Monday 1 May 2017

April Camp NaNo // I flail about first drafts

April 2017 Camp NaNoWriMo went kaboom.

It started and then was over waaaay too fast. But even with all the craziness of time doing it's thing and life being busy, I had a pretty super time and really enjoyed myself.

So today I'm going to throw all the stuff at you and then give you a compass and a paddle and good luck maybe you'll find the end of the post before July Camp NaNo and I start going on again. xD (Although on that note, I'm not sure what you're going to do with the paddle seeing as I didn't give you a canoe or a log or anything. Maybe try surf on the paddle.)



This April, my goal was 50k. Because I'm a little bit crazy, but not quite crazy enough to have a higher goal than that. Yet.

My cousin and I were talking online almost every day and word warring like crazy for half the time. And on day five she (jokingly) challenged me to a 10k1day thing and I (not realising that it was a joke) said something along the lines of "OKAY LET'S GO." And we ended up totally smashing it. We got our 10k each and had a ton of fun doing it.

And then between day 7-17 we actually got together and she was at my place for a weekend and then I was at her place for a week. We didn't actually get an insane amount of words that week, but it was still a huge lot of fun involving groaning (about stupid main characters who won't do what they're told), brainstorming, camping, laughing, telling jokes, telling spoilers, and allll the fun stuff.

During this week I learnt two things:
1) People just like volunteering me for things without asking me first. 
(I was volunteered to play in their church worship team for that Sunday)
2) I'm a biplane nerd. 
(I don't even know. Apparently I sounded very nerd-y when I was ooh-ing over a diagram of a Curtiss JN-4 biplane.)



Also notice the cabin stats next to mine, WE GOT TO 104.7 %!!!!

And then two days onward after getting back home I hit my 50k on day nineteen.

And from that point onward I had a new goal. I'd reached my official word count goal, but what I was really aiming for...
Finishing the first draft of the final book in my trilogy.

So the rest of the month I was creeping along, smashing the keyboard and freaking out several times every few days.

And then

on day twenty-nine

I did it.

I finished.

I finished the last book. And therefore I finished my trilogy.

-ahem-
The first draft of it anyway.

BUT it was a momentous event so I flailed excitedly and freaked out and started thinking about edits.

*cue distant screaming*

WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET INTO THAT NOW, THOUGH. >.< My next few months are going to be full and I might do a blog post on my plans some time in the near future (when it isn't after 10 pm and I haven't completely forgotten to write up the blog post for the day...cough cough. No this totally didn't happen today...)

So anyways. Time to toss in a few pictures that I made in honour of the characters and story...


Precious Ben. *hugs him forever*
Gloomy, yeah I know. But that's actually -sadly- what quite a bit of the book is. Depressing.


And this one was because Clare was complaining that all my collages were depressing and dark colours *happy sighs over all the smiles*
Now that I've dumped those on you, it's time for...
SNIPPETS!!! 
Now now before you can get too excited, I can't give you very many snippets. For several reasons.

1: It's book three and spoilers for book one.
2: Spoilers for book two.
3: Spoilers for book three as well.
4: Alllll the spoilers basically. xP

But on the other hand, I can still give you some because I'm so excited and want to throw them at all of you just nice like that. *wise nod*

Note: Yesss some of these are purposefully obscure and don't have names. But that's because extra spoiler caution. Although if you know my characters very well it should be faaairly obvious who does what.

---

“Code Echo Foxtrot Charlie…Repeat: Echo Foxtrot Charlie.”
“Unaccessible to this user.” The cool voice buzzed smoothly in his numb ears.
Jonathan Flint growled in the back of his throat. Stupid security programing, he was wasting time. Time he didn’t have to spare.

---

Milson’s pizza had gone floppy when he’d heated it up.
He hated floppy pizza.
Scowling to himself, he slumped back into his chair, wishing he’d had enough time to shower before coming down to the office. But no. And he’d barely gotten four hours of sleep the night before. 
Actually, come to think of it, he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep for ages. Weeks. Maybe months.
It was all the General’s fault. Obviously.

---

“Lie down.”
He chose not to hear her. “Where am I?”
“Lyon, France.” She picked through the box, pulling out a needle and sterilised thread.
“Lie on…France?” He couldn’t work out what she was saying. Something damp dripped down his arm, warm and sticky.
The young woman nodded, threading the needle.
“How the heck am I meant to lie on France?” He squinted down at her.
She stared at him for a moment before her cheeks flushed a sudden pink, stammering awkwardly. “Oh I don’t mean— that’s not— I meant—”
His brows creased, watching her in confusion. “You what?”
She blushed fiercely. “I meant the town called Lyon. In France.”
“Oh…” Idiot. His brain was still fuzzy, obviously. “That makes sense.”
“Now, lie down,” she repeated.
“Should I lie on France?” he mumbled, not really thinking before the words came out.

---

Jonathan glanced down at the murky water of the Moskva River, the current dragging past with slugish sludge. No way of knowing what sort of disgusting things were in that water. It could be sewerage for all he could see. “No way I’m ever going in there.”
Will shot him a glare. “What’s a better plan then?”
“How about we walk along the bank wall?”
“Yeah and be shot full of holes like a darned pasta strainer. Good plan.” The sarcasm in the outlaw’s voice almost stung physically.
If anyone else in the world was more sarcastic than Will was, Jonathan never wanted to meet them.
He scowled. “I’m not going in that water.”
“Yes you are.” Will was suddenly beside him. “Look, Techo. This is for your own good. I’m just saving your life here.”
“You aren’t—” he didn’t get any further, cutting off abruptly as Will’s hand wrapped around his upper arm and shoved.
He yelled, grabbing for something, anything, to hold on to as he overbalanced and started slipping backward. For a moment he grabbed onto Will’s jacket cuff, but his fingers slipped and he lost his grip completely. The water smacked him hard in the face, taking his breath away with the stunning cold that enveloped him in a moment.

---

“Keep the noise level down, would you?” A voice grunted from above. “Climbing a brick wall isn’t actually that hard.”
“Yes it is,” he replied bitingly. “I’m an IT agent. I don’t do push ups and stupid things like that.”
“My bad. Just hurry up then.”

---

And I will resist the urge to keep going. Because aaaack there's so many more snippets that I want to show you all but I can't. Because allll the spoilers.


So now, because I wrote this in the crazy of Camp and because my first drafts are a little bit insane...I thought it would be amusing to give you a few shots of sections of my story. That may or may not have me yelling at myself in caps for no apparent reason.

Here you are. The collage of random Jane first draft-y-ness that only I get to see normally. For a good reason. *snickersnorts* Anyway. I hope you enjoy:



Note: YES THAT MIDDLE ONE IS LEGIT AND UNTOUCHED ORIGINAL. That's what some sections of my writing look like. All the heared hima dn jist Gjere makes me crack up every time I look over that bit. It's one of the worst. I haven't even worked out what that 'Gjere was a surprising amount considering the time of night' actually is meant to be... Like, it doesn't really make sense in the context of the rest of the scene.
And I accidentally called the villain 'King' instead of 'General' here, too. *pats poor sleepy Jane* My brain was a mess.

Fun fact of the month: It is possible to fall asleep writing (and sitting up) and actually keep typing the thoughts/dreams/VERY VERY WEIRD STUFF that goes through your conscious brain. *cough cough* Totally not speaking for recently discovered experience or anything...*cough cough*


And that about wraps me up for now. (I'm running out of time to finish writing my post so I can publish it before midnight and it's no longer Monday xD) I've rambled on about my novel for long enough (and adamantly avoided the topic of editing) BUT NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!!


How was your April??
(writing/life/basically everything. Just tell me whatever.)
Feel free to share a snippet (or two dozen, I'm not fussed xP) of your WIP in the comments!!
(I'd love to read them alll.)

25 comments:

  1. SNIPPETS AND COLLAGES AND FUN FACTS AND ALL THE RANDOM COOL STUFF. <3 AND YAY CONGRATS ON FINISHING BOOK 3!!!!!!
    Omw, the screenshot things *snickersnorts*
    APRIL WAS INSANE. that is all. XD
    Okay, maybe not /all/ insane, just /mostly/ insane. :P
    I totally redid my novel's setting, which is turning out really well, why did I not think of this months ago?? so that's the only major exciting writing thing lately. but it's a fun one to explore though. XD

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    1. YAY. Okay but I'm not sure if I've ever told you Krystal but you're comments make my day. <3 All your enthusiasm is very special to me.
      Yesss. XD I keep reading over it again and laughing to myself.
      WELL I'M DEFINITELY AGREEING WITH YOU THERE.
      Although yes, there were some moments that weren't insane, dotted around the place. But for the most part = writer-wide insanity. xP
      Oh yes yes but that is a really cool idea. Very ingenious and good on you for being brave enough to actually do it. *applauds*

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    2. Aw, and that just made mine. <3
      I had one the other day that was "buffering scream" instead of "buffering screen" and I just sat there snickering for a good five minutes as/after I fixed it. XD
      HARD TO BELIEVE IT'S MAY ALREADY THOUGH O.O
      exactly XD
      thanks, I just hope it turns out how I want it to... XD

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    3. Buffering scream. *cracks up laughing* That's great. XD
      I KNOW RIGHT?? April disappeared like crazy. Actually, this whole YEAR is disappearing like crazy. *scrambles to find out who's sped up the time*

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  2. your novel sounds amazing!!:) and congrats on finishing!

    -Quinley

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    1. Eep thank you!!! *flails*

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    2. your welcome, and it's awesome that you finished your trilogy

      -Quinley

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    3. I'm so so excited to be finished the first drafting (though I do love that stage very much) and on to the next level. :D

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  3. OH MY WORD YOU FINISHED YOUR TRILOGY???? *SCREAMS* Also the snippets. Also the collages. ALSO EVERYTHING HERE BASICALLY MAKES ME SCREAM IN ALL CAPS

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    1. EEEEK YES YES YES. *screams with you* ACK. All the screaming in caps. *can't stop grinning now* IT'S SO VERY EXCITIIING.

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  4. Your book sounds awesome, and beautiful, and deep!

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    1. Wow thank you, Gray! That's so cool to hear. :D

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  5. YAY!!!! SNIPPETS!!!!!! *sighs in realisation that I've read most of them* *perks up at new one.* *Gets highly excited*
    And of course I volunteered you! You would have felt rather strange if the entire row minus Tim and Ruth were up the front without you!
    I LOVE THE IMAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least it does have a happyish ending apparently.
    Oh, and Jane, you are a bi-plane nerd. 100%. I asked everyone on the bus what they thought when I said a plane had a ceiling of 10 000 feet. They all, like me, thought that was a very big plane. And I re-listened to the recording, you still crack me up! "Ooooh! Numbers, where do these numbers go... What? But? Oh, wrong numbers..."
    Ah! I love your crazy screenshot! Maybe "Gjere was a surprising amount considering the time of night" is meant to read, "THERE was a surprising amount considering the time of night"?
    My April... um... almost the same as yours... :D
    Aaaand, here we go...
    *FLAILS VRAZILLY WITH YOU FOR OPERATION FLINT!!!!!!!!*YOU DID IT! FIRST DRAFT OF A TRILOGY! YAY!
    Aaaand, that's it from me! (Go to bed at a sane hour Jane!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I KNOW SORRY. XD As I was posting it I thought "Jessica's going to have read all these already." But I used them anyway. XD
      Hah yeah. I just have a long-standing history with being volunteered for things without my knowing of it. But it was good fun.
      THANK YOU!!! They were very fun to make. Yesss it does. There's a happy ending eventually.
      *snickersnorts* I'm just such a hilarious nerdy person. XD
      'Gjere' - 'There' hmm you have a point. That could be that word. But the sentence itself doesn't make a lot of sense in the context even. XP But it's pretty amusing whenever I scroll back over that part and just crack up laughing.
      *FLAILS WITH YOU BECAUSE YESSS* I DID I DID!! *keeps flailing* Thank YOU for all the word wars and encouragement. :D
      (*cough cough* uhm yeah...totally...*cough*)

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  6. Cool, Jane I can't wait to read more Milson, if that is what he is like.

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    1. Yayyy! ^-^ I'm glad you like him. Honestly he's one of my favourite characters ever to write.

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  7. EEp! *flails in excitement cos SNIPPETS AND MORE COLLAGES*

    I believe I've already said this, but once again; AWESOME WORK FINISHING YOUR TRILOGY! :D

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    1. YEEEET. *flails with you* THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE FOR ME TO FLAIL WITH. *hugs* <3

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  8. So excited for you! Congratulations! Awesome work! :-)
    That collage was HILARIOUS and totally made my day. :-D :-D
    Keep up the good work, Jane!(and I agree with Jess Penrose; sleep is essential. ;-)

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    1. *flails* Yeep thank you. *keeps grinning for several hours*
      *bursts out laughing* Yeaaaah, my first drafts look pretty interesting. XD
      I'll certainly work at it! (haha yep, I'm trying to be good and get to bed at/before midnight at the moment...although...sometimes...that's not quite working...oops. :P)

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    2. *laughs* Yes, getting to bed on time doesn't always work for me either. :-D Especially with talkative little siblings... :-Z

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    3. Yep. Although I'm usually the talkative little sibling. xD

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  9. Your snippets are cool - AND YOU FINISHED YOUR BOOK THAT'S AWESOME. You must have got 65 or 70k? (HOW DO YOU EVEN WRITE THAT MUCH??)

    I completely understand the frustration that's coming through in those screenshots! A few snippets from me:
    '"I am Rowan, of [whatever-I-called-the-forest-anyway]."'
    'He came from [randomtownidon'tevenknow-butnottoofaraway].'
    '[IDK MAYBE BREAK TO ELSIE NOW? OR JOSIE? I ACTUALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHICH?]
    [WHATEVER LET'S GO JOSIE BECAUSE SHE'S ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING]'

    Yup. That's me writing. And I hate naming things... so I'm almost at the Cinderella thread of my story and I haven't named the prince yet. I could just call him '[prince]', right?? xD

    Jem Jones

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    1. Yayy!!! *flails and bounces up and down* THANK YOU JEM FOR BEING SUCH A COOL ENCOURAGING PERSON. <3 I finished the draft at 68,150 words exactly. :P Which I'm quite happy with because a) I FINISHED IT AND BASICALLY THAT JUST MAKES ME VERY VERY HAPPY. b) also because I think that's a nice length for editing. Too much longer and it's like ughhhh. xD

      Goodness yes THAT'S JUST LIKE MY WRITING. XD "She glanced sideways and WHERE IN THE WORLD WAS I GOING WITH THIS SCENE AGAIN???" It's hilarious to look back on.

      YES BUT NAMING THINGS CAN BE HARD. I wrote the first and half of the second book in my trilogy calling the villain 'General Somethingorother' every single time. XD

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