Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Off To Write We Go!

Ah...just finished writing for today. This morning was a total loss, sadly...spent it trawling Monster for my boss. But this afternoon (despite an influx of calls) was fairly productive...managed to scrape out 1,605 words. Not too shabby!

I am at an exciting part of the story. Or, I should say, I am almost at an exciting part of the story. Bryn & Mer just escaped custody in the company of someone who Mer still thinks is an enemy (actually a friend, duh). Anyway, I need to get through a bit of explanation about that, blah blah blah...but then I get to introduce Pilot!

I've talked about Pilot before, so it should be obvious how superjazzed I am to finally get to write her! The story has been feeling a bit stagnant lately, so I think that her character will really liven it up and add the bit of spice that it needs. She's so crazy and wild and carefree...and cowardly, traumatized, and selfish. She'll be super fun to write...especially as the story progresses >;}~

And speaking of crazy and carefree, I'm going to introduce the Occultics within the next five chapters (I think). They're a minority religion in this world, and have a very odd outlook on life. They're mostly on the fringe of society, so they'll be very helpful for our heroes...not least because they'll add a bit of levity to the story...before it takes a turn for the dark and horrible, muahahaha!

I'll also be dealing with the Dissenters, Bryn's gang. Yeah, about them: not as awesome as Bryn thinks. He's with them 100% on their plan for the chip, but differs on a lot of little things. I look forward to writing them, just because I honestly dislike them so much. Should be interesting to explore.

Most excitingly (okay, not more exciting than writing Pilot, but a close second!), I'll be laying the groundwork for a relationship between Bryn & Mer in the following chapters. They had a bit of a romance going, but Mer fouled that up pretty solidly, so we're going to have to start from scratch...yay! It'll take a lot longer this time around, just because both will be a little more wary. Bryn in particular will be hesitant, as the last time he let his guard down around Mer she took advantage of it to steal the chip. So things will be going slowly; fortunately, there's plenty of time for it to happen, as they'll be on foot soon, and then will fall in amongst the Occultics. They're going to be a big help to our heroes, but they won't make things much faster.

Anyway, all in all I'm feeling fairly good! Going to keep plugging away, and hope to reach 65k tomorrow. If I can do that, maybe I'll be able to get to 70 by the end of the week? I think that's a bit ambitious, but here's hoping!

Audi!


Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 62,456
Writing Mode: Well-paced and well-pleased


P.S. Sometimes I sing the seven dwarves' digging song when I'm pleased with the way my writing is going...only I substitute 'write' for 'dig.' "Write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write; write the whole day through! Write, write, write, write, write, write, write, that's what I like to do!"

Sometime-Sisyphus

So. Friday was a pretty okay day for writing, I guess.

I mean, you know. Kind of all right.

Like, decent.

3,583 words decent!!!

And you know what that means, right? Those of you who are keeping track at home should know that that amount of writing means that I broke sixty-thousand words!!!

So yeah, I'm pretty awesome.

Ok, I know I still have a long way to go. I'm a little more than a quarter of the way through, but that still puts me on the uphill slope. Can't get complacent, gotta keep chugging along! Especially as I'm no longer in the DC office full-time, which means I'll spend half my days commuting back and forth to Maryland, with a little trawling of Monster for my MD boss thrown in. Looks like I might be back down to <1K per day.

In other news, I've been researching writer in residence fellowships like CRAZY. There are a bunch I'm going to apply for, so hopefully someday someone will help support this mad endeavour.

We'll see, I suppose. Tried to find some in London but haven't had much luck...yet. If anyone out there knows of any, please share!

Cheers, mates ;}~


Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 60,851
Writing Mode: Stalled due to actual work

Shouldn't Have Skipped My Coffee...

Not gonna lie, I'm having a bit of trouble with today's writing. The last few days have been phenomenal...but now I'm coming off a very rough bit of writing, and somehow have to transition from that to a serious conversation...from affection and trust to bitterness and recriminations. Blah. And then I have to engineer a daring escape!

Haven't been posting much because I've been writing right up until the very last second (and sometimes beyond) before I have to leave wherever I am. That I'm blogging now shows how much trouble I'm having today. Oh, I've already met my 500 words (593 and counting)...I'm just having trouble getting through this bit. Also, I'm a bit concerned about the part I just wrote. It's very dark. I mean like Christian Bale's Batman during a power outage on an eclipse dark. Worrisome...

Oh well. I have four hours to figure it out. Then I have to go home, change, feed the cat...and get ready to go see Muppet Treasure Island in the park!

Ok, gonna go back to the grind. I just need to push on...once I'm over the hump the writing should be easy and fun again. Here's hoping!

Later, gators!


Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 56,205
Writing Mode: Painfully plodding

Today Would Be A Good Day To Write

Today was a very quiet day at work. Today, not many people bothered me, and I didn't have much to do.

Today, I wrote 3,717 words.

And, I BROKE 50k!!!

So yes, today has been a good day to write.

Things have obviously progressed quite a lot since yesterday. Mer got to the car, tried to escape, was caught, and half-convinced herself that Bryn was gonna off her. Which, considering that she (unknowingly) put the lives of several billion people at risk...is actually kinda fair. But he didn't kill her, so there it is.

Anyway, Bryn & Mer set out on a long roadtrip to the meeting point, which is still a mystery to Mer. They talk a bit about music, but mainly sit in awkward silence. That's about to end, however, as they're going to be captured in a hot second.

So...yesterday I said that I might post some notes. I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but never did...they're very rough (they are notes, after all), and they might just confuse you. Anyway, I figured I would start you guys out with something easy and not too controversial: entertainment. Television, specifically. TV is not a huge part of this book, but it does have a very small and very important cameo, and I wanted to have it really fairly well thought out. Here, then, is my rough sketch (which I've since developed) of some of the TV shows and stations in Bryn & Mer's terrifying world.

Reality TV shows:

Realispree
Most famous is called Realispree. It is “a next-generation reality show” where a group of people is put in an extreme situation. They can band together or work alone. Anyone who is severely injured and cannot continue is removed from the competition. Often people die. Sometimes one person breaks away from the group and snipes them all in an attempt to be the only winner, and often people band together only to turn on each other in the end. Whomever makes it out alive and under their own power is then given a large cash reward…but if more than one person makes it, the reward is split by all of the survivors. The current season ends with two people making it to the top, only for one to stab the other, getting behind them as they clutch their stomach, and slitting their throat while smiling for the cameras. This person wins the entire award, and is a feature on news shows for weeks to come. “Realispree: the next-generation reality show where your survival spree might lead to a slaughter spree, and the winner is set with a spending spree for life!”

This year’s competiton, the 53rd annual, takes place in Yellowstone Park. They began their journey in the forest, but the end is in the midst of a geyser field. This is where K will die.

Competition Choir
An American Idol or The Voice ripoff. Features a choir of aspiring singers, each wanting a solo career. Instead of singing together, the singers attempt to outshine each other, and thus the “choir” sounds better as more people are kicked off. Singers routinely get each other kicked off through dubious means: poisoning, acid to ruin the vocal chords, fiddling with the pitch on the auto-tune, etc. Metaphor for society’s lack of community and cooperation, and the failure to organize. Apathy.

Teen Tweakers
Follows 12 teens (aged 12-18) who abuse everything from household cleaners to PCP, and everything in-between. They’re real people, but it’s still marketed like a sitcom: “watch tonight as all the teen tweakers are pushed to the limit! Because tonight one teen tweaker won’t make it out alive…”

Pregnant at Prom
Features a lot of bathroom/dumpster babies, and “redemptive” pre- or post-prom runs to drop the infants off at churches.

Meet the Neighbors
Exposes the “dangerous” people living next to totally “normal” people. Villified groups include LGBT, cross-dressers, atheists, “radical” dissenters who do not agree 100% with the govt, members of minority religions (“cults”), vegetarians, swingers, etc.

How to Spend Your Paycheck (Hit-Sip)
Mani-pedis, purses, shopping sprees, maybe tie this in with Realispree, where the winners of Realispree are sometimes guest judges on HtSYP. When referred to in speech, sounds like Hit-Sip.

Tetrathalon: Death Match
Show featuring bunch of different sports, all super violent, steroids encouraged, often leads to death of participants.


TV Channels:

FDNN
Federal Democratic News Network
Anchors:
Emory Cornelius Hays (Anderson Cooper) Emory for his father, Cornelius for his great-great-great grandfather, Hays for his middle name.
Walter Washington Douglas (Brian Williams) Walter for walter Cronkite, washington for GWU (last school he dropped out of, honorary degree), Douglas for his middle name

FRNN
Federal Republican News Network

MTV
Mormontology Television

TCBS
The Christianic Broadcast Station

JIN
The Judeo-Islamist Network

RLTV
Real Life Television

Anyway, that's it! 'Till tomorrow!

Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 50,607
Writing Mode: Cold feet (no, seriously, my toes are so cold that I can barely focus!). Also, worried about timeline issues...

Choose What To Believe

Things in WritingWorld are still going well! Yesterday I wrote 1,963 words, finally making it to a very interesting part of the story...the part where Mer betrays Bryn.

It. Was. AWESOME.

See, I shouldn't be allowed to write...at least not about good characters. I enjoy toying with them too much. Anyway, long story short, Mer's priorities are all mixed up, she doesn't know what to believe, and she'd be willing to do almost anything to save her own skin. As a result, she steals the chip (which, if I haven't mentioned it before, is what Bryn stole from the government in the first place, and the item around which the entire story is centered). She gets it away from Bryn--poor, unsuspecting Bryn--by kissing him, therefore tricking him into thinking she's beginning to have feelings for him.

Dark and harsh. It was super fun to write: Mer was feeling guilty, not sure if she was doing the right thing, Bryn was just being Bryn, and Mer also started trying to sort out the feelings she is just beginning to develop.

What I'm having difficulty with is the next bit. Mer has just escaped the house and is going to try to steal the car; which she will fail to do. The car is going to have one of those little switches installed that make it impossible to turn on unless you know to flip the switch. Mer, of course, will not, and Bryn will catch her. What's giving me trouble is where the two will go from there.

Bryn has (unbeknownst to Mer) received orders to contain her in the cabin, where she would be picked up by a clean-up team and taken to a small but unpleasant detainment center set up by Bryn's associates. He made the decision not to take her there, but to keep her with him instead, thus sparing her from that nasty experience.

Also, in the near future, Bryn & Mer will be captured for the first time, which is an essential but brief part of the story.

Originally, I planned for Mer's escape effort to be what got them caught. Now, however, I think I'm going to have Bryn find her before she figures out how to start the car...because honestly, if she escapes how will he ever find her?

So, here is my quandary. Does Mer attempt to escape again? Does Bryn tell her about his associates' intentions, or (as I originally planned) do I leave that to be revealed later on?

What I'm thinking is that Bryn will catch Mer, have his trust in her shattered, but still determine to take her with him. He won't explain, and they'll set off on a silent and unpleasant road trip to the meeting point. At some point they'll stop in a rest station, and Mer will see a cop. She'll go up to the cop and reveal what she believes to be the truth. They'll be arrested, their pursuers will be called in, and they'll be taken away. Then Bard and Pilot will help them escape, and they'll be taken to the rebels' HQ. There Jules will reveal her original plan for Mer, and how Bryn inexplicably disobeyed her. I think that's the best way to set up for their second capture, which leads to the climax of the book and sets up the ending.

Anyway, must wrap up, as my mum is on her way home and I've still not managed to feed myself. Lots more is going to happen in the book, of course...this is all just a very rough outline.

I ought to post some of my notes...I must have thirty pages' worth! It's getting a bit out of control.

That's a task for another time, however. Audi, mes peuples!


Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 46,889 (woo, broke 45k!)
Writing Mode: Pondering. Hmm...

Work Is For The Desperate Who Wish They Were Free

So I thought that work was going to be bad for my writing...boy, was I wrong!

Okay, the first two days of the week were rough...just barely scratching out my 500 words, slugging it all the way up to Largo (yuck, Largo) in the morning, sitting in front of a blank computer all afternoon (I couldn't log in until I was given a username and password...and the IT guy didn't get around to it until yesterday). But yesterday and today I spent all day down here in DC, and I had very quiet afternoons where, when I wasn't dealing with calls, I could just sit and write. As a result, I wrote 1,854 words yesterday and 1,716 today, for a total of 44,917!!!

Wahooooo!

The most diverting part of all of this is Mer's budding relationship with Bryn. Each is developing feelings for the other, but while he's going to disobey his superiors to help Mer, she's going to betray him in a misguided attempt to serve her country.

In fact, I think her betrayal is what will get them captured for the first time, which allows me to introduce two more major characters: Bard, their inside man, and my personal favorite, the traumatized, cowardly, fascinating Pilot.

It occurred to me the other day that some of what I'm writing is rather...incendiary. It's certainly not as PC as it could be. Maybe that'll come in editing...but I hope not. I want to be controversial if I possibly can.

Probably it's as rousing as a glass of warm milk, but a girl can dream!

One weird thing: I can't believe how much fun I'm having writing this! It's all I think about, all I seem to want to do. I was in training this morning and had to keep reminding myself to focus: every few minutes my mind wandered back to the story. Who are Bryn & Mer? How would they react in X situation? What is going to happen next?

If I could do this for a living, I'd be the happiest girl in the world. As it is, my favorite thing about my job is the quiet afternoons that give me time to write. I'm sure they'll be gone soon enough--everyone's been saying that July's a notoriously slow month--but for now they're proving invaluable.

Anyway, I've got to feed the cat, take a shower, cook dinner, and eat...all before 8pm. Can I do it? WE SHALL SEE.

Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum

Word Count: 44,917

Writing Mode: Surprisingly productive...and unwilling to stop!

P.S. I was able to work a code I made up in middle school, wrote in all through high school, and perfected in college into my story! Used it for a rather important email...super jazzed about that! The reader doesn't have to break it, of course: Bryn explains what the email says. You have to trust that he's telling the truth, however. Mer doesn't believe that he is. Spoiler alert: he's not.

You Rush A Miracle Man, You Get Rotten Miracles

Wow. Super, super, SUPER productive day today!!! I've had a hard time getting into a schedule this week (mostly b/c I've had to go somewhere first thing every morning, then not been back home until late at night). I only wrote 348 words on Wednesday, then didn't get ANY done yesterday. I can't tell you how awful that felt...not getting anything done? After being so good for so long? It was torture.

Today, however, I had the afternoon free. I set up camp at my mum's, and just wrote. I got through some tricky parts, wrote an emotional scene for Mer, and even gave her and Bryn their first (mini) fight! I'm at an amazing part now: Mer is beginning to doubt the things she's always taken for granted, and is pursing a course which she isn't sure is right (hint: it's not). Soon I'll get to write about how she betrays Bryn (oh, oops...spoiler alert!), and what this'll do to her. And, just as importantly, to him. It's going to be a mess to write, and I'm kind of jazzed about it. Plus they're going to discuss (read: fight) about how she nearly killed him in the very beginning, and will be put into a really terrible situation where they are cornered and nearly killed...which'll start them on the path to reconciliation.

Phew...that sounds really super awful when I write it out in that way. I promise it'll be better when I write it for real.

Anyway, I set out to make up for the past two days, as well as to finish off today's 500 words. Shockingly I managed to do all of that...and then some.

Today, I wrote a phenomenal (if I do say so myself) 2,960 words.

...

2,960 words.

...

HUZZAH!!!

I met my goal long before I got to 2,960, but then I realized that I was just shy of a pretty awesome number, so I pushed myself to keep going until I got there. It is with great pride, then, that I announce that I have broken forty-thousand words: or, in other words, I am one-fifth of the way there!

Okay, that might not seem like a lot, but it's a huge deal to me. And in another 10,000 words I'll be a quarter done. For someone who didn't think they could write over twenty pages, that's incredible.

Okay, okay, enough self-aggrandizement. I've missed dinner, so it's time I go down and hang with my mum. Until next time!


Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 40,522
Writing Mode: INCONCEIVABLE!!!*

*You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means...

It Feels Great To Urinate

If I write 1,000 more words today I'll break 40k. Can I do it???

Stay tuned to find out! But first: MUST PEE.


Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 38,984
Writing Mode: Driven to STOP SLACKING

Kitty Love

Bah, migraine! Not adjusting well to life back in DC. Anyway, at least I'm keeping up with my five hundred per day! Today I dashed out 1,006 words, and finally broke 37k!

Anyway, I've apparently exhausted my ability to migraine-write, so audi for now!

Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum

Word Count: 37,120

Writing Mode: Throbacious. That's a word, right?

P.S. Brought Draco back home today. He's being super sweet...guess he's back in the honeymoon period. We'll see how he does once Lily's back...

Right now, though, he's sprawled in my lap. Adorableness ;}

This Sleep of Death

Blah, back in DC. I can't believe how much I miss Maine already...or how unhappy I am to be back. At least my sketchy new job pushed back my start date by a week, so I got to mope at home rather than doing it at the office.

Anyway, I've kept up with my writing very well, in spite of my extended vacation. I missed Friday, but had such a buffer that it was covered anyway. Besides, I was freaking out about fitting everything in before I left...which I didn't. Didn't see my friends' house (sorry, Vincent & Isa!), and didn't see an old family friend I'd wanted to catch up with (sorry, Tammy!). Next time, I guess. Or maybe I'll just move home...

Today was a tough writing day, but I got out a good 741 words. It was all dullish linking material, so I'm hoping tomorrow's stuff will be easier. I need to do a little more detailed plotting...I've got everything plotted (I think...) except for this part. Painful.

Bryn & Mer are in a safe house at the moment, and she's convinced herself that he's a spy who has stolen government secrets. To be fair, she's not far off: he's a rebel who stole a prototype from the government. She has it in her head that he's evil, though, so I have a few things to work out. First, what happens next to keep her in the thick of things with Bryn? Then, how does she steal the chip Bryn took from the government (in a foolhardy attempt to return it), and how does he catch her? Where do they go from there, and how does Bryn begin to win her trust?

Bah, that's a lot to worry about--but not today! Now I must go pick up poor, evil Draco and then go visit with my mum (yay!). Maybe a visit with her will lift my spirits.

Ta for now!

Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum

Word Count: 36,114

Writing Mode: Teeth-pullingly painful

Consanguineous

Just a quick post this morning to update you on my writing progress: 1,105 words this morning for a total of 34,641 overall!!!

Wahooo!!!

Anyway, the fam is discussing genealogy (hence the title of this post--also my favorite word!), so I'd better jet!

Audi!

Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum

Word Count: 34,641

Writing Mode: Decaf ;{

I must go down to the seas again...to the lonely sea and sky.......

Wow, crazy few days. Got NO writing done all weekend...thank god for my buffer and for weekend amnesty! Also didn't do any writing yesterday (except for maybe 30 words last night before passing out at the screen. That's ok, I made up for it today: 1,341 words!

I'm writing this blog quickly for two reasons: 1, my compy is about to die, and 2, we're about to go to the beach! I need to get into my suit. And also eat something more nourishing than the strawberry-rhubarb pie (with ice cream) that I just devoured.

Anyway, audi for now!

Working Title: Bryn & Mer: Nosce Te Ipsum
Word Count: 33,532
Writing Mode: Reinvigorated