Last night at way too early in the morning, I hit 50,000 words.
That’s 107 pages, 276,010 characters. And one main character currently bleeding from his ears on the floor.
So I’m not done.
But I hit my goal and I am a very very happy kirabug!
One last plug: you can help kids and adults who want to have the opportunity to write, but don’t have the equipment, by donating to the cause. It is a life-altering positive experience to say, “I made this”. Please consider a donation.
I broke the 30,000 word mark one day after I needed to be at 25,000. Nice. I’m building confidence in this thing now.
I wrote 5,086 words today, which puts my total for the month to 7,895 at midnight. Somewher between 1/7th and 1/6th of the way there.
As a reward for putting up with me, here’s a fragment of today’s work.
“Are yeh okay, Miss Cass?” Fanny asked with worry in her eyes. Cass was holding her left arm as if it was a toy.
Cass groaned. She tried to move her left shoulder, but something was definitely wrong. “I think that mudspittled bastard tore something. Can yeh go check on the shop, an’ work on restockin’ while I figure out this mess?”
Fanny nodded and walked back to the back door of the shop. As soon as she opened the door the two women inside started yelling curses. “Aah, shut yer muckin’ mouths, yeh sootball bastards,” Fanny replied in kind. Cass could have laughed, if the pain in her arm would have let her. She winced again, trying to move the arm.
Top dropped to one knee in front of the Flame. “May I take a look at it, Hearth Mother?” he asked formally, without looking up.
“Tommy, what’re you- get up!” she ordered. “Of course yeh can take a look at it, though I doubt as if yeh can do a fallen thing about it. Sparks but I hate that formal muck,” she added under her breath. “Yeh know we’re not like that here.”
Tom was at her side immediately. “I know yeh say that but I’ve no desire for the guards teh come around the corner an’ me not askin’ permission, ma’am,” he replied. He took her injured arm in his hands and lifted it gently. She gritted her teeth together and groaned at the pain. Tom stopped lifting the arm and stepped behind Cass, supporting her left arm in his left hand as he ran his right hand over her neck and shoulder gently, gauging the extent of the injury. His touch made her tingle in a way she hadn’t felt since she’d had a crush on a Burgravine’s son in Academy when she was in tenth year. At the same time, the roaring pain in her arm announced there would be none of that, thank you.
“What is that yer hummin?” Cass asked, trying to keep her mind off of the conflicting signals her body was sending. “Sounds like an old sea tune my mam used teh sing.”
Tom stopped suddenly, and Cass could feel him tense up. “It’s nothin’, just something my grandmam sang when I was a kid. Am I hurting you? I can stop if yeh want.” He lowered her arm and backed away.
As for me, it’s back to the word mines I go…
It’s August, you’re thinking. Why’s kirabug going off about National Novel Writing Month already? That’s November
Yes. Yes yes yes true. But this August – four days from now – I’ll be holed up at Camp NaNoWriMo, a virtual writers retreat that essentially follows the same rules as NaNoWriMo. So yes, I’ll be writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. In August. In my house. (Or my car. Or my parents’ place. Or wherever I happen to be when I pull the iPad out of the bag.) I’m working on the same book I’ve been working on since I was 13, and this time I swear I think I know what these characters are up to. I even took the first 3 days of the month off of work to kick this thing off right!
So, I need your help. See, NaNoWriMo is definitely not cheap for the folks who organize it. They send out kits to schools to encourage writing, help organize and fund writing events in communities all around the world, and build libraries in developing nations. All good, and expensive, stuff.
Camp is much cheaper (and much smaller) – and also our opportunity to do some early-year fundraising to make sure NaNoWriMo is spectacular this and every November.
Just like sponsoring a marathonner, you can donate on my behalf as I write toward the 50,000-word goal. I’ll receive some truly nifty prizes for my fundraising efforts on behalf of The Office of Letters and Light, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that hosts Camp NaNoWriMo. More importantly, Your donation will help provide free writing resources for even more kids, teens, and adults around the world!
There are a number of inspirational items in the online Camp Store (store.lettersandlight.org/merchandise) that will help get me through the month. You could send me a Camp NaNoWriMo Care Package full of campy encouragement, a Camp NaNoWriMo T-shirt declaring my goal for the month, a Campfire Mug to fill with writer fuel, or whatever… really though, it’s not about the stuff, it’s about funding NaNoWriMo. So skip the stuff, unless you think it’s cool and you want it for yourself. (If that’s the case, go buy it by the truck full, because all the profits also go toward NaNoWriMo.)
OK – that’s me, done groveling. Go, sponsor, buy cool stuff, and wish me luck.