Sunday, November 14, 2010

NaNo day 14

- Chapter one -> sixteen = complete
- Chapter seventeen = begun

Word Count: 31,420 /25,000 *
Story = 126% complete
Art = 1%

Thoughts for today:
- I am terribly mean to my magpies.
- How gruesome/dark can you get in a kids' book? Roald Dahl, Lemony Snickett, they've all got some pretty black humour.
- Should I go with the cliched West Coast farmer/fur trapper or do something different?
- How can two weka ride a train?

Also went back and re-wrote the scene where Aroha meets Tiriki, the kea. Wanted the two to have more of a connection. Then spent about half an hour pondering ways in which a kea could get into an alpine holiday house but not get out again without a weka's help. Eventually went for the "cat-flap" idea. But would someone at Castle Hill have a cat? Is it even allowed?

Resisted the urge to make Tiriki speak in rhyme. At least for now.

Extract:
"...
she saw a small box, made of wire. In the centre of it, dangling from the ceiling, was a large chunk of apple. It still looked fresh, dripping sweet juice. All she had to do was walk into the box. She should have known better, but the sugar craving was just too much.

She stepped in and closed her beak around the fruit. Jerked it.

CLANG!

Behind her something fell. She jumped, hitting her head on the wire ceiling and whirled about. The opening was gone.

She was trapped.

Oh crikey...” she muttered. Then she ate the apple.


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