NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 28

Wordcount: 3,135

But it's on the wrong story!
I have officially given up on my Lemur NaNo novel. Why? Because for one thing, I shall have to delete much of it and I need to conceptualise what is actually going to happen with the plot. It's not going anywhere, it needs to be dragged back on target.

So, instead I am adding in a few bits of "foreshadowing" to MKQ. And proof-reading it on my kindle.

I have already discovered:
~ contradicting previous assertions made on goblins and faeries in general - twice
~ changed a character's name without realising (fixed)

And am also wondering if I should foreshadow the terrible chefs - Rumpel and Stiltskin, or leave them as a (not too) pleasant surprise.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 25 - COMPLETED

As I have now attained my goal of 50k words, although my novel is far from finished, I think I may give it a break for today and concetrate instead on some art, or maybe editting "Midsummer Knight's Quest". You see - this year instead of a free proof copy - Createspace are giving away 5 copies of an actual published book (but you have to pay postage). Since it will need to be used by June and there is no way in hades that I will have "Lemurs: A Saga" publishable by than (heck, it probably won't even be finished), I could use it to buy 5 more copies of "Aroha's Grand Adventure" - but I'm already sitting on 5 copies that I'm trying to sell (want it? $20 each + postage and it will be autographed), I've decided to finally finish up Hemlock's story.

"Midsummer Knight" needs a fair bit of tweaking - namely I need to do a bunch of illustrations again, thanks to Aurora becoming Mystery and changing species from a sunbittern to a bush stone-curlew. I might even need to redo the cover, although I rather like it the way it was. And I've done a little editting to fit in Mystery over Aurora.

Here's the new cover:

I am hoping it WILL have the title on the spine, once I get the story itself uploaded.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 24

Wordcount: 2,051
Total Wordcount: 51.708
Percentage: 103%

According to OpenOffice, I am finished. According to the Validator, I have another 70 words to go.

I shall finish it tomorrow. And there will be celebration. And muffins. Definitely muffins.

Rakoto has had his first lesson in fighting, met Eloise's brother, Roland and also had his first glimpse of the Alpha Hunter, Noir.

And all this before breakfast. His breakfast, that is, not mine. I wrote this between breakfast and heading to work - just to get matters straight.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 23

Wordcount: 1,481
Total Wordcount: 49,657
Percentage: 99.3

Almost there! Another day and I shall have crossed the threshold and then will have to write another 2k words or so to get the official wordcount. No matter - I've plenty of time - almost a week and the story seems to be flowing okay.

Aurelia has faced off against the kinaoly, but where is Kelyloza?
Rakoto is learning how to fight. It is not going to do him well.

Bit of fun today, because I want my city of Narivo to somewhat resemble the actual city of Antananarivo, so I've been looking on google earth. Alas, no streetview of Madagascar, but Earth shows me the contours and all, so I can see which bits are ridges and which are gullies. As the editting begins, I shall create the city in more vivid colours -maybe even rustle up a map.

Tomorrow, shall hopefully be a day of celebration.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 22

Wordcount: 1,385
Total Wordcount: 48 176
Percentage: 96.4%

So close... And the plot has hardly moved very far at all. Aurelia and her team are messing around in the Tsingy, where she appears to have now befriended the mandrill that may possibly have killed her friend (accidentally...). I need to finish this chapter and get back to Rakoto.

At this rate, it might be a trilogy yet. Can I tie this up in another 25000 words or so? Time will tell...

But now, I need that thing called sleep.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 21

Wordcount: 2,186
Total Wordcount: 46, 791
Percentage: 93.6%

And we're into the home strait now! I'll be done by friday at the latest - with the wordcount at least - if not the story - which still has a loooong way to go.

I have nothing profound to say today.

Goodnight!

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 20

Wordcount: 1,898
Total Wordcount: 44,605
Percentage: 89.2%

I would have liked to finish on 90% today, but alas, the chapter I was writing is complete and it is time for that elusive thing called sleep.

I am wondering where this story is going - like Part one - which I wrote in June, it is moving at what seems to be a snail's pace, yet is hopefully interesting enough to keep the reader entertained and for each occurance to have some relevance to the plot. I am just not yet entirely sure what.

In today's instalment, Aurelia has discovered that her diminutive friend has been captured by a mythic beast referred to as the "kinaoly". A kinaoly is: A horrible looking elf of folklore. Or, in this case, a troll - well, actually, it's a mandrill. Now, the purpose that this mandrill serves is unclear. Rumour has it, that he is a cruel and malicious being who slaughters and eats lemurs at the least provacation and is dangerous and should not be messed with... The bones and assorted other debri scattered around his lair are testament to this theory.

But.. I'm not yet convinced. The monkeys (vazaha) are outlawed by royal decree and any found living in Madigaska is likely to be killed on sight. So, who is to say that this mandrill is not simply hiding in the Tsingy and wants nothing more than to eat durian and scorpions and be left alone? Current theory is that he was a crew-hand on one of the ships that sailed neared the coast - and being dimwitted and easily manipulated, wound up getting dumped by his companions. Then, he stumbled about, trying to befriend the local lemurs, merely to find himself attached and chased away - beaten with sticks and burned by fire. He ran into the Tsingy to escape the vicious lemurs and immediately got lost. He likes the tsingy - nobody tries to hurt him and he's found a place with plenty of food, water and a nice private cave system to make into his lair (ok, bit of abnormal behaviour there). But... sometimes he gets lonely... So when the little tsidy stumbles into his territory, he decides to keep her as a sort of friend/pet because she can tell him lovely stories and keep him company.

Except it appears that he's about to have Aurelia drop on him from above and stab him in the throat while he's asleep. Not very sporting, I know.

So, without further ado, I give to you the Kinaoly:
(it's dark, so Aurelia can only see in monochromes)

This was clearly the kinaoly's lair, and it had made some effort to add some homely touches. It was open to the sky, moonlight streaming down to illuminate the great beast crouching in its centre. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dried grass, with scraps of cloth and torn lambas littered across it. There was a wooden bucket and a wicker basket filled with fruit. Durian fruit, Aurelia noted. He must have visited the pond. I wonder whether it was before, or after, we left? I am glad we did not run into it then.

She watched a while longer. The great beast did rather resemble Chike, she observed, at least in general shape. But if he were a monkey, he was truly a monster of the monkey world. His large, muscular body was covered in a short pelt of dark fur, which thickened into a shaggy made around his neck and shoulders. Pale fur fringed his belly. But it was his face that startled Aurelia the most, for it truly was the face of a monster. He had been turned away from her, so that she could only see the back of his head, but something caught his attention, and he turned around, to stare directly at her.

His face jutted out into a long snout, framed by large circlets of pale flesh, as though he were wearing a plate on his nose. The skin that ran between them was a darker colour, maybe red, Aurelia surmised, although moonlight had diluted the colour from the world. Two great black nostrils flared at the end of the snout, and he moved his head slowly, as though trying to locate her with tiny, dark, oval eyes. She drew back instrinctively, although surely he could not see her, not with the moonlight behind him and nothing but shadows behind her.

“Smell company?” He said, his voice low and deep, but plaintive too, as though he were a kit asking his mother a question.