We're perfectly fine!" His resoluteness was undermined by the timid tone in his voice.

"You are an idiot. Why do I put up with this crap." She tilted her head softly, showing just for a second, a warm hint of affection. That slight change in her face made her look beautiful to Ana. The girl's long bangs fell over one green eye, brushing her strong cheekbones and tanned skin. Her emotions radiated, pushing out into the atmosphere and jabbing at Ana in her hiding space.

Caught up in the moment, Ana lost sight of what she was supposed to be doing...hiding. Her footing slipped just a little and she kicked one of those weird box thingies, which hit the door, which made a loud thud that rang through the entire container and caused Ana to make a small but audible gasp. so much for those survival instincts. ana could see the girl and guy whip their heads in her direction. Do i wait for them to come over and discover me? or do i walk out with my hands up? maybe i will leap out and give them a big Hello!

She didn't have time to make any decisions before it was made for her. before she knew it, the door was wide open and a rifle was put smartly in her face and the pretty but tough girl was glaring at her from the other end.

"who the hell are you?" commanded the girl.

"ana"

"so why arent you dead with the other losers, Ana?"

"i ran"

"Smart ass."

"Huh?" Ana replied. The girl was using a lot of words she hadn't heard before. Ana figured by her tone that it meant she didnt like her answer. Does that mean I am supposed to elaborate, she thought. Why not give it a try? "i wasnt sent here. i got on the ship without any permission. i wanted to leave The City. I wanted something different."

Apparently this was a much better answer than Ana's first because the two started laughing and chuckling. who knew?!

"well thus place certainly is different from The City. thats for sure. but i dont know if you're gonna be as happy with this choice as you think you are."

"well at least it is a choice, right? now whatever i do from here on out is my choice. no one elses."

"thats a real positive outlook, but honey, even here there's some rules you gotta follow if you are going to survive." they both smiled at her, then glanced at eachother as the girl lowered her gun. "come on. we'll try to show how to not get killed." the girl put out her hand and helped ana up and in to the now early daylight. "my name's alicia but everyone calls me LuLu. and thats tom."

"im ana" she said, smiling her first real smile in years.

Thank you Inkygirl

I love this comic.

For you writer's out there, check out more cleverness at inkygirl.com.

PS: YES, this is me procrastinating... I'm a writer, that's what we do!

Day One, NaNoWriMo

So this whole thing didn't start out quite like I expected it to. Boyfriend and I went to bed early so I could be rested for my day of writing, but instead we were woken up every hour because his poor kitty was sick and throwing up. This has been going on all week, but we thought he was getting better! So first thing in the morning, we went to the vet emergency. Two hours later, we were exhausted, hungry and anxious. The vet doesn't know what's going on with kitty but gave instructions on how to take care of him so hopefully he gets better.

Sooo, I didn't start writing until I was waiting for the BART train. I imagined myself in a much different setting for the start of my novel. I should have been sitting on my comfy couch, with music playing and a cup of tea. But you know what? That's ok. Because I was able to write, despite the crowds. And I actually feel more confident that I can make my goal.

Okay, I know some of you have been waiting for a glimpse of what I'm writing, so here you go. Now remember, this is a VERY rough first draft with typos and everything (especially the stuff written on my iPhone because punctuation is a pain in the butt on that thing). Once I get done with everything this month, I will go back and rewrite, proofread and polish it up. Enjoy!

the dark dankness of the boat enclosed her in a filthy cocoon. but that she could get used to. it was the slap slapping of the water hitting below the bow combined with the ramdom thud-thud of the bodies in the cargo bay that made her want to scream. how did she know that she had corpses for travel companions? its called survival-something that Ana knew how to do well. its not something she learned. people in the city had it beaten into them that you do as you are told. color inside the lines and life will be just fine. which is a good plan until you deviate or get thrown outside of those safe cozy frigidly strict rules. shes seen it happen to people. shit happens and when it does theres nothing you can do but roll over and wait for Them. but thats not the point. we are digressing. ana had to survive and somehow she just knew what to do.

she crept through the alleys to the docking bay, where they load up the bodies and the alive but still forgotten people. after rooting around the very yard, she found a precious moment to slip on the boat. the clothes she traded the baglady for let her fit in perfectly. Oversized and tattered, they hid her well. As invisible as air, she slipped into line, onto the boat and then she was on her way to -- well we're not too sure yet. And neither is Ana. This hasnt ever happened before -- not to anyone shes ever known. But then, thats the whole point. shes not staying in the lines anymore. shes going completely off the page.