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Jun. 28th, 2013 02:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonfareBelieve it or not, I'm already preparing for Nano. You see, I had this dream, and I figured it might make a good story... then I read this book on writing (You've Got a Book in You by Elizabeth Sims), which inspired me to drag out my Alphasmart 3K and begin typing up notes on the idea... and now I've got about 20 pages of notes that I have to move into Scrivener (writing software), so that I can try to make the whole thing work. This random wild typing of notes is giving me lots of ideas, but of course no plot yet. But, hey, I have until November! The good thing is that for two weeks I've spent my lunch hour reading and writing rather than playing games.
Not all the stuff was random notes. One day at the beginning of all this frenzy, I got a desire to write just a leeetle bit, and started with what will probably be my opening scene (and the introduction of my hero). I stopped myself almost at once (BAD Kat. Wait until Nano!!), but if anyone is curious, here's the few paragraphs that I did:
Intro to Nano novel 2013 ~
"Get up. Come on, get up." The guard reinforced his order with a kick.
The prisoner groaned, rolled over to present a protectively curved back to his tormentor, and sighed. "What now?"
"You're leaving, that's what. Now get up before her ladyship changes her mind."
"Leaving?" His voice was slurred from two years of little use, and he rose to his feet like a man three times his age. But his mind was still working. She's decided to execute me. His stomach went cold, and he realized, to his dull surprise, that even after years of imprisonment he could still feel fear. He rubbed a hand over his face. "How is it going to be? Axe? Rope?"
"Feet," growled the guard, pushing him through the open door.
He stumbled, but caught himself against the wall with one splayed hand. This particular guard had a perverse sense of humor, so he guessed, "I'm to be trampled to death?"
"Your brain's gone to rot. No. You're being let go. Set free. We're kicking you out."
Why? How had this miracle occurred? He thought the questions but didn't dare to voice them. He didn't believe in jinxes, but questions might piss someone off, like this guard, and a spontaneous demonstration of irritability might see him end up with a knife in his back or a limb chopped off.
The narrow corridor was long and branched several times, leading past other cells, all of them empty, doors gaping. He couldn't understand it. He had heard no mass exodus. For a moment he was terrified again, as the most obvious explanation, a plague in the cells, struck him. He reminded himself sternly that he did not feel sick, and also that he slept so soundly, the other prisoners could have been marched out in chains right through his cell without him waking.
The sun through his cell window had been a pale thing, so the light that struck his eyes as he was ushered out into an open area was so intense that he was literally blind for a moment. He shielded his eyes with one hand and, after a moment to recover, looked around.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, that's all. But I know where it's going!
One of the things that I took from the book was having "conversations" with my characters. Not interviews (I tried that, it doesn't work well), but just conversations. I am finding out all kinds of interesting things, but also one funny one - so far, every character I've "talked to" has described my hero as a jerk. A nice guy, but a jerk. hee.
OK, babbling is over now.
Not all the stuff was random notes. One day at the beginning of all this frenzy, I got a desire to write just a leeetle bit, and started with what will probably be my opening scene (and the introduction of my hero). I stopped myself almost at once (BAD Kat. Wait until Nano!!), but if anyone is curious, here's the few paragraphs that I did:
Intro to Nano novel 2013 ~
"Get up. Come on, get up." The guard reinforced his order with a kick.
The prisoner groaned, rolled over to present a protectively curved back to his tormentor, and sighed. "What now?"
"You're leaving, that's what. Now get up before her ladyship changes her mind."
"Leaving?" His voice was slurred from two years of little use, and he rose to his feet like a man three times his age. But his mind was still working. She's decided to execute me. His stomach went cold, and he realized, to his dull surprise, that even after years of imprisonment he could still feel fear. He rubbed a hand over his face. "How is it going to be? Axe? Rope?"
"Feet," growled the guard, pushing him through the open door.
He stumbled, but caught himself against the wall with one splayed hand. This particular guard had a perverse sense of humor, so he guessed, "I'm to be trampled to death?"
"Your brain's gone to rot. No. You're being let go. Set free. We're kicking you out."
Why? How had this miracle occurred? He thought the questions but didn't dare to voice them. He didn't believe in jinxes, but questions might piss someone off, like this guard, and a spontaneous demonstration of irritability might see him end up with a knife in his back or a limb chopped off.
The narrow corridor was long and branched several times, leading past other cells, all of them empty, doors gaping. He couldn't understand it. He had heard no mass exodus. For a moment he was terrified again, as the most obvious explanation, a plague in the cells, struck him. He reminded himself sternly that he did not feel sick, and also that he slept so soundly, the other prisoners could have been marched out in chains right through his cell without him waking.
The sun through his cell window had been a pale thing, so the light that struck his eyes as he was ushered out into an open area was so intense that he was literally blind for a moment. He shielded his eyes with one hand and, after a moment to recover, looked around.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, that's all. But I know where it's going!
One of the things that I took from the book was having "conversations" with my characters. Not interviews (I tried that, it doesn't work well), but just conversations. I am finding out all kinds of interesting things, but also one funny one - so far, every character I've "talked to" has described my hero as a jerk. A nice guy, but a jerk. hee.
OK, babbling is over now.