NanoWrimo - Over!

Such an exciting month of pounding crazy amounts of words out for NanoWrimo.  But good news:

It ended tonight for me! At 50,023 words, I'm finally done.

And it feels so good - and weird.

I'm so thrilled.  This was a truly awesome month.  Can't wait to finish this manuscript!

...and then begins the editing....


-Abigail

I'm Thankful

First off, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

But honestly, I think a lot of the time we overlook the meaning of this holiday.  It's not just the day before Black Friday or about a month before Christmas.  It's not about pigging out on tons of delicious food.  It's about being thankful for what we have.

Not what we want to have.  Let me explain.

In this day and time, Thanksgiving often gets overlooked.  Partly because Christmas is more of an "exciting" holiday.  I mean, who wants to spend time eating food and talking with boring relatives about how thankful we are.  When in actuality, most of us want more. Actually, all of us want more.  It's human nature.  And at Christmas, so much more excitement happens.  Decorating the house.  Buying special presents for people you care about.  Celebrating Jesus's birth.  With all of this excitement just a month away, it's easy to forget about a simple little holiday at a time where many of us are busy with school or work and are just trying to survive until Christmas break.

And who can forget Black Friday?  Don't get me wrong, I like Black Friday; it's a lot of fun.  I just wish that it wasn't the day after Thanksgiving.  Only in America, people literally trample others for things that they're convinced they need, mere hours after being thankful for what they already have.

It's hard for everyone to not get swept away in the Christmas rush and just forget about this holiday.  It's not big.  It's not widely anticipated.  But is it important?  Yes.  Because everything - commercials, advertisements, magazines - is trying to convince us that we need more than we already have.  We just need to slow down and take the time just to remember that we're so fortunate to have what we have, because we are.  Chances are, if you're reading this you have a phone/computer and internet access.  That's more than half the world has.

I wanted to take time to say that I'm thankful for what I have.  A lot of times, it's easy to forget that God has blessed me and my family.  I'm thankful for my house, my wonderful yet sometimes annoying family, and all of my great friends.  Sometimes life is hard and you think nothing good has happened to you.  But although not every day is good, there's something good in every day.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.




Abigail

Writing Playlist for the Day

Music has inspired many great things, especially writing.  It can provide the perfect background to just about any scene.  So I thought I'd share my favorite writing songs for today:

Wrapped in Your Arms by Fireflight

Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift

All I Wanted by Paramore

I Almost Do by Taylor Swift

Stop the World by Demi Lovato

Nobody's Home by Avril Lavigne


And lastly, here's a snippet of my writing for the day.

The funeral is short but sweet, and although I don’t cry, pain does tug at my heart.  I've never felt so alone.  I have no one older than myself to ask advice.  No one to take comfort in.  I can't talk about my problems with Honey.  Even though she’s mature for thirteen, she’s still only a child.

She stands sobbing by my mother’s grave for minutes, and I know that I can't help her.  I'm never one to sympathize with others and I've often been called insensitive because of it.  I have feelings.  I just know how to hide them when I need to.

But now, I need someone.  And I wish Damon was here.

Just a minute later, I turn my head and notice that he’s standing just a few feet to my left.  He doesn’t move or even yell at me like I figured he would.  Instead, he says, his words soft, “I came as soon as I heard.  Are you okay?”

I don’t reply.  If I would of, it would have been a lie and he would have seen right through it.  Instead, I run to him and find myself tight in his arms. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, but I know that he has already forgiven me.

Damon gently brushes the loose strands of hair on my back as he holds me close.  He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t need to.  I know he’s glad that I'm not mad at him and I’m thankful that he’s kind enough to forgive me for the terrible things I said.

Got to get back to writing, but enjoy :)

Abigail

The joys of November - NanoWrimo

I've debated about doing NanoWrimo for the past two years, and have decided not to each time, for a variety of reasons, all of them pretty lame.  I don't have enough time or writing that much in a month surely won't be fun.

Those excuses were put to rest this year and I decided to try, at least.  Once I started, I realized just how much fun this would be.

For those of you who don't know, in NanoWrimo, you try to write 50,00 words in 30 days.  In November.  It's a genius idea and it really motivates you to let go and just write.

As I shared in my last post, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to writing.  Or...about anything.  Except cleaning my room.  But during Nano, I've learned to shut off the internal editor, and not think about how lame that blurb of dialogue was, or how many times I used the word "look" in a paragraph. (My record is 5.  In 6 sentences.  Very, very sad, but I have learned not to care while writing a rough draft.)

It's a challenge.  Here are my stats: 

I know today's is low, but I haven't started writing yet today :P

Against my better judgement, here's a snippet from my writing.  Not the best, but hey, it is a rough draft.



     I'd have to conform to their standards. I'd have to pretend to admire the ways they treat normal citizens.

     A group of soldiers walk down the street, pushing people out of their way and shooting anyone who objected. It doesn’t surprise me. I've seen it my entire life. Those men, foolishly drawn in by the idea of glory and riches, think that they are better than anyone and everyone.

     I'm taken off the train and escorted through the chaotic streets. The military men “protecting” me, from what I do not know, are shoving people away, since I must be so important. It makes me sick.

     A mother drops her bags of hard-earned food as they shove her aside, and she doesn’t move, but bends down to pick them up. They yell at her, but she doesn’t run off, as most would. While holding her young child’s hand, she tries frantically to scoop up her groceries. She can't afford to leave them. Finally, one of the men kicks her to the ground and shoots her in the head, right in front of her little boy.

     My hands clench into fists and I look over my shoulder at her, my face contorted in an expression of horror and outrage. Her child is screaming, calling his mother’s name. They murdered her, in cold blood, simply because she stopped to pick up fallen groceries. What has the world come to?


It's a Dystopian story, currently untitled, but I'm hoping a title will present itself to me during the writing process :)

Oh, and to anyone also doing NanoWrimo, good luck and have fun!


Abigail :)