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."