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Les Writing blog, with tips, advice, and my own writing... And Nanowrimo obsession.

Jihad: Excerpt

November 9th 2008 10:40
As the story is completely different and for a number of reasons I had to restart, I am also using Jihad as part of my Nano projects, so I'm inspired to finish it. This is part of the Prologue. Have fun reading! Comments would be much appreciated, as this is the story I care the most about at this point-I want to write it well this time around so there's less work on it later. It's been in the works for far too long already.

Here goes:
----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
It was misting the day of the crash. The sort of rain where it isn't really raining, but you still get


soaked through, and an umbrella simply won't do you any good. I always hated that type of weather, to

the point of considering it a bad omen. And that day, Naomi's reading for me a month before was in my

mind. I went to school, and went through the day as though nothing was wrong, though I knew that she

could tell there was something on my mind. Naomi just knew me like that. We had become friends the

year before, just shortly after I moved; she was my first real friend in this place.

She didn't ask me any questions though, and I was pretty sure she knew it was the weather that

was bothering me. We walked together after school as we did every day, talking about the day's events,

which had not been that unusual nor that entertaining. We knew every details of each others' lives,

including the fact that interesting things rarely happened to either of us.

I suppose that was part of it, too. I was bored. My life before had been interesting, but since I

had moved it had become dull. For a long time I had been struggling with depression, and I had finally


won out, but I had never gotten my motivation back up to join any sports teams. I had a hard enough

time just getting through school now, as it was a constant struggle to keep myself out of the spiraling

tunnel I had come to know very well.

We hugged and she went home, and then I started to walk to my house. I was lost in thought,

bored of my life, and barely able to see because of the fog-which was what misting really was, in the

end, but I liked my term for it better. I was busy wondering what life would be like in twenty or thirty

years, if it would still be boring. And I realized it would probably be more so as I started to cross the

road.
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Prompt: Sudden Death

November 8th 2008 09:02
In an effort to write a last thousand words tonight, I had a friend give me a prompt... it was Sudden Death... and this is absolutely beautiful:

Sudden Death
-------------------------
Sudden death is often worse than a death you can predict. There is no way to know that somebody is going to get run over by a car, or die in an airplane crash. And you might never get to say a real good bye to that person. You might have been angry at them when you last saw them; and now they're gone, and you can't take it back and tell them honestly how much they mean to you. You have to simply sit there and let them be dead without ever knowing the truth. There are so many things you could have said to them, or done with them. There are things they wanted to do; life dreams and passions never properly fulfilled.
These are things you wanted to do with them. You care about these people, and now they are gone; and you can do nothing to change that. You may not have spoken to them in a few weeks. Maybe you were even planning on calling them that night when a relative calls to tell you that your friend or family member has died that day, killed in a car crash, an airplane crash, or having had their life taken away by another human being.
You never really got to express your feelings towards that person, you never got to do all the things you dreamed of doing with them-perhaps you two were going to travel, or work on an important project to you, do something that means a lot to you. But now there isn't an option to do that now-now they're gone, and you have to move on and learn to live without them. And when it hits you that they're really and truly gone forever, you will be upset. You will be upset by all the potential that has been laid to waste with their death, to rot with them in the coffin. You will be upset by all the good things you could have done together, all the fun you could have had, were going to have. You will be upset, most of all, that you didn't see it coming; that you didn't do something big for them to show them just how much you care before they died.
But when somebody dies slowly, when you can see it coming, it's an entirely different matter altogether. You find yourself spending every moment you can with them, doing all the best things for them that you can. Going out and having fun with them just because you know they won't be able to have that much fun for much longer, and you want them to enjoy their last little while on this planet. You'll get a chance to show them just how much you care.
That's what makes it easier, in the end, for you to accept their loss. That you spent more time with them, that you did all you could, and that they knew you really did care.
I wish the doctors had told me right from the beginning, when he was diagnosed, that the diagnosis of his cancer was terminal. There were many things I would have done differently; all of the adults in my family knew. They did wonderful things for us-got him onto disability, which pays almost three times as much as welfare, got him into subsidized housing, bought him furniture, and helped him do the things he wanted to do. They even did some fundraising which managed to get us to see Scotland, where our family came from, before he died.
I cannot tell you how much that meant to him, and how much it meant to me and my aunt who went with him. That was perhaps the most amazing ten days of my life, that trip, and I will never forget it; neither will my aunt. And I'm sure if he had survived, he wouldn't have forgotten it either. But he died, and so he cannot remember.
We went to my aunt and uncle's cottage one weekend during the summer for his birthday. I remember that event, his cake, and how he was sad because he knew it might be his last birthday. But at the same time, he was happy; we had an amazing time there. I think the part that hurts the most is this is when I grew closest to Daddy, and I never knew. He meant the world to me and I meant the world to him.
It devastated me beyond words when I knew he was going to go. I miss him still, and I wish I had known sooner; because then I would have made an effort to be even closer.

~Dianna
-----------

Your turn.
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Nanowrimo: Excerpts

November 6th 2008 09:54
Here are 3 excerpts, one from each of the stories I'm working on:
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------------------------

Story 1-Elf's Shadow (needs a new title)

Suddenly the world shattered around me, taking him away with it, crashing around me. My eyes

opened, and I found myself in the cave. Milan was outside, and I somehow knew it was her voice that

had broken through into my dreams. The thought made me almost smile. The girl had power, beyond

that of any ordinary human. She was strong, and though it may hurt, I knew she would overcome the

trial that she faced outside.

The ashes were falling and I watched, wondering what she faced out there. If she was caught,

trapped beneath the falling ashes. The very thought of ashes pouring upon her-or myself-made me sick

to my stomach. To be caught in that...
----------------------------- ----------------------
Note: Ashes=what she calls the rain when she speaks of the darkness. Milan is another character, who has just lost her father and is struggling with her own trials, and has saved Emilia from a nightmare in this fashion.
----------------------------- -------------------------
Story 2-Untitled (Because it's not the story I was planning, it's what my character made me
write. Little beeep)

It was the dawn of the world, and the sun was shining. Back then it was a very different place;

the dawn was quiet as the world fully shaped itself. The trees stretched for miles with nothing to

interrupt them but mountains and ocean. Back then there were no men; there was no mankind. It

simply did not exist.

It was before even the Elves, and it was beautiful. Everything was fresh and new. The first bird

sang to the sun and the trees. They were green and bright, happy and strong, alive and well. The

mountains were hidden behind clouds of fog, the ocean a sparkling blue going for miles, further than

the eye could see-and for me, it was far indeed.
----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----
Note: That's about the beginning of the world, same world as the other one is set in.
----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----
Story 3-Nimara (I gave into her demands to be featured in a novel)

There is a woman who they say has traveled all the world and conquered it. They say that she

has ruled; and that her kingdom was taken, destroyed by a Goddess. They say that she committed a

vile act, and that this is why her kingdom was destroyed. They say that she was a ruined woman, but

that she soon went to sleep, to wake in a thousand years and regain what she had lost.

They say many things about this woman, who is meant to sleep in a great, ruined castle upon

the blackened hill in the center of the dead capitol. Its walls of stone like an impenetrable fortress

surrounded by rubble and despair. Its cold bricks and empty hallways. Nothing is left of it but an old,

dead ruin.
---------------------
Note: Nimara was originally a character who came out of nowhere in my RP, and she has developed a fascinating story, so I am writing hers as a separate thing without any actual RP characters in it, though there will be dedication to my RP friends.
----------------------------- -----------------------

I hope you liked them! I'll probably post some excerpts later in the month as well, though I'm not sure.
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Pep Talk: Nano!!

November 5th 2008 19:17
As I'm at 60K, I think I have the right to say I know a little something about Nanowrimo.

The first year, it's a challenge to hit 50K. You slog through it day after day. Sometimes the words flow perfectly, and other days they simply refuse to come. Some days you get your minimum with ease and go well beyond it. Other days it's a struggle just to get to that 1, 667 words for the day. Believe me, I know; my first year was difficult, but I managed


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Thus far...

November 5th 2008 08:46
Though I had a late start, being sick in bed for the last two days has prompted me to write quite a lot, as my beautiful word count of 56, 435 will prove. Figures this would happen; but the laptop and thus being able to write and chat with my fellow Nanoers has saved me from jumping off any cliffs. It's the most wonderful thing in the world.

The least wonderful is that my wrist no longer snaps back into place when it snaps out of place, so now I can't move it very much


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Nanowrimo!

November 2nd 2008 07:26
Well I've started my Nano, it took me a while because of being out all night Friday and not getting home until noon-and when I got home, the first thing I did was sleep, but I've started and I'm at 5K and I've already written some fun scenes.

Chris Baty did and sent out the first pep talk, and I have to say that the pep talks are one of my favorite parts of Nano. In fact, I still have Garth Nix's from last year in my Gmail inbox, saved away


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Fundraisers For Nano

October 25th 2008 17:25
Anyone who's been a long-term reader of this blog is already well aware of my goal for this November, but I'm going to go over that along with a few ways to raise money (without spending any) for Nano.

My thing: This year I'm planning on writing 250, 000 words during the month of November. I will blog at least twice a week, even if only with progress updates. If I achieve this goal, I want a few people to donate to Nanowrimo in my name, because I can't-similar to sponsorship. My goal is to raise at least $25.00, one dollar for every ten thousand words


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Only Writers Can Understand Writers...

October 25th 2008 16:57
I have many, many different circles in which I travel. About seven different groups in which I hang out on a regular basis, and even more who I talk to online. And I have to say, my favourites are my writer friends.

Why? Because if I tell them I can't make it to something because I'm too busy writing, they understand. When I talk about my binder full of notes on different stories and worlds, they understand. When I talk about my love for words, they get it


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My Nano Projects

October 17th 2008 03:47
I did say I would post my ideas for Nanowrimo, so here are all five books with their basic premises:

Book one and two follows 4 people; Emilia, the Elf turned vampire, Prince Nevillan, who is trying his hardest to keep peace between the races even as his father tries to destroy it, Torin, the son of a count who is on Nevillan's side, and Milan, Torin's sister and the daughter. In the first book, they attempt to warn the Elves of an assassination attempt


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Not much longer...

October 16th 2008 17:38
There are only fifteen days left until Nanowrimo, so if you're going to join us crazies and attempt to write a novel in a month, it's time to start doing some heavy thinking.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this little piece of news. Why are they mixed? Mostly because the idea of having only fifteen days to plan 4 novels, especially when my weekends are booked solid with no time for NanoWriMoing, makes me feel like someone just dropped a ton of bricks on me


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Pre-Nano Work: Outline

October 15th 2008 02:04
I haven't actually gotten this far because I'm way behind. (That said, I have pages upon pages of world notes and I have most of my character sheets done.)

But here is an outlining exercise


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Thanksgiving

October 13th 2008 18:50
It's Thanksgiving here in Canada. I have dinner with the side of my family that I don't like too much, so I don't have time to write anything at the moment. I might be able to write something later, but we'll see if my mom lets me on the computer at home.

To all other Canadians-Happy Thanksgiving


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Pre-Nano Work: Characters

October 10th 2008 22:20
This is a writing exercise to learn more about your character and keep an on-file idea of who they are, which is basically like a profile.

Character Profile


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Pre-Nano Work: Brainstorm

October 10th 2008 00:41
I'm back to talking about Nanowrimo today. It's only a couple more weeks away, after all. For those of you who don't have an idea yet, who are so far flying by the seat of your pants and would like a bit of a plan, I hope this is the right place. I'm going to be doing a lot of my pre-Nano work over the next three weeks and I've decided to share some of it.

I want you to answer the following questions


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