Saturday, November 22, 2014

NaNo Day 22 - Staying calm and keeping on

Today I was productive: I actually did the laundry.

Yeah, I wish I could end this blog post with such an achievement, but that's not very exciting. Laundry is amazing sometimes though, since you can put your mind on zero and think about other things while your hands are folding. While matching socks I had an amazing breakthrough in my story! I left the confetti of footwear behind me and ran to get my purple notebook. I was able to write a whole new page of bullet points! And when I went to the computer to type them up, I was able to type out a half page!

I love how NaNoWriMo has taught me all kinds of new techniques about writing. The thing I've learned the most is:  there is no ONE technique for writing a book! I can do something different everyday, either with hand-written notes, bullet points, sprints, it doesn't matter. I can write picture-perfect descriptions or simply say [...put cool description here..] just so I can move on to the next scene.

And the most perfect feeling is when you write EXTRA words! Today I'm over the par by 394 words! That's 394 words less that I have to write tomorrow if needed.

In total I brought my word count up to :  37,060 words!  Go me, go me!

EXCERPT
So suck it, I'm totally introducing another new character at 35k! Woot! I've already let go of any expectations of completing my book within the 50k limit. If I actually had to guess it might be double that count at least. So technically the story is still just beginning right?? 
Here's the new guy, read and enjoy!
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The woman seemed genuinely pleased with their pathetic encounter. She tapped a finger on her thigh and started to hum to herself. Satisfied with her thoughts, she jammed a fist into her other palm. “Right! It sounds like you’ll need some things explained and I know just the person to take you to. Follow me.”
Little blue lights lit up the floor as she led them into the lobby. Soon the whole interior of the room was lit and everything looked brand new: white concrete walls without blemish; large colored paintings hung without dust. Even the full red carpet under their muddy shoes was clean.
                “This place is amazing,” Jason breathed. “It’s like the whole building was untouched by the last one hundred years!”
                “Oh this place is a lot older than that,” the woman chuckled behind her. “Personally I liked the clean style of the twenty-second century and suggested we update the interior.”
                “We?” Shiri inquired.”Who else is here with you, Miss Sun?”
 “There’s no need for formalities. Just call me Sun.” They had passed the reception desk in the lobby and now stood before a wall of silver double doors. The woman chuckled as she pressed the ‘down’ button. Instantly the steel doors opened and she walked inside.
                “Incredible! This is a working lift system, right?” Jason spoke in excitement. “I’ve always wanted to ride on a working one.”
“I believe it’s called an ‘elevator’,” Sun replied.
He stepped inside and ran his hand over the wall hoping to find a sensor or touchpad. As he started to poke the wall in various places with his hand, Sun spoke out loud. “Basement Level 5.” The doors closed and the small little room shot downwards. The momentum made everyone grab the handrail, but Jason just giggled.
Once they had their footing back, Shiri cleared her throat and looked up at the woman, who was clearly enjoying herself. “So you mentioned that other people are here with you, correct?” she said.
                “Hmm, well there’s only one other person here. I’ve just never thought about him that way,“ Sun explained after a moment. “He can help you fight the daemon’s outside.”
                “Woah, hang on there a minute,” Isaac replied. “You want us to fight those monsters? There’s no way we can fight like you…whoever you are.”
                “Oh don’t worry. My master has been training human fighters for as long as I can remember. He knows the right kind of weapons to use in order to defeat the daemons. There are also other ways to fight than brute force. He can teach you much, if you are willing to learn.”
Jason squared his shoulders and crossed his arms. “I want to hear what your master has to say.” Shiri and Isaac looked up to study him. Today Jason had seen too many incredible things. Impossible things. And yet here was a woman named Sun who claimed to be waiting for them. If she knew they were coming, then so did her master.
The sign above the elevator door indicated they were almost at Level 5. There was time for one more question. “So Sun…when we came inside the building, I saw you activated some type of energy barrier on the door,” Jason asked. “Does that mean the whole building is protected with force fields?”
                “Forgive me, I don’t know what you mean,” Sun frowned. “It seems there are still many human words I’m not accustomed to. If you are talking about the entrance to this building, all I did was seal it with a Message. That will keep the daemon out.”
                “A message?” Shiri questioned.
Sun nodded. The elevator stopped and opened its doors to a sight Jason couldn't image was so far underground. The group stepped out into an arched portico with columns on either side. Cloth hangings of deep red velvet trimmed in gold hung from the columns. Their colors looked dim, but the light revealed no dust to be seen.

When Jason’s chest began to hurt, he realized he’d been holding his breath. Shiri weaved her arm into his and shared his aura of amazement. Isaac was less enthusiastic and appeared to be checking the room for exits. As Sun lead the group toward the middle of the grand auditorium, Shiri kept pointing at things to gape at. Oil paintings rested beside holographic projectors; a full set of medieval armor sat beside a framed blueprint for an advanced air fighter. The whole place felt like forgotten museum, full of curious things from a forgotten age and people.
The center of the chamber culminated under the center of the dome. Long conference tables circled its center and were piled high with open books and digital knick-knacks. Even the chairs were used to hold more stuff. There was barely space to sit.
A motorized metal table wheeled itself into sight. Projected  above it’s simple metal top were scenes from a battle, highlighting several of its participants in heroic and tragic poses. And behind the moving table walked a man completely covered in flames, with his nose buried in a book.
                “Holy crap that man is on fire!” Shiri exclaimed. At the same time Jason took his shirt off and ran toward the man. “Sir, you need to get down on the ground and try to roll out the flames!”
                “Lady, help me look for the fire repellent!” Isaac barked and flapped his arms at Sun.  
                “There’s no time for that!” Shiri cried out. “Help Jason suppress the flames. Use the books if you have to!”
Sun continued to walk toward the burning man as if the flames didn’t concern her. She tapped him on the shoulder and he stopped walking. He turned his fiery expression to the woman and then noticed the teenagers trying to hit him with their clothing. Confused he spoke out in a booming voice, “Oh! I didn’t know we had visitors.”
From somewhere within the fire, water bubbled from the man’s skin. It gushed from the top of his head along his arms and finger tips, filling the room in a flash of steam. And a lot of puddles.
Isaac dashed in front of the others and used his body as protective wall. That allowed Jason to pull his sister down into a crouch beside him. The hot vapors scratched at their throats. Then as quickly as the steam appeared, it was sucked into a vortex circling around the room’s ceiling.
                “Ah sorry about that, I tend to wet myself when I’m startled,” the older man apologized. He thought about what he said and added, “That didn’t come out right, did it…” He tried to bat away the little wisps of steam still floating up from his sweater vest.
Sun stood proudly next to the smoking man and waited until she had their full attention. The three of them hacked out a final cough and slowly rose to their feet. Her smile widened. “May I present my master to you, The Spirit of Truth!”
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