NaNoWriMo Day 11

Okay, so, I'm pregnant! I've been trying to keep in a secret, but after a very successful ultrasound on Friday, and the fact that we're almost in our second trimester, I've decided to break the news.  Now that that is out of the way, the fact that I am 10 weeks pregnant really makes it hard to sit down and write.  I've been feeling constantly tired, and my brain doesn't feel like it's functioning very well.  I'm starting to get a real feeling that I'm not going to finish NaNo this year, and that makes me kind of sad, since I'll probably end up not doing NaNo next year, since I'll have a four month old.

I didn't write at all today, since I wasn't home most of the day, and when I was home, I took a long nap.  I did write a bit yesterday, but I never got around to sharing what I wrote.  Yesterday I brought my word count to 15,089.  I'm about 3k behind where I should be.  Not terrible, but not great.  I hope I can make up some word count this week.

Here's an excerpt from what I wrote yesterday:

Hours later found them still  in the desert, but this time in Arizona.

“Seriously, I’m pretty sure most of this country is nothing but dirt,” Declan complained.

“We have seen a lot of dirt in the past three days,” Bernadette agreed.

“I mean, I love rocks and stuff, but this is getting kind of ridiculous,” Declan said.

“But don’t you think it’s kind of cool that each state’s desert has been different from the other?”

Declan stopped and thought about it.  It was true.  The color of the dirt was different from the state before. You would think he was crazy for being able to identify the color of the sand, and tell that one beige-brown was different from another beige brown, but when you crossed a state line, you could really see the difference.  And in addition, each desert had it’s own kind of desert vegetation.  Texas had more rocks than vegetation.  New Mexico had little shrubby bushes that didn’t grow very tall.  Arizona had cacti.  Like honest to goodness cacti.  Declan squealed slightly at the sight of the cacti at first.

“Okay, I’ll admit that the differing in the desert is kind of cool.  But I can’t wait until the part of the trip when we’re driving through forests and meadows and green.”

Bernadette laughed. “It will be a nice change, that’s for sure.  Too bad after we leave my parents we still have Nevada and Utah to drive through.”

“That’s true, but at least that’s just one and half days.  Then we’re in Wyoming and Yellowstone and that’s trees and green.”

“And cooler,” Bernadette said.

“Yes, definitely cooler.”

They weren’t positive what the temperature outside the car was, all they knew was it was hot enough to make the inside of the car feel like an oven.  They had the air conditioner blasting as high as they could make it, yet it wasn’t helping cool the car down at all.  They were sweating as they drove down the highway.

“I can’t wait for the sun to go down,” Bernadette said, trying fruitlessly to make the air conditioner feel cooler than it actually was.

“Me too.  I know we usually hate driving in the dark, but you would have to think that if the sun went down, the air would cool down, and make it feel better in the car.”

“That’s my theory at least,” Bernadette said.

“I’m getting hungry,” Declan said.  “When should we stop for dinner?”

Bernadette shrugged. “Do you think there’s In-N-Out in Arizona?” she asked.

Declan’s eyes lit up. “I hope so! Text your dad, maybe he’ll know.”

Bernadette reached for her phone, and ignored all of the texts from George.  She still wasn’t responding to him. After the almost fight she had with Declan, she really didn’t want to talk to George.  She texted her dad and waited. After a minute, her phone buzzed.

“He says there are three on our route in Tucson, right on the highway,” Bernadette answered. “How far from Tucson are we?”

They waited a few minutes until they passed a green sign.

“Three hours,” Declan answered. “We’re three hours from Tucson.”

“Do you want to wait that long? Or do you want to stop and get something?”

NaNoWriMo Day 7

I KNOW! I'm terrible.  I took a few days off of writing.  I wasn't feeling well, and since I had a comfortable number, I took a few days off.  Big mistake.  Now I feel behind. *sigh* C'est la vie.  Today I went to a local write-in.  It was a lot of fun.  We did more talking about the election than actually writing, but it was nice not to sit alone and write.  I wrote about 2700 words today, bringing my total word count to 12755. My goal is to hit 20k before Saturday...

Here is an excerpt of what I wrote today:

After rising with the sun, and taking a sub-par shower, Declan and Bernadette made their way to the Caverns again, making sure they arrived when they opened.  Arriving early was a very smart choice, the place was practically deserted.  They purchased their National Parks pass, which would get them into every National Park they were planning on visiting on their trip, and began walking toward the cave entrance.  The sign on the wall said their self-guided tour would take them about an hour to complete.  Sounded easy enough.

                The tour started them out on a steep ramp that took them down into the Big Room of the Cave.  Once they descended into the cave, they were able to get a view of the magnitude of the cave. The walls rose around them, ending in a ceiling that was easily twenty feet above their head.  Compared to the cave they were in the day before, when they had to duck through several parts of it, this one was enormous.

                “I don’t think we’ll be too tall for any part of this cave,” Bernadette breathed out, as she began filming.

                Declan didn’t have any words, he just pulled out the still camera and began taking lots of pictures.  One of his favorite things was rocks. He loved rocks, and it was almost kind of a weird obsession of his to take pictures of all the interesting and cool looking rocks that he came across on their vacations.  The fact that caves were pretty much made of rocks, made sites like Carlsbad Caverns heaven for him.

                The ramp was steep for the whole mile they walked it.  Luckily, the cave was still pretty empty, since it was still pretty early, so they were able to stop and rest when they felt the need.

                “My calves are burning,” Bernadette said, leaning against a rail.

                “My whole legs feel like jelly,” Declan said.

                “We’re so out of shape!  We really need to start working out or something when we get home.”

                Declan laughed. “You say that every time we go on vacation, and we always make a plan, but we never follow through when we get home.”

                Bernadette huffed. “Well this time, we’re totally following through.  This is ridiculous.  Old people have started to pass us!”

                Sure enough, as Bernadette said it, a couple, more than likely in the late sixties, passed them like they did this sort of hike every day.

                “Remember, when we were in Greece? In Nafplio? And we were going up the thousand steps, and that old man, ran past us?” Declan asked, with a grin on his face.

                “Yes!” Bernadette exclaimed.  “And he stood up at the top and waited for us to get up there, and then bragged that he was able to do the whole thing in ten minutes, when it took us nearly an hour.”

                They laughed together at the memory.  It had been nearly five years ago, on their honeymoon.  Back when they didn’t have any worries, back when they were still excited about the future.

                “Okay, we can’t let these old people beat us. You ready to get a move on?” Declan asked.

                Bernadette nodded, and they continued their steep descent into the cave.

NaNoWriMo Day 3

Well, when you put your mind to a goal, you can accomplish it.  Today was a massive writing day. Not as great as day 1, but much better than day 2.  I wrote a total of 3982 words bringing my total up to 10,017. 

I think I'm doing really well, as far as pacing goes.  I really want to not only hit 50k this month, but I also want to hit the coveted "The End."  And the way it's looking, "The End" will happen after I hit 50k words.  That's just the way the pacing of my novel is going right now.  I'm at 10k words, but only part way through chapter 3 of my 15 chapter outline.

Without further ado, here's an excerpt of what I wrote today:

They’d been having this same argument for about a year now.  It was the source of all their problems.  Any problems they were having could be traced back to this one argument, this one issue.  There didn’t seem to be any solution.  Neither party was willing to compromise their decision. 

            Bernadette was the most frustrated. She desperately wanted to be a mother, more than anything in the world.  She loved children, and longed to have one of her own.  Everywhere she looked, her friends were achieving that goal, and she couldn’t help but be slightly jealous.   She and Declan had been together much longer than any of the other couples, so it just seemed really unfair that they would reach that next step in their lives before she would.  She loved Declan more than anything in the world, and she couldn’t wait to start a family with him.  But she was beginning to grow doubtful that that would ever happen.

            Declan was frustrated as well.  He didn’t know why he was so against starting a family.  He really did want to have kids, and he had no idea where his arguments were coming from.  Well, he had a little bit of an idea.  He had so many doubts of his own abilities of being a father.  He didn’t know if he would be able to be responsible for another human life.  And on top of that, he had to admit that what George told him about his experiences with his son Michael also played a major factor in his doubts.  The kid was a holy terror, and Declan worried that if his own child turned out to be that way, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

            Right now, instead of being worried about the actual raising of a child, Declan was mostly concerned about losing Bernadette.  If he didn’t convince himself that he was ready to have a kid soon, there would be a good chance that Bernadette would decide that she couldn’t be with him anymore and leave him.  That was his greatest fear.  Losing Bernadette.  She was his everything.  If she left, he would have nothing.  He needed to get over this ridiculous fear and let it go.  He needed to stop setting ridiculous requirements for them to meet in order to start trying to have a baby. He had to be the bigger man, and start to compromise.

            “Okay, you’re right,” Declan spoke up quietly.

            “I’m right? About what?” Bernadette asked.

            “I need to stop setting ridiculous goals for us to meet.  I need to man up.  So we don’t need to get better at keeping up with the housework, I take that back.”

            Bernadette perked up at what he was saying. “Really?”

            “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready.  I’m going to try and get ready, okay?  Can you live with that?  Knowing that I’m trying to become mentally and emotionally ready to have a baby?”

            Bernadette was quiet as she mulled over Declan’s proposition in her head.  “How long will you need?” she asked quietly.

            Declan thought it over. How long would be reasonable for both of them? “We’re on vacation for a little less than three weeks.  Let’s see how I feel at the end of the trip and go from there? Does that seem reasonable enough?”

            Three weeks? That was a lot sooner than she anticipated. Bernadette smiled. “Yes, that sounds like a more than reasonable plan.  Do I get to mention babies without getting my head chewed off?”

            “Why would you need to mention babies?” Declan asked.

            “We’re going to go visit George, and Michael will be there.  Even I have to admit the kid is like the devil incarnate.  I don’t want that to be the only argument you see during this time for the kid thing.  I should have a chance to tell you about all the awesome things about kids.”

            Declan thought for a minute. “That makes sense, actually.  Fine, you can be the pro-baby argument, and Michael can be the anti-baby argument. Deal?”

            Bernadette smiled and removed her right hand from the steering wheel, sticking it toward Declan.  Declan took it in his hand and they shook.

            “Deal."

NaNoWriMo Day 2

I worked today, so my word count is a little low. I only wrote about 2,000 words total today. Which, considering 1667 is what you need to write to remain on track, it actually pretty good.  I got all of my writing done during breaks at work.  I was going to write a little more once I got home, but I'm too tired, so I'm calling 2000 words a win for the day.  This brings my total word count to: 6,035.

Here's an excerpt of what I wrote today.:

                “Keep left,” the monotone voice of the GPS helpfully assisted.

                “Keep left, as in stay in the left lane of the upper deck, or keep left as in get in the left most lane and take the lower deck?” Bernadette asked. It was her turn to drive, and she was quickly getting flustered over the confusion of the interstate.

                “I’m not sure,” Declan said.  “Just get all the way to the left.  If we’re wrong, we’ll turn around.”

                Bernadette merged two lanes over so that she was in the farthest lane, and took the loop to the lower of the interstates. 

                “Exit right, one mile,” the GPS lady stated.

                “I guess we should have stayed up,” Declan said, completely calm.

                Bernadette on the other hand was growing increasingly frustrated. She quickly merged across four lanes of traffic so she could exit when the GPS told her to. 

                “Turn Left, and then Turn Left,” GPS lady stated.

                “It’s having you get back on the freeway,” Declan said, trying to be helpful.

                “I know that,” Bernadette ground out, trying to hold back her frustration.

                “Hey, take a deep breath, it’ll be okay,” Declan said, laying a reassuring hand on her arm.

                “I know, I’m just frustrated and the traffic is making my anxiety flare up.  You know that I hate driving in traffic.  And this is the second large city I’ve driven through today.”

                It was true.  Her second shift of driving happened to include driving through Austin, during a rainstorm, in traffic.  To say that was a stressful leg of the journey would be an understatement.

                “It’ll be okay, what does the GPS say we need to do next?” Declan asked as they merged back on the freeway.

                “It says to exit in fifteen miles,” Bernadette answered, her hands gripping the wheel as if her life depended on it.

                “See, now we’re going the right way, and everything is going to be okay,” Declan said.

                The two drove in quiet, trying to keep their eyes out for the exit.  Slowly they began to make their way out of the city limits.

                “Are you sure you entered the correct address for this place in the GPS?” Declan asked as the left the last bits of the city behind.

                “I’m positive.  But I looked at the map, and from what I could tell, we’re staying outside of the city limits, so this should be fine.”

                “Exit right, in one mile,” the GPS said, startling them.

                Bernadette looked up ahead to the right.  There was a sign for an exit, but there didn’t look to be much of an exit ramp.  There was maybe one hundred feet of pavement, and that was all.  She exited the freeway, making quick work of stepping on the brake.

                “Go straight on,” the GPS stated.

                Bernadette looked in front of her. The exit ramp had curved to the right as she exited.  She now sat at a stop sign, with a road running perpendicular to the exit lane.  It was impossible to go straight on.

                “What should I do?” Bernadette asked.

                Declan pulled the GPS off of the windshield and began pushing buttons.  “The next step is to turn right at that road over there,” he said, pointing to the road to the left.  “So turn left, and that should take us where we need to go.” He replaced the GPS back in its holder.