kelly said

Hello! Thanks for joining me for another Six Sentence Sunday 

Today’s sample from my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel, PENUMBRA, continues from last week’s post. Twins, Jule and Jaysol, have just received a letter from a military guard.

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I winced at the scrape of Jaysol’s chair and his cane thumping the floor as he hobbled his way into the living room. I held the envelope out to him. “The soldier said it’s for the oldest [child]  in the house.”

He took the parchment from me and held it for a moment, testing the weight of what I assumed was our parents death notice. I was so sure it would detail how their lives were lost, that their souls were able to find the light before the Cimmerian’s drained them dry.  When Jaysol tore the seal I held my breath, biting my lip while he silently read the letter.
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Excerpt PENUMBRA © 2011 Kelly Said

Thank you for visiting, if you’re on twitter, check out #sixsunday

18 Comments | In: PENUMBRA, Sci-Fi, Six Sentence Sunday, writing | tags: YA. | #

Happy New Year!

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday, where we share six sentences from one of our WiP’s.

My first post of the new year will be from my NaNoWriMo 2011 efforts, my YA Sci-Fi NiP, PENUMBRA. Briefly, Jule and Jaysol are twins, working in the mines while their parents are at war battling the Cimmerian penumbra threatening to choke out the sun – and their “sunny” way of life.

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The knock at the door was unexpected. I glanced at Jaysol, both of us worried it was perhaps a debt collector, or worse, one of the neighbors nosing in on our situation. So when I checked the window and saw a soldier from the royal guard in full dress uniform, I knew it was my worst fear brought to life. I somehow managed to get to the door, even though my knees felt too wobbly to support me. I braced myself, expecting news that my parents were dead.

The guard handed over an envelope and said, “For the oldest of the house.”
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Excerpt PENUMBRA © 2011 Kelly Said

Thank you for stopping by!

There’s many more #sixsunday participants, I can’t wait to see what they’re sharing!

34 Comments | In: PENUMBRA, Sci-Fi, Six Sentence Sunday | tags: YA. | #

Squee! I did it! I’m a National Novel Writing Month Winner!

I managed to write 50k words in 26 days!

There were some days where I split the finish-line ribbon of my daily goals and other days where I encountered hurdles to my success or I just stumbled and fell flat. But I was so happy I remained consistent, at least meeting my goal, which was to schedule time to write each day, to add a little bit more to the story every time I sat in front of the screen.

This past Friday and Saturday proved to be my most successful writing days. I think that’s because I was finally seeing the end in sight. The end meaning the end of this first draft, hehe! I know I’m going to have mucho editing to do, but the whole point of this for me was to challenge myself to write faster and better. I dedicated time to reading other published authors and utilized some plotting techniques that helped me get through parts where I simply couldn’t find the words to paint the scene.

So, while PENUMBRA’s first draft is complete, I think I’m going to let it settle for a bit. Which means I’ll be taking the month of December to work on some of my unfinished short stories – amazing how ideas for those kept popping up when I was trying to stay focused on my NaNo novel

8 Comments | In: NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, PENUMBRA, READING, Sci-Fi, writing | | #

Whew! Week Three of National Novel whizzed by in a wink. Aaaaand, despite a less-than-epic weekend of writing (only 2,600 words in two *whole* days…shakes head in dismay) I’m still  on target to finish by the end of the month – 8 days left for me to clickity-click out the remaining 13k words.

The world of Jule and Jaysol has been an interesting one to build from scratch. I still have some [insert name] markers to fill in,  but overall, I’m quite pleased with how Penumbra is taking shape.

I’ve even managed to craft a 130 word blurb – one that I’m sure will go through many revisions, hehehe! It’s not a great blurb, but it’s a good start and one that I’m willing to share.

Doing their part for the war effort, by swiping shadows from the Solaarian mines, an independent girl named Jule and her steadfast twin brother, Jaysol, receive a draft notice ordering the oldest child to enlist in the battle against the Cimmerians, the dark-dwellers mounting a campaign to blot out the sun. A mining accident has left Jaysol, the first twin to touch the light, crippled but determined to obey the law – even if it means hobbling off to his death. But Jule refuses to let her disabled twin face that fate and instead, sneaks away to claim Jaysol’s place in the army training camp. Miss Independent must learn how to train with others, that teamwork is key to unlocking the shadow-burning light within herself – before the Cimmerian’s penumbra chokes out the sun, destroying everything she holds dear.

Not too bad, eh? hehe!

So, while I was hoping to be closer to the winner’s circle this week I still feel pretty good about what I’ve accomplished – which is super motivating me to finish strong!

Well my fellow NaNo’ers, how was your Week Three?

No Comments | In: NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, PENUMBRA, Sci-Fi, Six Sentence Sunday, writing | tags: NaNoWriMo, YA. | #

It’s Six Sentence Sunday!

This week’s snippet is another sample from PENUMBRA, my YA sci-fi NaNoWriMo novel in progress.

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A push cart rattled past us and glittering black clouds billowed up, dusting only my side of the shiny, curved wall. The light in the tunnel dimmed and miners gasped.

My shoulders wanted to cave in but instead, I plunged my cloth into the oil and scrubbed until sooty slime oozed down the silica wall. The sludge puddled at my feet, dying my shoes the same shade of deep black as the shadows we were working so hard to defend against.

Another cart jingled past, stirring up more fine sediment.

Jaysol chuckled, “C’mon Jule, chin up, only seven and a half more hours to go.”
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Excerpt PENUMBRA © 2011 Kelly Said

Thank you so much for stopping by to read! I’ll be cruising around throughout the day, checking out the other #sixsunday participants.

28 Comments | In: NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, PENUMBRA, Sci-Fi, Six Sentence Sunday, writing | tags: YA. | #