Tag: NaNoWriMo

NANOWRIMO November 2023 – Day 7

“Opposites Attract”

…

Walking in another person’s shoes

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Going to volunteer at a charity is not the place to be wearing shoes that are more expensive than the daily food budget.  This is the task our boy is given, to take her with him as another volunteer.

Of course, how to break that news to a girl whose old clothes are probably more expensive than his car.

He goes to pick her up and there he discovers just what the work staff think of him.  Not the sort of people they expect at Daddy’s company.  Emily comes to his rescue.

Then there is convincing her he was not going to be able to take her in $5,000 Gucci dresses and Prada shoes.  They were going to Walmart, a different type of shopping spree.

Of course, that’s not without its problems, the staff are members of the school she used to go to and people she tormented and treated badly.  People seem to have long memories.

If only life was simpler.

That hurdle negotiated, more by luck than good fortune, they move to the next.

Our boy takes her home to his place, and when you live in a castle, literally, well…

I’ll say no more.

…

Today’s words:  2,239, for a total of, 13,258.

“Strangers We’ve Become” – The final countdown to publishing in 29 days

People change.

It’s a fact of life that over time people change.  Yes, they do keep some of their original characteristics, but a lot of people sometimes wake up, forty years later, and wonder who it is that they are in bed with.

It hasn’t happened to me yet, but the person I married has changed.

We all do.

External influences like workplaces, friends, enemies, attitudes, and even children, all have an influence on who we become.  I personally have no idea where the 18-year-old version of me has gone, not that I remember much of him.

So it goes for our hero, David.  He has an inkling of who Susan is or was, but so much has changed for her.  Her mother is dead, she had been held captive by a madman, drugged and tortured, it would have to affect anyone.

But, then, there are different nuances, so un Susan-like.  Little changes he knows she might not partake in, and it is these that start him wondering, what if…

Firstly, she cuts short a planned reunion away in Italy, time for them to reconnect.  Yes, she is now head of the family business, yes, she is hanging out with new men in her life, and no, it seems he does not fit into her corporate persona.

Then there is the first assassination attempt.

On him.

And so the rollercoaster ride begins…

NANOWRIMO November 2023 – Day 6

“Opposites Attract”

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A night meeting

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Who can sleep when you’re stressing over whether the girl of your dreams is or isn’t the girl of your dreams?  Yes, it can be that confusing.

It’s obvious the father doesn’t think it’s over, yet.

And when he gets the call, in the dead of night, it’s a ridiculous question to ask him if he’s still awake, especially when he answers the phone.

Yes, the heart does flutter at the sound of her voice.

And a meeting, in the middle of the night. At the diner.  A diner that was once a den of iniquity and now just an empty reminder of what the city was before it was bypassed with the new interstate.

Looking for the chauffeur he figures she hasn’t arrived.  He doesn’t believe she drove herself.

Does that come under the category, you learn new things every day?

He finds her already there, nursing coffee, and looking like an unmade bed.  In other words, she is definitely the most beautiful girl he has ever met.

And the kiss tells him this thing is far from over.

Perhaps it’s worth it when he tells her she will be coming with him, and learning the ropes.

…

Today’s words:  1,518, for a total of, 11,019.

“Betrayal” – the penultimate final draft – Day 36

I’m sure I’ve been down this road more than once, and with the same novel, but whereas the last edit, which was probably the second or third, finished up in the pile, then forgotten.

I’m doing an active update to all my works in progress, and sending them to the editor, after going through the manuscript once again, with a view to publishing.  Hopefully, before the year is out.

…

There is something bittersweet about writing those fateful last two words on your manuscript, ‘The End’.

That’s because it’s not.  Oh, no.  It’s just the beginning.

However daunting the next phase of the writing process is, it’s a huge sigh of relief to finally finish the NaNoWriMo project for this year.

The ending only changed a dozen times, the most recent version yesterday, when finally in possession of all the facts, we make discoveries that we really wished we hadn’t.

Certainly, the story lives up to the tentative book title ‘Betrayed’ though I’m not sure if I might use ‘Betrayal’ instead.  But a decision on that is a long way off.

Now it’s time to finish editing the manuscript, at the moment running to over 80,000 words, and stop tinkering. The line has been drawn in the sand.

Having parked two or three other projects so I could concentrate on this, now I can go back and continue with my episodic stories, and, at last, find myself able to progress at least one.

But, let me say this, it’s a hell of a way to write a novel in a short space of time.

Now it’s off to the editor for the last round of changes, if any, and hopefully, it can be published this year.

Hopefully.

NANOWRIMO November 2023 – Day 5

“Opposites Attract”

…

A rather odd request

…

How many people have been in limbo, wondering whether the last conversation was actually the last conversation?

Relationships that are in the early stages are always on a knife edge.

The boy knows that it’s possible this relationship has a use-by date, that while the father seems to think his daughter is benefitting from them being together, it might just be possible to spend some time with the girl of his dreams.

What will happen when reality sets in?

It seems the father of the girl is impressed with the boy and asks to meet him, but once again the PA is sent to fetch him.  Since it is her father our boy makes an exception.

Wondering what he wants…

It seems she wants to start a proper charity foundation and run it.  Of course, being so young she cannot start at the top, so she has to learn the ropes, so to speak. And he knows the boy does charity work.

We all know what that means, taking the once spoilt brat to a place where people would judge her for what she was, not entirely because she’s from a rich family, but more because of the fact she was, and maybe still is a brat?

A challenge?  Indeed.

…

Today’s words:  1,288, for a total of, 9,501.

“Betrayal” – the penultimate final draft – Day 36

I’m sure I’ve been down this road more than once, and with the same novel, but whereas the last edit, which was probably the second or third, finished up in the pile, then forgotten.

I’m doing an active update to all my works in progress, and sending them to the editor, after going through the manuscript once again, with a view to publishing.  Hopefully, before the year is out.

…

There is something bittersweet about writing those fateful last two words on your manuscript, ‘The End’.

That’s because it’s not.  Oh, no.  It’s just the beginning.

However daunting the next phase of the writing process is, it’s a huge sigh of relief to finally finish the NaNoWriMo project for this year.

The ending only changed a dozen times, the most recent version yesterday, when finally in possession of all the facts, we make discoveries that we really wished we hadn’t.

Certainly, the story lives up to the tentative book title ‘Betrayed’ though I’m not sure if I might use ‘Betrayal’ instead.  But a decision on that is a long way off.

Now it’s time to finish editing the manuscript, at the moment running to over 80,000 words, and stop tinkering. The line has been drawn in the sand.

Having parked two or three other projects so I could concentrate on this, now I can go back and continue with my episodic stories, and, at last, find myself able to progress at least one.

But, let me say this, it’s a hell of a way to write a novel in a short space of time.

Now it’s off to the editor for the last round of changes, if any, and hopefully, it can be published this year.

Hopefully.

“Betrayal” – the penultimate final draft – Day 35

I’m sure I’ve been down this road more than once, and with the same novel, but whereas the last edit, which was probably the second or third, finished up in the pile, then forgotten.

I’m doing an active update to all my works in progress, and sending them to the editor, after going through the manuscript once again, with a view to publishing.  Hopefully, before the year is out.

…

I’ve managed to come back from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (where I’m deeply immersed in another story) for long enough to continue writing the last few chapters of the NaNoWriMo project.

Today, I wrapped up Chapter 33 and went through the aftermath of the latest attack on the main character, with a little assistance from a new operative, and one I’m beginning to like more than I should.

I’m hoping this is not a bit-part player who’s going to steal every scene she’s in.

Then it’s onto chapter 34 where we get to sit down and discuss what happened and why.  Sometimes we tend to overlook the obvious, and not realise that what seems too good to be true generally is.

And where the title of the book gets justified.

There’s more than one betrayal going on here, and it’s going to be a hard pill for one of the characters to swallow.

NANOWRIMO November 2023 – Day 4

“Opposites Attract”

…

A different type of girl friend

…

Let’s get it right from the start.

Our boy knows there’s something going on and is bracing himself for what he thinks might be the mother of all pranks.  She is, after all, the best in the business.

Then there’s the little thing like status, and he has none, so it’s only a matter of time before the father pulls the plug.

But…

As much as all this weighs on his mind, she is not going anywhere.  She learns her first lesson, that our boy will not be summoned like a dog.  She has to ring and ask him where and when they can meet.

There’s that small thing like the limelight, and it shines very brightly around all of the members of her family, and especially on her.  She is a news magnet for all the wrong reasons, and that limelight spills over onto our boy.

He makes the news in the local paper; with a suggestion they might be dating.

They might, or after finally meeting at the local diner they disagree, she leaves not very happy, so maybe they might not be dating.

…

Today’s words:  1,876, for a total of 8,213.

“Betrayal” – the penultimate final draft – Day 35

I’m sure I’ve been down this road more than once, and with the same novel, but whereas the last edit, which was probably the second or third, finished up in the pile, then forgotten.

I’m doing an active update to all my works in progress, and sending them to the editor, after going through the manuscript once again, with a view to publishing.  Hopefully, before the year is out.

…

I’ve managed to come back from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (where I’m deeply immersed in another story) for long enough to continue writing the last few chapters of the NaNoWriMo project.

Today, I wrapped up Chapter 33 and went through the aftermath of the latest attack on the main character, with a little assistance from a new operative, and one I’m beginning to like more than I should.

I’m hoping this is not a bit-part player who’s going to steal every scene she’s in.

Then it’s onto chapter 34 where we get to sit down and discuss what happened and why.  Sometimes we tend to overlook the obvious, and not realise that what seems too good to be true generally is.

And where the title of the book gets justified.

There’s more than one betrayal going on here, and it’s going to be a hard pill for one of the characters to swallow.

“Betrayal” – the penultimate final draft – Day 34

I’m sure I’ve been down this road more than once, and with the same novel, but whereas the last edit, which was probably the second or third, finished up in the pile, then forgotten.

I’m doing an active update to all my works in progress, and sending them to the editor, after going through the manuscript once again, with a view to publishing.  Hopefully, before the year is out.

…

It’s been nearly a week since I’ve put a word to paper, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it.

And, today, I set aside some time to complete the last chapter of section 2, and in the process, make some amendments to the penultimate chapter of that section.

It changed the word count for that chapter to 1,031 up from 919 and added 2,155 words for the last chapter.

I’ve also tidied up the plan for the last four chapters of section 3, one of which had been done, leaving three.

Then it will be a matter of writing the epilogue, or section 4, which was going to have four chapters, but it now seems like it might be two, or three depending on how events work out.

Also, I had got all the chapters in their relevant files, and formatting, ready to be combined into the first draft of the book.

So far the total words written is 82,690, far more than I expected.