Day 21: 44, 159 words and everything is wrapping up so nicely
This part of the month (or word count) is *amazing*. It is uncanny how all the characters and bizarre plot points (with the possible exclusion of font-related jokes) come together in the end to make something complete. Even though my novel is full of plot holes, implausibilities (my characters' motivations are usually even more implausible than a flying monkey), dead ends, red herrings, and just plain bad prose, it is also magically coming together into a story that I am thrilled to have been able to tell.
Last night I wrote my 2,000 words and hit a roadblock with the plot. This morning, over breakfast, I was able to iron out the kinks and I think I"ll be able to bring this thing to a close. It might take a bit more than the 6,000 words I have left, but i'll only really know by writing. I'm going to try to finish this weekend, just so I can focus on other stuff next week. Anyone planning on going to the ToNaNo karaoke night on Tuesday?
Anyway, here's an excerpt that doesn't reveal much plot but just explores Stella's changing view of the world. As the rest of you usually do, I'm going to keep back some key details about how things come together - there is a really big surprise in store for you - so this is a bit beside the point.
Stella’s one goal in life was to find Vixen. After that, she would figure out what to do and where to do it. It was amazing how everything seemed to fall into place, now that she was stepping outside the boundaries of life as she knew it. As she began the long journey towards a forest in the Lake District, Stella found herself often humming to herself, under her breath. Now that she knew that music held such power, she enjoyed feeling the low vibration in her throat of the music she could make, quietly, while doing the most ordinary task, in any kind of company.
The hum of the plane masked any noise she made and actually made a fitting backdrop to the gathering power she felt inside. The song she was humming came out of nowhere and lodged itself in her very bones through the vibration; it was like all the atoms in her body began to quiver on the same frequency, the frequency of the song she was creating. The song she had, perhaps, been destined to create, although she wasn’t sure, not yet, whether destiny was something worth believing in.
She found the music came to her best when she kept her mind a blank. When she thought in words, other songs would come and twine around the humming in her mind. When she thought about destiny, she heard “Something to Believe In” over and over in her mind. When she thought about Vixen, the Glee version of the song Endless Love camped out in her brain, no matter what she did to try to put distasteful thoughts of Mr. Shue out of her mind.
She always came back to the song. When she disembarked from the plane, she clutched tightly to her small satchel and heard a harmony join the melody she had been hearing for hours. Was this a sign that she was doing something right? The thing about destiny, she realized, was that even if it was a real thing, you would never truly know it until it was over. Destiny is as much a mystery as randomness.
Last night I wrote my 2,000 words and hit a roadblock with the plot. This morning, over breakfast, I was able to iron out the kinks and I think I"ll be able to bring this thing to a close. It might take a bit more than the 6,000 words I have left, but i'll only really know by writing. I'm going to try to finish this weekend, just so I can focus on other stuff next week. Anyone planning on going to the ToNaNo karaoke night on Tuesday?
Anyway, here's an excerpt that doesn't reveal much plot but just explores Stella's changing view of the world. As the rest of you usually do, I'm going to keep back some key details about how things come together - there is a really big surprise in store for you - so this is a bit beside the point.
Stella’s one goal in life was to find Vixen. After that, she would figure out what to do and where to do it. It was amazing how everything seemed to fall into place, now that she was stepping outside the boundaries of life as she knew it. As she began the long journey towards a forest in the Lake District, Stella found herself often humming to herself, under her breath. Now that she knew that music held such power, she enjoyed feeling the low vibration in her throat of the music she could make, quietly, while doing the most ordinary task, in any kind of company.
The hum of the plane masked any noise she made and actually made a fitting backdrop to the gathering power she felt inside. The song she was humming came out of nowhere and lodged itself in her very bones through the vibration; it was like all the atoms in her body began to quiver on the same frequency, the frequency of the song she was creating. The song she had, perhaps, been destined to create, although she wasn’t sure, not yet, whether destiny was something worth believing in.
She found the music came to her best when she kept her mind a blank. When she thought in words, other songs would come and twine around the humming in her mind. When she thought about destiny, she heard “Something to Believe In” over and over in her mind. When she thought about Vixen, the Glee version of the song Endless Love camped out in her brain, no matter what she did to try to put distasteful thoughts of Mr. Shue out of her mind.
She always came back to the song. When she disembarked from the plane, she clutched tightly to her small satchel and heard a harmony join the melody she had been hearing for hours. Was this a sign that she was doing something right? The thing about destiny, she realized, was that even if it was a real thing, you would never truly know it until it was over. Destiny is as much a mystery as randomness.
Well done! I am glad to hear that you have reached the part of NaNoWriMo where things start to make sense... I am looking forward to that myself! I'm so intrigued by the role that music plays in your storyline. Good luck finishing this weekend!
ReplyDeleteA very lovely piece of writing, a departure from the usual madcap scenarios you've been posting - but very welcome nonetheless! I love both!
ReplyDeletewho is this vixen?