NaNoWriMo, day 16

- Chapter one -> Twenty = complete
- Chapter twenty one = not yet begun

Word Count: 37,804 /25,000 *
Story = 151% complete
Art = 1%

Thoughts for today:

- I guess December will be drawing month...

Today was my 4th class on "writing for children". This time we were discussing the older age group - 10-12. Still pushing home the "show not tell" style of writing.

Now, off to bed because early to bed = early to write and my head hurts. Tomorrow Aroha and Maru will go fishing.

For those of you that haven't guessed, Maru is NOT Aroha's boyfriend. He's just this male she's hanging about with. Okay?

In today's extract, Maru and Aroha discuss trains:

The iron road began to throb beneath her feet. She pecked him harder. “Come on, off we get. Train's coming.”

The two weka jumped down the embankment and stalked through the forest of broome. The bright yellow flowers looked like gorse, but the leaves were less spiky. Maru chased and caught a red and black butterfly. He passed it to Aroha. She ate it, and then retaliated by catching a cricket and giving it to him. Even though crickets were far tastier than butterflies. They were crunchy.

The great metal caterpillar trundled into view. Aroha had seen many trains in her life and remained unimpressed. Maru, however, was a weka from the forest and he gaped at it. It rocketted past, ruffling their feathers.

“What is that?” He exclaimed.

“A train,” Aroha explained. “The humans use them to carry stuff across the mountains. More stuff than they carry in trucks and cars.”

Maru scratched his head. “What do they need so much stuff for?”

“They're like us,” Aroha explained, “you know how we like shinies, and when we have a proper home, we like to collect and keep them. Just to look at, and sometimes play with?”

Although he still looked a little confused Maru nodded. Forest wekas probably didn't find as many shinies as the low country weka.

“Well, humans are like that. Only their shinies are bigger and brighter and harder to carry about. So they need to use trains and trucks and buses and cars.”

“That whole train – it's filled with shinies?” Carriage after carriage whizzed by.