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Prepping for 

NaNoWriMo

I already knew what I wanted to write and so all I really needed to do before November and NaNoWriMo officially began was to register my account online and announce my upcoming project.  I started with a favorite quote of mine from a not so favorite play of mine, Hamlet. The idea went from there. 

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The idea is imagined, the pen is ready, the laptop is charged, the blank page is waiting. It is finally time. 

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Here. We. Go.

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"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Hamlet, 1.5.167-168. William Shakespeare.

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1,341 Words

Caleb found the angel tangled in the power lines. 

It was quite obviously an angel, the large white wings kind of gave it away. Three sets of them in fact. All of them arching upwards and outwards from its back and hips and legs, and covered in bright feathers that nearly blinded him. They were twitching and spasming from the electricity still live and wrapped tightly, with its arms stretched taut to the sides in a gross imitation of Christ on the cross. It was glowing, whether from the live wires or from its own ethereal nature - its halo perhaps - and it was almost too painful to look at. When the angel heard Caleb approaching, its neck snapped upwards and its eyes froze him in his place.

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It was, Caleb had to admit, the strangest way to begin his Thursday.

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2,563 Words

The voice in his mind was weak and raw from screaming, but it still seemed to sing through his brain. Celestial harmonies and all that, his mind supplied. One of the larger wings on its back lifted to reveal the angel. It was slowly pushing itself up with shaking hands, elbows locked in place to prevent it from falling back down to the earth. Once righted into a somewhat precarious sitting position, wings curled up and back behind it, it turned its face to look at Caleb. Even now, dirty and dusty and flecked with what could only be described as liquid gold - ichor, the blood of angels and gods alike it seemed - even now it was beautiful. And Caleb was suddenly seized with the inappropriate urge to ask the angel did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

4,336 Words

Reckless adrenaline kept him upright and some long lost faith in an abandoned god gave him the strength and bravery to meet their gaze with his own. 

A crack of laughter filled the air in a combination of the howling whine of a hyena and the drill for a root canal. 

You brought a human into this fight? Foolish mortals like him are nothing better than kindling for the fires of hell. The demon turned burning eyes the color of the flames on its sword to peer into Caleb’s own. 

The screaming in his head returned.

6,328  Words

Even now, as the war waged around them and the rest of their brethren fought for freedom and power and right and wrong, even now Michael gave Lucifer a choice. Here at the End and the Beginning. A chance. A hand reaching out in the darkness to pull his brother back to the light. But it was an impossible choice. An impossible request to ask of an angel who was already Falling. 

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And Lucifer shook his head, a thousand eyes and a thousand wings all shaking their denial. The rage was quelled in this moment, this quiet and almost soft moment between two brothers. And Caleb was struck again by how human they were, here before the very existence of humanity itself, how troubled and devastated and hurt these two were, that neither would have their brother by their side again.

8,000 Words

There was a jagged scar bisecting the top and bottom half of his right side torso, like he had been cracked open like an egg and then glued back together, with bits of egg white and epoxy still running out. Humpty dumpty had a great fall, he thought idly, running gentle fingers over the ridges. It was tender and bumpy to the touch and it certainly hadn’t been there yesterday, yet the scar looked like it was years healed over. He dropped the rest of his shirt down in confusion. What had happened?

9,673 Words

Evie stepped closer and touched his side, she was certain he hadn’t had the scar the last time she saw him. But then again, the last time she saw him with his shirt off was three summers ago, the last time they had all been together at the lake house and the beach. Anything could have happened between now and then. Lots of things did happen, what was one more scar to add to the growing list of healing wounds? 

“Are you sure about all of this?” he could hear the doubt dripping from her voice and her tone was one people often used on skittish animals, as if he was a frightened horse that needed placating. Or maybe a rabid dog that needed putting down.

11,287 Words

I made it to 10,000 words!! I can't believe I've made it this far, one week in and I've got over 10,000 words - that's 1/5 of the way there. I didn't think I'd ever make it this far, but I've found that writing just for the sake of getting words on the page comes a little easier that normal. Of course, now I'm starting to feel the burn out after getting so many words out in such little time. Things are starting to run on too long, plot threads are starting to escape me, and my characters are sliding off the page a little bit. 

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But hey! I've still got three more weeks to try and finagle these puzzle pieces into a completed picture. Here's hoping for 40,000 more words!

12,245 Words

There were flickering moments where the form of the snake echoed in the form of an angel. A once glorious angel now Fallen from Grace, with blackened wings like scales across his back and long hair hanging curly and tangled in his face. He walked with a different sort of grace here, smooth and silky as the snake form he took. But they were shadows of one another, neither form remaining corporeal for too long before flickering and shifting to the other, as if there was uncertainty in the soul that carried it.

12,900 Words

The crunch of the apple seemed strangely mundane in that moment. There was no lightning, no thunder, no crack in the sky to indicate that something monumental had occurred. Humanity had just damned themselves and the earth was not listening. 

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There were clouds amassing East of Eden, a storm was on the rise above the horizon and beyond the borders of paradise. But within the garden, here in this moment on Earth, there was just a woman eating an apple.

13,728 Words

There was a young man leaning casually against the stairway railing, examining something cupped in his hands. He looked to be about Caleb’s age, that ambiguous age of upper twenties that could still pass as lower and mid-twenties. He had long hair that hung almost to his shoulders and veiled his face, darkened anyway as the nighttime poured in from the window at the top of the stairs. He was dressed in dark jeans that clung to his slim legs and a dark long sleeved shirt and jacket. The thing he was cupping in his hands glittered between his fingers, like slips of gold in the bedrock.

15,065 Words

The demon reached out his hand, oddly polite as he juggled the shining thing into his left as his right extended away from him towards Caleb. His eyes burned a dark and rich amber in the night, glowing like embers in a fire. 

Caleb was speechless, his memories tumbling backwards for a moment as he stood there staring at the outstretched hand. This was the demon? Sharply, he remembered fire and a burning blade as it tore through him like a hot knife through butter. Caleb ignored the hand in favor of clutching at his side as the scar flared up in heat, as if responding to the threat that had put it there, as if to warn Caleb that this was a dangerous creature in front of him. A little late for the warning now.

17,658 Words

“Now Caleb,” Rion said, “Is that how you treat guests in your home?” He turned his back to Caleb and made his way to the lit kitchen down the hall, leaving Caleb to either follow or to remain standing at the base of the stairs with the front door still hanging open.

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Wait, what are you doing?" Caleb slammed the door shut behind him and pulled at the large umbrella in the coat stand in the entryway. It wasn't a weapon in any sort of way, but it made him feel better to brandish the object with its barely sharpened point at the intruder in the house. Maybe he should dig out his old baseball bat. He followed the demon at a slower pace, leaving Rion to slink on ahead of him.

19,410 Words

Rion swung himself up onto the countertop, making sure not to drop a single crumb with the banana loaf precariously balanced in one hand, still wrapped in its tin foil package. Next to him on the countertop were three bottles of wine; two whites and one red. Rion grabbed the red, checked the label, and with a small hum of approval, set the bread down and proceeded to tear away at the foil around the neck at get to the cork. Savagely, he used his teeth to pry the cork out and after giving it an appreciative sniff, took a large swig straight from the bottle. 

Caleb was not pleased.

20,093 Words

Ahhhh!! I made it to 20,000 words! It's actually happening!!! 

21,034 Words

“Don’t call me that,” Caleb said, angrily turning away to grab the bottle for another swig. The odd taste had started to grow on him, it’s not the best wine he’s ever had, but it’s certainly the strangest. He could taste hints of smoke and cranberries among the fermented grapes, and there was a whiff of orange and spice in the air. He let the alcohol sit on his tongue for a moment before swallowing, finding himself enjoying the strange taste.

22,049 Words

“Choices, it’s what this is all about after all.”

“This, what’s this?”

“The War. The everlasting struggle between Heaven and Hell. This,” Rion spread his arms as if to encompass the entire earth, the sky, and the universe as a whole. 

“Who even said I wanted to be a part of this?” Caleb mimicked the movement, spreading his own arms out and wiggling his fingers.

25,084 Words

Half. Way. There.

27,086 Words

He then bundled himself out to the truck parked in the driveway. The house was set on a curve in the middle of the woods, with the back porch looking over a drop off in the earth with a forest of reds, yellows, and oranges this time of year as autumn was reaching its peak. The truck had a light layer of dust and leaves and the front yard and porch needed a good raking. The earth was taking its last deep breaths of summer and fall in preparation for the long winters of the New England coast. Soon enough, everything would be covered in a blanket of white snow, but for now, the colors were brilliant and alive

27,289 Words

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Instead of writing new stuff for The Novel, I brainstormed ideas for a new novel. I know, typical writer procrastination. I'm starting to feel the burnout now as November draws closer to the end and my word count starts to flatline. But! I've still got lots of places for The Novel to go so I'm not quitting it yet. Stay tuned!!

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27,781 Words

“What, you think you accidentally stumbled upon the Divine in Need? You think fate led you down that path towards the angel? How do you think you were able to lift the sword? King Arthur himself could not have lifted that sword even if it were buried in stone. You are part of the Great Plan and are guided by things far more powerful than simply fate. And for better or for worse, you will play your part in the end.”

31,221 Words

“You are Marked and you are Chosen. And you can call it salvation or damnation or something else entirely, but you will be a part of this war.”

“What the hell?” he whispered, how did he get caught up in something like this. How was this all real?

“Ah, that’s only about half right there Caleb boy, ‘what the heaven’ too.” Rion punctuated the statement with a lift of the bottle and a nod upwards, as if toasting to heaven above.

33,447 Words

Caleb remembered a glittering angel with too many questions upon his lips, he remembered a halting sword and one last chance for a Falling angel and a hand reaching out in the darkness, he remembered apples and blood red scales - scales of a snake and the tipping balance of scales falling apart - and too many questions and not enough answers. So many choices that all shaped the future of the earth and humanity. 

“No.”

35,443 Words

"You don't know what will happen to humanity when this war is through. Angels are not as forgiving as you lot make them seem, you give them too much credit and they take advantage of that. You think demons are bad, an angel will run you through with their sword and claim it all in the name of God and the Great Plan. Nothing is more dangerous than when it is done in the name of faith. At least demons have the common decency to know that we're damned.

"And there are countless humans already fighting, for Heaven, for Hell, for Earth. Humanity are the foot soldiers in this war and the earth is the battle field. So yes, it should matter to you."

37,643 Words

The wind was picking up from the ocean and he could see the dark smudges of clouds growing larger and clearer as they advanced upon the shore. He paused just outside of the door that led back inside the tower, breathing in deeply the smell of the salt on the wind. It was familiar and comforting, this place was home and it always would be. But that feeling of premonition churned in his stomach again as there was a slight burn of ozone in the air, the static of lightning lighting the air before the strike. The taste was bitter on his tongue and it shook him from his peace. The waves were churning along the beach and crashing against the rocks of their little lighthouse island. Angry and agitated. Something was coming.

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^A little excerpt from another story I've begun and a little break from my NaNoWriMo story.

40,236 Words

I'm five days away and the end is near. 

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Please send help.

43,158 Words

Llyr slammed down another shot of the homemade sailor’s whiskey and wiped at his mouth, his eyes were slightly unfocused and the world around him was a warm haze of firelight and alcohol. It was close to one thirty in the morning and the wind was howling outside as the sea raged in a storm down the coast. But inside, tucked in this far flung seaside corner of the world, Llyr and Brom were happy. Carefree and careless in their laughter and their youth, the whiskey lessened the stretch of years between them. 

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^Another excerpt from another story.

47,121 Words

I am exhausted. It has been nearly 4,000 words since yesterday and my mind is screaming at me to go to sleep (and maybe eat something). But there are three days to go and 3,000 words until my goal.

Let's do this.

50,106 Words

I DID IT!! 

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*throws the proverbial pen down and naps for the rest of 2019*

51,231 Words

I may have made it to my goal (insert screaming and dancing in excitement) but the month of November is still going and so I guess I'm still writing. 

51,638 Words

Well, it's all over today. We've made it. All of the writers and artists and dreamers and wishers, we made it. November was a long month, but looking back...I still can't believe I did it. That somehow, someway, I was able to put down over 50,000 words on paper (computer). And I'm still not done! 

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NaNoWriMo was about trying to get a novel down in the span of a month without thought to quality. Quality will come later. It's the unique beauty of writing, quantity over quality. The more you get down on the page the more you practice and the better you get. And I don't think I ever quite understood the sentiment until now. Not until I'm facing my own well-earned mountain of writing. It was an exciting month, but now I'm going to eat a snack and then take a nap.

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Until next November, thanks NaNoWriMo. And thanks to you for sticking with me, stay tuned, there's so much more writing to come.