kelly said

This #SixSunday post is a blast-from-the-past, from my NaNoWriMo 2010 (hehe!) YA horror WiP titled CHOMP.  In this scene, my main character, Penny, is defending her best friend against her sister’s clique.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Have fun riding home with The Lurker,” Megan snickered from the back seat.

“Don’t call him that,” I snapped, tightening my fists, hating how my sister’s friends had to mislabel everyone.

Luke was not a lurker.  He was a brooder.  A subtle difference that my sister and her friends would never understand.

I glanced back to see him by the open door of the bus, brooding, over me it appeared because his eyes never left my face.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Excerpt CHOMP © 2010 Kelly Said

Not so fun getting ditched by your sister and her friends, and Penny will remember this later on in the story. Especially when the military’s CHOMPer’s start hunting down the townsfolks, Penny will have to decide whether to risk her own life to save her sister, or leave her behind to save herself.

22 Comments | In: CHOMP, Horror, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Six Sentence Sunday, writing | tags: NaNoWriMo, YA. | #

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. | #

Sha-gunk! Week Two of NaNoWriMo is in the can! hehe!

I feel pretty good about my progress, especially now that we’re beginning Week Three. 

I mean, I may have set my daily word count goals a little too high, at 2,175. But the weekends have allowed me to catch up. Whew! Thank goodness.

So far I’ve managed to add 13,934 more words to PENUMBRA – in *seven* days. Which, for me, is super cool. That also means I’ve surpassed the 25k mark (!), at 28,852 total words. I’m almost there! Yay!

And, sigh, I know I haven’t been as chirpy on twitter and my facebook page is looking a little blue (har har!) from lack of updates. I think I’ll work on that this week.

Otherwise, NaNo goals aside, is anyone else totally shocked that Thanksgiving is *next Thursday*?

9 Comments | In: NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, PENUMBRA, Sci-Fi, writing | tags: NaNoWriMo, YA. | #

I pulled this Six Sentence Sunday sample directly from my NaNoWriMo novel in progress titled, PENUMBRA.

For those who’ve been following, last week’s six came from the short story that inspired me to explore Jule’s world in greater detail, 50k words greater detail to be exact .

In this snippet from PENUMBRA, Jule and her brother have a very important job: to keep shadows from creeping down the mine shaft.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My arms ached from polishing the silica. Sneaking a glance over at my brother, I huffed and snorted out dust.

Jaysol made it look so easy, spreading the oil, effortlessly wiping the mining dust away, making sure sunlight bounced down to illuminate the caverns beyond our position in the shaft. 

He paused buffing only to lecture me, “You missed a spot. Better get that before you put us all at risk, sis.”

I grunted, straining to reach for the smudge that was just beyond the flick of my fingers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Excerpt PENUMBRA © 2011 Kelly Said

There’s a scary reason why they have to keep the mines lit so bright…

Maybe next weeks sample will explain why.

Thank you for reading! I think I’ll enjoy this nice break from NaNo’ing today to check out the other #sixsunday participants.

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

Week One of National Novel Writing Month came and went in half a blink, and now that we’re starting Week Two, I find I’m keeping pace with the herd, hehe!

My stats say that at this rate I will finish on November 26, 2011 – provided I can maintain this momentum.

I’m right on schedule and that feels pretty darn good.

So, to recap:

I’m currently at 14,918 words for PENUMBRA’s first draft.

> Have I been resisting the urge to go back and edit?

No.

  Some habits are hard to break. I’m guilty as charged (every time I say that phrase I think of Dewey Cox in that movie Walk Hard, hehehe!) for going back and fleshing out certain parts. Mostly ideas that sprang up while I was “pansting” some scenes.

> Have I been meeting my 2,175 words per day goal?

No.

  There were days when the screen looked like the Fourth of July, with big blooming explosions of words lighting up each page (I use different font colors for first drafts to highlight certain areas I want to explore in greater detail once the rest of the story develops) and other days where I lit the fuse and nothing but a fizzle happened. 

However!

I’ve managed to write for at least one hour *every* day.

And I’ve actually been reading, too.

I’m about to start reading my third book for the month. I’ve been pulling a “Stephen King” and reading while walking (the dog through the park). And somehow, I’ve been finding open pockets of time where I can jump into a book and disappear for a bit, which has been quite nice. 

It’s like reading and writing have this balance - when my output (writing) increases, my input (reading) increases to keep things even-stevens. I’ve been able to work, read, write AND maintain a clean kitchen! I feel like I need my own theme song, dum-da-da-daaah! Something dark and dramatic yet with plucky comedic undertones, hehehe!  

So, how did Week One go, my fellow NaNo’ers? Who’s finished already?

2 Comments | In: NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, PENUMBRA, writing | tags: NaNoWriMo. | #