Day 19: 16946 words

Plugging along, but if I write 3000 words a day, I'll still make it.

Here's something I wasted more time on:

Continuing to fight against the march of "progress"

From today's Herald Leader, an article on the difficulties facing the draft horse industry.

Day 16: 13833 words

I'm still way behind, but its another 3300 words or so. If I keep writing 3000 words a day, I'll make the finish line.

I made a lot of progress today by outlining (making outrageously lengthy chapter titles) through the rest of my (general) plot.

Speaking of outrageously lengthy titles, this would be the title of my novel if it appeared in the eighteenth century:

A True Account of the Romance Recently Entered Into At The Circus Located at Twelfth and High Streets, John Bill Ricketts, Esq., Proprietor, Wherein Our Heroine, A Miss Elizabeth C____, Finds Matrimonial Bliss With Mister Jean M'Gowan, After Enduring Arduous and Terrible Trials and a Series of Most Unfortunate Misunderstandings During The Great Yellow Fever Plague Lately Affecting Our Fair City, An Historic Accounting Of Which May Be Currently Found In The Several Booksellers Of Philada.

Day 15: 10550 words

Oh, I'm seriously behind after not having written for the week straight I worked without a day off. I've got to figure out how to write on days I work. But I've passed 10K, and am rolling along now, I think.

I am reminded why NaNo is so much fun. Writing on the fly creates some wonderfully and sometimes weirdly beautiful things. For instance, I have one of my MCs nearly run over by a Conestoga wagon on the Penna Turnpike because he's on the "wrong" side of the road. And so I leave him there, standing on the wrong side of the road, which becomes a metaphor for his life. It needs refining, of course, but that's what December is for.

Favorite line of the day: “Dolly Todd is not a proper lady,” Anne snapped, crossing her arms. “She is from North Carolina.”

Day 7 - 7168 words

Today was productive. I wrote 3294 words today, which is a fair clip. Now I'm only 4500 words behind! Ta ha! We'll see how it goes tomorrow when I actually have to work. But this is fun!

Day 6 - Still 3874 words

So instead of writing today (shame on me!) I took Chubba Bubba out for a spin around the yard under saddle.

But Wednesday is my day off, so back to work on my novel!

Day 5 - 3874 words

So I wrote 3500 words today, and the novel is off to a good start, though I'm still only on the first scene/chapter. Onwards!

Back on track...

Things have slightly held me up at the beginning of this NaNo: The Italian Stallion and I held a party on Saturday night which required preparation on Friday, plus weekends are my busiest days work wise, so I didn't do any writing on Nov. 2-4. But now I'm back to work on my day off, and things are starting to chug along.

So, without further ado, here's my official excerpt (as seen on nanowrimo.org):

Hey, hey, hey, ho, Guin, ho! Ho, girl!”

Elizabeth felt a sudden sting across her cheek only a moment before she was knocked off her feet by a huge dark form, landing hard on the round cobbles. Spokes of a carriage wheel fluttered past, inches away from her legs, running whisper quiet over her skirts. Only then did she register the sharp ring of iron on stone, the unmistakable clip-clops of fine trotting horses.

In the dim glow from the street lamps, a mahogany bay horse wheeled around in the street she’d been crossing. The horse, harnessed to a light gig, was prancing and snorting, eye whites like crescent moons standing out against its dark head, breath in twin jets of steam from its nostrils. The sound of a second horse trotting disappeared down the street into the shadows, the even strikes of diagonal hooves fading away in the distance. The horse in the middle of Sassafras Street where Elizabeth lay clearly wanted to give chase to the other, but the driver in the seat talked incessantly in a low murmur. The horse’s ears flicked back and forth from the driver’s voice to the retreating hoofbeats.

“Easy, Guin, it’s alright.” The horse didn’t seemed convinced and let out a loud whinny, straining with pricked ears in the dark to hear a reply from the departed second horse. “Just relax. Ho. Ho.” The driver’s voice was male, deep, sonorous, soothing. Finally Guin the horse seemed to relax.

Elizabeth started to push herself off the cobblestones. Both horse and driver turned to look at her with concerned interest.

“Are you harmed, my lady? May I be of assistance?”

Elizabeth winced at the dull pain in her hip as she experimentally gathered her legs under her. “I think I’m uninjured, except for my pride.”

“Well, as they say...” the man in the gig trailed off as he set the long driving whip in the socket on the dashboard and in a fluid motion stepped off the cart, not bothering to climb down the wheel, landing gracefully on the balls of his feet. He strode towards her.

“As they say what?” Elizabeth asked apprehensively as he offered her a gloved hand.

“’Pride goeth before a fall.’” He smiled. “You said you were unharmed, but did not give a reply as to the assistance part.” Eyes twinkling in the moonlight, he nodded at his outstretched hand.

His smile reassured her, and she took his grasp.

Nano Day 1 - 369 words

Well, I didn't exactly get off to a blazing start last night, but I've got the day off today, so we'll see if I can't get back on pace.

Does anyone want to adopt my Inner Editor for a month?