Nano last days

The last week of NaNoWriMo has been a whirl wind of writing, with little or no editing. But I have won NaNoWriMo according to their rules,  but the Red Book Expose is not finished and I did not finish editing Cave City. But I have learned a lot this month.

What this NaNo has taught me.

• One that sometimes the book you think you are going to write is not the one you end up writing. 
• Two that sometimes your mood effects your writing and other times your writing effects your mood.
• Three that success and failure have many definitions, but what really matters is trying.  Though I think I knew this,  it was nice to have it reinforced.
• Four that Portland has any amazing writing community, that is not only encouraging but can offer a wealth of advice.
• Five sometimes your hardest critic is your self,  layoff a bit and things will fall into place.

This is just some of the things I have learned this NaNoWriMo,  but the one thing I am taking away that is more important than any of these,  is the Fact that I truly do love writing, and in reality this is what I want to do with my life.  Now the goal is to figure out how to make that happen.  What does making writing my life mean.  I think the next year will tell me just that.  '

I have decided to take NaNo on a yearlong journey.  That's correct,  for the next 12 months, my goal is to edit, write or create 50,000 words every month for a grand total of 600,000 words in the next year.  Well, I have 52,434 of those words done.  I think this will help me learn what I want to do with my writing.

So the rules,  as life needs rules. 

1. The only words that count are words for fiction writing, be it a novel, short story, poem, lyric.
2. Any words I write for work, that is not related to a writing project will not count.
3. I will blog about my experiences over the next year. This blog will keep me accountable for writing,  and what I am counting towards my goal. 
4. I will also work on writing short stories, which I will submit to journals for publication.
5. I will put myself and my writing out there.
6. I will look to the community I have found for encouragement and support, and I will offer that encouragement and support in return. 

Over the next week I will add more rules and formalize my goals for this year.  I hope that people will give me feed back on what rules I should follow.  And if they think this is crazy, which I am sure it is.  Can anyone keep the frenzy that is NaNo going for a whole year.

I am sure of one thing, no matter what I will be a better writer for even attempting this,  and in reality that is the real goal, to improve your craft, to move from amateur to professional.  I began the journey almost 2 years ago, I started writing to relieve stress and found my passion.

The Red Book Expose is not what I intended when I started,  but I think that there is a lot there that I can use.  But it has a long way to go before it is finished.  As I look back on a project that I was doing just to improve my writing skills,  I realize that there is a story there to tell, the story is dark and funny and hopefully poignant.  I realized from listening to the story of my friends that work in the service industry that our lives or put forth as a commodity that opens us up to being used for the benefit of others,  but also opens us up to meeting great people and helping both those in need, and those who are needy.  But we serve, some do it for a paycheck, some do it because they like it, some do because they are good at it,  but for the most part people that serve do it because a small part of them want to make a difference in this world. 

Excerpt  Red Book Expose 

Americano and workbook in hand I return to the front desk, to find the guest from 174 pacing in the lobby.  Great.

“Hello, ma’am,  Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes,  can you make him stop.”

“Can I make who stop what?”

“The man, he is screaming and yelling at the woman.  I cannot take it anymore. She is crying for help.”

Looking at the women,  she is on the verge of tears, desperation oozes from every pore of her being, “Ma’am, where is this man?”

Looking at me the small woman seem startled “You believe me?  It is the man I complained about earlier, in the room next door.”

Picking up the Red Book I flip to the page from a couple days ago.  “Well, I see here that you did make a complaint twice about someone screaming at you.”

“He is not screaming at me,  He is screaming at the girl in his room. He won’t let her leave.” 

Looking at the women I wonder if my caffeine consumption had driven me stark raving mad, because I believe her,  and realized for the first time she might not be as crazy as we thought.  “Ok you stay here,  I am going to go up and check.”

The woman begins to wring her hands,  her eyes darting about this way and that “But he will know I said something, he will hurt me and you.  You can not go by yourself.”

The terror was clear on her face, “I am just going to check real fast. I’ll be back down in a minute.  Wait here.”

I leave the woman clinging to the front desk,  and walk towards her room,  before I am even in the hall way by her room I hear the yelling,  and then a blood curdling scream.  I stop dead in my tracks frozen, should I go knock on the door, maybe there is a reason for the scream.  My feet carrying into the hall and before I know it I am in front of the door. Yelling rattles the world around me,  I shrink from it. Why in hell has no one said anything?  Knuckles hovering an inch from the door, the scream echoes down the hall.  Turning, my mind made up this is a police issue. 

Unfinished projects=4 (added Red book expose)
Words Written=52,434
Words Edited=0  ( I have decided that none of the editing I did during November will count toward my year goal)

So here is to a year of writing madly.  Let the journey begin. 

NaNo Oh NO! Only a week to go

Monday has come and gone, and we are already, two days into the last week of NaNoWriMo.  With word count,  on tract, I just need to keep up writing my 1666 words a day and I will win. 

But what is winning?  Is it meeting the goal of writing 50,000 words in a month; is it finishing the novel; is it meeting what every goal you set for yourself.  I think that all of the above can be considered wining NaNo. 

This year, I will take my 50k, and walk away happy and disappointed.  Happy that I have recommitted to writing.  Disappointed that I did not met my individual goals.  But hey, I Still have a whole weekend off, and now work in site, so I could just pull one out of the air and even meet that goal. 

So for all, those NaNoer's out there be proud of what you accomplished,  and realize that the end is not here.  If you have not met your goal yet don't give up,  just keep working to the end of November and hopefully beyond.

Another thing, this week as brought to my attention, is the need for a writing group.  They are great to bounce ideas around, see a hole in your story you may have missed,  encouraged you after you mercilessly killed off a beloved character,  or want to kill a character because they just won't do what you want.   So this has lead me to the idea of Keeping the Floyd's writing group going.

I have also realized in the last week, no matter how much you may want to write one story,  if it is not happening it is better to write the one at hand.  What does that mean,  Well last week I was very disappointed that my satire comedy, had taken on a serious tone.  This week I realize that adding that seriousness has created drama for my main character,  and made her more interesting then just the crazy coffee drinking stressed out front desk agent, she has meat on her bones so to speak. 

Excerpt Rough Draft The Red Book Expose

“Excuse me, are you working?”

“Oh, sorry for the wait.  Sir.  How can I help you?”

“Well, I have a reservation, and I need to check into the room.”

“I’ll need picture ID and a credit card.” 

The man sighs , tired weary, but even after that he has clean Baldwin good looks,  but with out the smile or jokester spark that really makes me like the brothers.  He slides the cards across the counter.  “Any day now, its not like this job takes a rocket scientist.”

“No, sir it does not.”  I respond taking the id. Pulling up his reservation, I groan to myself,  “Well Sir. Apparently you made the reservation for tomorrow as your check in date.”

“Well, it’s unlikely a place like this is sold out.  Just fix it. Or, are you too incompetent to do anything with out written instructions.”

Looking at the man in front of me,  his smug condescending smile spreads across his face like he has me beat or trapped.  Without hesitation or thought every word that I have wanted to say comes spewing out of me like projectile word vomit.  “Well, Sir Maybe I am on the unparalleled level, of incompetent. You see its not like I have a college degree or my Masters degree or even a law degrees. No its not like  I just failed the bar,  after three years, of law school, and 125,000 dollars in student loans,  months of studying.  Yes, I am a retarded, fuck-up, an imbecilic of the highest origins,  who can not possible have the skills or know how to do anything in this world. 
Like seeing you don’t have a reservation for tonight.  And that we are  in fact, sold out.  Yep, this run down, stuck in the 70’s flash back hotel and I are clearly well below you,  in every way.  So see, I cant just check you in and fix it.  Because I am such a lazy, incompetent, rude person,  that I want to mess up everyone else life,  just so they can be down in the muck with me…

The man starts to back away staring at me like I am a lunatic.  Finally when he is about three feet from the door he turns and runs.

From the other end of the Lobby, “Well, did you really need to terrify the poor man.  He just wanted a room for the night.”

Spinning around with homicide on my mind, I see my favorite guest, “Oh you heard all that. Sorry?”

Laughing,  “Melt down much?  But he did deserve it.  Do you have any more of those coffee packs”

“Yeah, I do.  And thanks.”

 Nothing on my editing because it has been like prying a corpse from the frozen tundra of my mind.

Unfinished projects 3
Word Count 41666

NaNo's lost week

I have had ups and downs, this NaNo cycle, from writing 5000 words in a day to catch up, to just breaking even for the week.  This week has been different,  after my disheartening last week, I came to a screeching halt.  Between my indecision about the direction my two projects seem to be taking me, to a work week from h3ll I am behind the eight ball, once again. 

Can I catch up,  yes.  The question is; Will I catch up. Or will I  allow my indecision and life to distract me from my goals.  Looking back at the year,  I realize that even with every excuse I have made for myself, the one reason I have not gotten projects done is my lack of forward motion this year.

I have been stagnate, life is gray and not in color. For me this is a very unusual. Normally I see twenty shades of blue, I see the accomplishments I have made, and the people around me have made, be they friends, family, co-works or the man on the street playing music.  I have stopped seeing these things and this has stopped my forward motion. 

Now that I realize this I need to make an effort to do that focus on the colors of the world and the people around me, to see where I should go next.  This will flavor, my writing and my life.  Like the titles says this has been the lost week of NaNo,  I have been lost in my own mind,  swimming through, story ideas, character development, and all of it has been a useless pursuit as it stopped my forward motion.  And without actually moving, doing, working nothing will get done, nothing will change. 

So today is the day,  to grab a keyboard, or pen, and move forward; regain my momentum.  Right this second, that movement could be on the Red Book,  or Cave City, or anyone of my other projects but I must start moving again. 

So with that out of my system,  lets look at the Red Book:

Currently I am about half way through writing the book and the story,  which means it will have to be over 50k words to finish. The current word count is 33690,  that means I am looking at about 70k words. 

I have gotten my character through taking the bar the first time,  and the waiting to find out if she passed.  The next chapter I am going to write is the chapter where she finds out she has failed the Bar, which from personal experiences, makes a person question every one of their ability, intelligence, and worth.   This should actually be a pretty fun chapter to write.

I have to fix the next two chapters a little to tie them into the story line more consistently.  Then I get to move into her studying for the bar and taking it for the second time.  OH fun times.  The last couple of chapters are going to end the book on an up note I think,  with her finding out she passed the Bar,  self worth restored. 

All I can say about Cave City, is, oh cave city how I love to hate thy. 

Unfinished projects 3
Words written 33690
Words edited zilch.  :)  hey but I am only working one job this weekend, I see the light. 

NaNo halfway gone

I have reached the mid point in NaNoWriMo,  and I do not feel half way done,  I feel half way gone.  I finally caught up on my word count, then I made the mistake of reading what I wrote and every fiber of my being told me to push the delete key. 

In the Red Book Expose,  I am taking not only my own stories and experiences but those of friends and co-workers.  In my lasts chapter, I think I may have stepped over the line.  You may be asking if I asked,  and I did.  But siting down and reading it,  I just don't know.  For now it will stay in the rough cut,  but I doubt this story will ever see the light of day, or anyone else's eyes.  But there is a part of me that also, wants this story out there. 

In the current chapter  I focused on the sexual harassment, front desk agents face on a regular basis.  From being called baby, sweetie,  sugar,  which are minor annoyances that I personally would not deem sexual harassment.  To guest grabbing hands and arms,  mooning us when drunk, to making sexual comments,  to down right rude comments about our shape and size.  To comments,  like can you repeat what you said, I was distracted by your tits.  Sexual harassment is something most agents have had to deal with.

The question, is what happens when comments, become  more than just words and guests act on their preconceived notion of who we are.  This can be anything from the female guests, that smack the male employees on the ass, and proposition them in their rooms.  To female employees being heckled and groped, to all out sexual assault. 

I ask myself, is this book the place to tell these stories, or does it make light of a very serious issue in the service industry. Which is those who are paid to serve, have lost the right to limit contact to their body,  and have opened the door to sexual comments made about them, to being hounded, to have a drink with me, come up to my room,  the idea that you are just another item on the list of incidentals for them to use. 

This chapter is making me second guess the whole project.  Yes the men I wrote about a despicable people and I gave them no redeeming qualities, but the project was supposed to also be light hearted and funny, and I find nothing funny about the last chapter I just wrote. 

Excerpt Rough Draft Red Book Expose:

As soon as the third agent left, the first mass of guest came arrived.  “Hello, would you like to check in, I need picture id and a credit card.”
The guest looks at me and glares, “The room is supposed to be paid for.  Can’t you read?”
Looking at the man in front of me, who looks like a drunken weasel all light shades of brown, small beady eyes,  “Well, Sir,  the room and tax are paid for.  But I still need a credit card for incidentals,  like room charges and parking, this was indicated in your confirmation letter.  If you have it I can read it for you.”
The man looks at me like a bug under a microscope,  “Well, I will certainly look at that later.  I don’t have a credit card, so you are just going to have to check me in with out one.”
“Unfortunately, Sir that is just not possible.”
“Not possible, you fat little cow.  It is possible.  Now do it.”
“Sir, I think that you need to take a step back.  Before, you say something that will require me calling security.” I reply sliding his Id back to him, making eye contact with the person in line behind him.
The guys stares at me,  not sure what to do,  “Please move along. Sir.  Hello,  I can help you over here.” I pointedly stare at the man behind him.
The guest steps up the counter leaving the other guest,  in limbo,  “I need picture ID and a credit card.”
The guest, hands me his id and credit card, grabbing my hand,  “You are not fat,  I would love to ride those curves.  You should come to the Ball tonight.”
Turning slightly pink, “Umh, Thanks but I work all night.  Are you parking a car?”
The guest smiles at my reaction, like a heyna on the hunt, grinning wide, “Yes, I do a truck, lifted with a dual cab.  You are the perfect height, so your toes won’t touch the ground.” 
“Well, I like to keep my feet on the ground. Here is your parking pass and room keys,  Have fun at the Ball.”
The guest takes the pass and keys, licking his lips,  “You are a spicy one,  I love me a red head,  always full of spunk.” 
“Have a good, night sir.  Can I help the next person?”

This is just the beginning of a very long dark night,  To events that maybe should be left in the darkness. 

In regards to editing,  Cave City.  With the half way point come and gone,  I am not even close to hitting the editing goals, and word count..  I have not edited one word in Cave City in more than a four days. I feel disconnected from the story.  I see where I need to go, but I just do not have the drive to take it there.  The story ended up being over 50 last year,  now I have only touched about 7,000 words. Completion of the edit seems to be a lost cause.

Additionally, as I sat back and was looking at my current edits,  I realized that I have made a mistake with how I want the story to progress.  Do I move on from here,  and change my course of action,  or go back.  As Abraham from walking dead said There is no going back, every direction is a question. 

So moving forward with this edit, now every direction and path I put my characters on is in question.  In a way I like this, I think this new path could make a much more interesting, if darker story.  But then again this week has been all about the darkness in people. And how people deal with that darkness, the pain it causes them, and if it will destroy them, or make them stronger. 

These last couple of days, have been hard won words. I want  return to writing lighter fair.  Maybe I will put aside the Red Book for the rest of the week and focus on either editing Cave City but this has also taken a dark divergence.   Maybe I need to work on another project.  I think I am losing, my resolve.  Time to buckle down, dig in and push forward.  I know I can do this. 

Unfinished projects: 3
Words written: 32,666 <---that's a fun number :P
edits,  I am giving my self a goose egg big fat zero,  I have to go back to the beginning.

A day late and 1000's of words short

I am an hour from the mid way point in NaNo,  my word count is short, now on both writing and editing and failure looks like it is in sight.  Failure.  When I consider this logically I know that writing and editing as much as I have and will in this month is no failure. I have accomplished something by the very act of participation.  But the idea of not reaching the end goal, still stings, as a failure to me. No matter, how my logical mind wants to twist it,  I made a goal, and I did not accomplish that goal, that is a failure.

Besides my feelings of doomed failure. Two good things, happened this week, the first was I broke down and wrote a very brief outline for the red book expose. Second, I realized that Cave City is not a lost cause. 

The outline,  it was on Monday night I realized that I my story was out of order,  time wise, in chapter one I am talking about the May weather, in two about a cool dry November and 6 a hot July.  Which stopped me dead in my tracks had I done the same thing as last year, writing thousands of unusable words  This idea brought my writing to a screaming halt.  Then I sat down and read what I had. Some of it is ok for a rough draft, there will be a ton of changes that need to be made,  but in reality it is shaping up. This is when I realized that  if I just reorganized what I have already written it can all remain in the draft.  So I pulled out pen and paper,  and sat down and figured out my time line:

Chapter 1 (may) first day at work
Chapter 2 (may) just another day at work
Chapter 3(June) just realized I am not studying enough  (the five torts) wedding from hell
Chapter 3(June ) double down on studying (Homicide and Robbery) Group block mayhem
Chapter 4(July)
Chapter 5(July) the bar
Chapter 6 (aug) waiting sucks,  little league nation
Chapter 7(Sept) Yes I am a failure
Chapter 8 (Sept) Mid life crises
Chapter 9(Oct) Graveyard, and the bar
Chapter 10(Oct) Swing shift to third shift insainity in sues
Chapter 11(Nov) UCC Contracts and a new guest
Chapter 12(Nov) Torts life and game day
Chapter 13 (Dec)  Civil liability--Its freezing and the old man is dying
Chapter 14(Dec) Property and Christmas in a hotel
Chapter 15 (Jan)  Second guessing and dead mans ale
Chapter 16(Jan) cold day in hell at the hotel
Chapter 17 (feb)Down to the line--
Chapter 18  (feb) 2nd time Oh hell
Chapter 19 March Waiting 2x anxiety
Chapter 20 March Ends and beginnings
Chapter 21 April Its a new day
Chapter 22 May I passed now what.

There it is in a nutshell I have 6 of these chapters written.    Wow, if I can write 6 chapters a week, I think I might just be able to finish this thing.  Now it is time to get back on my writing horse and getty the f* up and go.  

Cave City is not a lost cause.  Yesterday, I was working on editing another chapter,  and the person next to me stopped and started reading over my shoulder,  which I did not realize until they asked,  "Is he going to sell her out?" Looking up, "What?"

This lead to a conversation that reaffirmed the idea for the book,  and gave me a way to develop a character more fully.  So maybe, I only edited 4 pages that day, but to me that conversation will help shape one of the characters, in a much needed way.  I am thankful for someone stopping and taking the time to comment and ask me about my writing. Though I am still taken aback when people actually like my ideas,  or what I have written. 

So in the end, it has been a productively unproductive couple days. Now is time to take what is in my head and put it on paper.  Fast before I forget what I was thinking.  Lately it seems my mind is jumping so much and so fast that ideas fly out like butterflies on the wind, lost forever.  I wonder is this a common NaNoWriMo side effect. As it seemed to happen last year to, about this time. Or it could just be me and my over caffeinated mind.  

Now Back to work

Unfinished projects=3
Words written=19,970 now short about 5000
Words edited=6552 now only 11,000 short

NaNo Day 10 realizations and revelations

Today, I am sitting at my key board looking at the almost 18,000 words I have written for the Red Book Expose, and I see not what I have, but what I do not have.  I look at it and want to crumple up my digital pages and toss them across the room. 

So what do I see,  I see typos, and plot holes big enough to fit a semi truck through.  I see my Main Character as dulling filling page after page.  Then I sit back take a drink of coffee, and it strikes me the reason why I am being so critical of this work, this character, and this book. It has nothing to do with the rough draft, I believe all my rough drafts suck that is what they are for, to be sucky in all their beautiful glory.  This negative attitude is all about me,  and my own self doubt.

For the first time, I am putting myself out there,  a true piece of who I am.  This really is a part of my life,  though I have fictionalized it, and I am adding in stories friends have told me about their experiences working as front desk agents.   The main character is me, in all her coffee drinking, frantic, stressed out dishevelment, I have chosen to put myself out there for others to read or not read, to curse and criticize.

excerpt:

Sitting up in bed,  my alarm clock glowed and played the soothing sounds of rain fall,  and I  longed for real rain but today it is mid July,  and I am coming off a close/open  or what we affectionately call a clopen.  With a mere eight hours between shifts, sleep is a commodity I did not have the luxury of wasting.  Summer is in high swing, we have a number of groups staying at the hotel and it is going to be a busy day.  

Pouring a cup of cold brewed coffee, I am out the door and on my way and already my phone is vibrating, the other front desk agent texting to see if I could cover their shift.  Walking through downtown, and text back that I'm already covering a shift this morning.. They are my second.  As I walked into the hotel,  I got the news that the other agent has called in sick,  But the manager is looking for someone to cover the shift,  with that the night auditor smiled.  as he told me I should read the Red Book. Grimacing I knew that could not be good. and to had frosting to my cupcake of joy,   he called out as he was leaving. "Oh yeah,  housekeeping is short a couple of cleaners so all the rooms will not be cleaned by check in."

As someone who is very self critical,  I look at the account and see everything I did wrong boldly written in black and white and I want to smack myself.  For the way I acted, reacted and stopped acting.  But in reality, brutal reality this is and was me,  so here you go world.  Make your best and worse judgments,  I am ready.  Ok I am not ready, but positive self talk does always help.

Now that that is out of the way,  I wonder if I can go back and just write.  Maybe, maybe not.  But here is to trying. 

So on day ten, I needed to reach 16,660 words,  for each my writing and editing projects to finish both by the end of November.  Well in regards to writing I am spot on. Editing on the other hand is taking more time than I figured it would. 

For the excuses,  I am retyping the whole thing from the start, and I can only type so fast.  But in reality, the world needed more work than I first thought.  The changes I am making need to be made, for the story in the end.  But it is hard work letting go, of descriptions that you  once loved, because they were beautiful, only to create a world were beauty is covered with the mask of oppression and fear, which is the state of Cave City when we first see it, in all its crystalline glory. 

Excerpt:
 Before:

Seeing the dark haired girl, Rachel cannot believe her luck. Security might be an issue but it’s not as if they are very bright.  She begins to stalk the girl as she wanders in and out of shops collecting more and more bags.  She thinks “God she is the perfect patsy.”  As the girl stops to grab something to eat at one of the cafes she sat her bags down behind her.  Rachel stands at the corner watching, as the girl is engrossed in her conversation.  Casually walking past the table, Rachel bumps into the girl, picking up the square package marked food solid. 

Seconds later the sound of the whistle shrieking it rebounds off the walls of the cave.  Damn, the waiter must have seen her and told the security officer. Rachel takes off, sprinting down the corridors of the crystal cave, it is called this because the walls are made of translucent beams of gypsum standing 80 feet high they formed the walls and columns that support the ceiling. She knew the corridors of the shopping district like the back of her hand, finding a small crack she knows it will lead her to Obsidian alley.  As she ducks into the claustrophobic corridor she realizes that she needs to hock her goods fast or else security will certainly realize it was her that just stole two pounds of food solids.  Though the stuff tasted like crap, one person could live on this much for almost a year.  When she saw that woman just lay it down she could not believe her eyes

 

 After:

Rachel spots a mark weaving among the stores and cafés, her entourage of security marks her as someone important, although no one seems to recognize the woman, anyone with a brain knows better than to say no to Mitchell and his cronies.  Rachel wonders who this strange is, she seems oblivious to disparity between herself and those serving her.  As she stalk her target, waiting to grab one of the many bags being carried by the woman and guards, Rachel notices how otherly the woman seems,  her dark hair fall like black silk, highlighting her dark almond eyes, and high cheek bones,  but it is the golden glow of her skin that marks her as truly not belonging in Cave City.

Rachel had spent her whole life, digging her way through the Caves that made up her home,  Like an upside down pyramid, the larger caves at the top is where the poor like herself lived. The elite like the woman she was following, live is the newest caves, dug deep into the earth carved of stone and crystal. She always laughed to herself, when the elite called their caves the upper caves and hers the lower.  This had to do with status and not location, the rich would never concede to the fact that they lived below the poor.  If you believed the propaganda of Passadore, it was the poor that lived off the rich dragging them down.

Looking around,  even the opulence of the once might Crystal Cave with its translucent gleaming columns of gypsum towering more than 80 feet, to support the unseen ceiling had been darkened by Passadore’s reign, where once people could come and go between the caves,  now there were numerous check points, and gray, and green  glow worms replaced the once rainbow filled globes of light.  What once had sparkled in her childhood, seem dreary and somber.  Hope was wrung out of her home.

The woman had selected one of the most expensive cafés in the city,  casually setting her bags on the chairs, and ground around her table, unware to the watching eyes, of Rachel.  Standing at the corner out of sight of the guard, and behind Mitchell you had sat with woman,  Rachel spotted something she had not seen in years,  a full block of food solids.  How could the woman so casually fling about something so valuable? Waiting she watches  as the woman, and Mitchell are deep in conversation,  the walking casually by reaches down and picks up the bag containing the brick of food.  As she rounds the corner, briefly she thinks that she got away, then the shrieking of the whistle rebounds of the walls.  Looking back she sees the waiter and Mitchell chasing after her.

 

So here is to making what was beautiful ugly,  and so it can shine even brighter in the end.   To my main character making her on decisions instead of riding along on a predetermine path, set by a fate she has no say in.  To seeing choice is a powerful thing, as much in writing, as it is in life. 

Unfinished Projects: 3
Words Written: 17,179
Words Edited: 4567 only about 12,000 behind here.

NaNo 10,000 words and counting

Stage one of NaNo is going well, I have figured out a great way to tell the story in the Red Book Expose.  The story will be told in first person, present tense, and from a single narrator's perspective, which is very different from my normal style writing. I thought that it would be difficult to write in this style. Strangely,  I am finding it refreshing. I do not feel like I have to get into characters head's and hearts to tell the story.  However as I re-read the story it seems a little flat to me. 

Another decision I have made is that each chapter will be a story unto itself.  Meaning  there is always a beginning, middle and end to each story ie chapter.  What I am still working the kinks out one is how to tie the separate stories together.  For me this has come down to really defining my narrator,  for people to get a feel for her, how she thinks feels and what she is going through, in addition to the experiences she is relating about working as a front desk agent. 

However, the big problem for me is deciding if I am really meeting my goal, which was to write people,  mean, strange, crank, rude, self centered people.  Or if the characters are still coming off as beautiful, relatable and with a reason for what they are doing.  I keep asking myself, how can I make the person seem as mean as I felt they were in that moment I was experiencing this,  or how my friend said they were made to feel. 

Looking at the girl like she was an escapee from the local asylum, “Where are those books?” As I guest walked up to the counter she point towards the back.  I wander, into the back office to look for the manuals.  Finding them on the rickety shelf that seems about to fall off the wall I take the two that seem the most helpful,  Opera training guide, and front desk daily operations manual.  Then I hear a shriek, like the cross between a cat being killed and a pigs squeal.

Running to where the horrifying sound had emanated from,  I find the other agent standing about a foot back from the counter,  and this 18 year old girl,  with silky black hair that falls to her waist, saucer sized brown eyes,  hold a phone out in front of her shaking it furiously in the air.  It almost seemed like she is fighting for the phone with an invisible assailant, and it sounds like it too.

Walking to the agent’s side, I whisper, “What is wrong.”

Looking down at me as she is almost six feet tall, “I have no clue,  she came up here screeching and waving the phone about.”

The sound of the dying cat pig squeal draws my attention back to the disturbed girl.  She tosses the phone down on the counter,  frustration and anger rolling off her in waves.  Looking at each other, the other agent steps back.  I Point at the phone,  “Can I look at your phone.” 

The girl,  screeches at me,  in a language I am unfamiliar with,  as it is not based in French or Spanish.  But I take her gestures and squawks as a yes.  Picking up the phone,  the screen is cracked,  well more than cracked shattered really.  Seeing the damage, “So you broke your phone,  well we have an apple store about half a mile from here.” 

The girl looks at me confused,  and shouts one word, “NO!” 

Looking back at the other agent, then back to the girl, “No, you do not want the Apple store.”

“No!.” She cries again. 

“Okay,  No you did not break the phone?”

“Yes.” She wails in delight.

“Who broke your phone?”

The girl begins to bounce up and down pointing at me and the other agent frantically then back towards the hotel.  Then with a stamp of her foot,  she screeches what is clearly the story of what happened to her phone.  Standing there stunned and confused.  The girl begins to walk away from the desk,  leaving the destroyed phone with me,  as she frantically waves for me to follow.  Seeing no other options.  I follow the crazed girl into the bowels of the hotel.  Finally,  we arrive at room 234,  which is on the second floor of A wing,  she pushes open the door, exposing a housekeeper who is making the bed.  The girl screams in rage and points to the girl cleaning the room.  On hearing the howl the girl looks up, a smirk on her face.

Neither of the girls could have been more than 18 years of age, and though the housekeeper spoke English, she also spoke the girl's language.  I stood there as the two girls screamed at each other, the argument ended when the guest flew at the housekeep,  grabbing hand fulls of hair she draging the other girl from the room into the hall. 

Once out in the hall, a number of other housekeepers and guests came out of their rooms, to watch the commotion.  Finally as I am trying to pull a apart the two squabbling girls,  a women walks down the hall, and in a commanding voice, she shouts in the language of the two fighting girls, which bring the fight to an end. 

Exert The Red Book Expose.

Now I have to decide if I like this style, or want to scrape what I have written so far,  and try this another way.  Is it in sanity to be contemplate scrapping over 10,000 words because you do not think you are writing the characters, vicious or mean enough.  

 

Part two of this years NaNo challenge is kicking my butt.  I have wrote and re wrote the same introduction now 4 times today,  and do not think any of the changes are right.  But what is right, what is wrong,  maybe I just hate the intro.  I am  currently, thinking of putting it aside  the intro and diving into chapter 1.  Normally the idea of doing this would make me want to pull out my hair, as I tend to write from start to finish. But looking at this project,  I am having spurts of ideas about what to change in no particular order.  Maybe what NaNo will teach me this time around is that there are many ways to do things. 

 Unfinished projects:    3

Word Count: 10,328

Words Edited: 750  <--sort of :( still not happy with them

 

 

NaNo Day 3 and already behind

Three days into NaNoWrimo,  and I am already behind, but at least I am off to a good start on the new novel.  The last three days,  have not been spent focusing on pending projects, or even NaNoWriMo, Actually,  all the writing I have gotten done for my project was done on the bus between Vancouver, Canada and Portland, Oregon. 

So, what have I gotten done,  Well I complete the first of the Expose stories and I have decided how I am going to go about working on this project.  I am going to loosely follow my time from UPL to The Inn.  The story will follow the character as she studies for the Bar,  and deals with crazy guest, and crazier shifts,  this will set the time line,  then each chapter will be a story in itself, basically telling what happened with a guest or set of guests.  

Questions I have not answered, is if I want to name anyone in the book.  Can you write a whole book with no names?  The book is told from a single person perspective, in first person present tense.  We never see anything other than the story tellers view of the world.  And I have not named her,  but do other characters need names,  with the first chapter and story done,  I have been able to not name any one,  but I will have to see if this can work throughout the book:

The first couple of guest, were straight forward check outs, housekeeping finally arrived, and I gave them the list of rooms that needed to be cleaned. I also told them about room 168.  Some of the back office staff arrived and I had a second to grab breakfast and a cup of coffee.  30 minutes later, I return to the desk and a very angry man is standing palms on the counter leaning forward spit fling out of his mouth, greasy black and gray hair plastered to his head, he looked like a rabid raccoon. 

“But you have to let me into the room.  My stuff is in “there.”

“Sir, like a said before, I cannot let you into room 168, your name was not added to the registration, and the name you gave does not match the name of the person that was staying in that room.” 

“But I stayed there last night with this girl, but she got sick and had to go to the hospital.  Now, all my shit is in there.  I need my stuff.” He yells, slamming his now balled up fist down on the counter. 

“Sir if you do not quite down, I am going to have to call campus security.”

“Bitch I will not quite down until you give me, my stuff.” 

Stepping forward, I decide to try and defuse the situation or at least give the other agent a break from his man’s temper tantrum  “Hello Sir.  Maybe I can help.”

I think the no names is working but we will have to see.

Now in regards, to my editing of Cave City I have not gotten to even one page, which is partially due to the fact that I forgot to bring it with me to Vancouver.  But mostly because, I was just having too much fun to work. 

But I have done a little bit of planning on how I am going to edit Cave City.  I have decided that I am going, retype the book as I do the editing.  I started doing Close Corp this way,  and like the process.  However,  it can lead to creating new typos.  But this current edit,  is not going to be that kind of topographical editing.  I also decided that I am going to be working mostly, and the character and world building aspects of the edit.  What this means,  is I need to write a character synopsis for each character in the book,  which describes,  what the character looks like,  what traits they have and their arc through out the story,  to make sure the are well developed. 

I also need to work on the world building.  Currently I have Cave city divided which it is, but I need to make these division more distinctive,  I need ot develop,  more authoritarian structure,  by showing how the beauty of the city has been covered up, but also in the presence of guards,  and gates and controls.  It needs to be less free moving in the main parts of the Cave which would explain why people use secret tunnels. 

These are two very large editing focuses that I can weave throughout the book. 

Finally,  I did not get to finishing my three October project so they are still on my desk.  I am planning on slowly working on each of them throughout November. 

Currently:

Unfinished projects:       3

Word Count:                      4491

Words edited:                   0