So I haven't posted in a couple of days, but don't let that make you think I haven't been writing! I had a 3k day on the 28th, followed by a couple of days devoted to making a scene list, starting from the very beginning.

I've written most of this book from behind Kaye's eyes, which means I could rarely "see" more than a scene or two ahead. With half the book written, I need a lay of the land, so I can make the plot pop when it's supposed to, reveal my secrets when they must come out and otherwise finish it. Someday. :D

Darling du jour:

Miles piped up, even as the elevator doors opened. "I have a spider for you, Amelia, it's at the workstation."

They strode over to the workstation, where an amethyst-bedecked spider waited. Amelia reached for it, and it scrambled up her sleeve just as Kaye's had done. Amelia rolled her eyes. "We won't sell these to women clients if they think they'll have a spider crawling on them uninvited, Miles. At most it should be command based."

"I'll implement that in the next round," Miles assured her, his voice carrying a smile.

60078 / 80000 words. 75% done with the first draft (maybe)!

As strongly as I believe I need a "roadmap" for this book, I'm itching to get back to writing it.

*But,* I have Yuletide and numb3rs_newyear fic to write in December, so I probably won't get words on this daily again until I have drafts of those. That's reason #2 for working on the scene list.

Congratulations and huge hugs to penguingal ,emmademarais, and t_vo0810 on their awesome 50k wins, and for their support! And thank you, all of you, for all the encouragement and cheering and support throughout another Nanowrimo.

You Guys RAWK!

2k again! I noticed that I've been waiting until fairly late in the day to start writing, and that made me enjoy it less. So I decided to put the end to that! I want to have fun with this book! So today I got started earlier, and I had more fun. :D

Darling du jour:

As they walked along the promenade, Amelia began pointing out people and things to her - subtly, with her eyes and pace and body language, so that they seemed to be having a conversation about everything they saw, with no words at all. They considered buildings, stores filled with clothing and jewelry, lovely women, and handsome men of all shapes and sizes.

57046 / 80000 words. 71% done!

I had an interesting insight today about how some of the scenes I have written can be rearranged to make better sense in rewrites. I honestly tried to write this book in order, but my brain is just not wired that way. Since I have only the loosest outline, things are going to get juggled. I like that I can feel a little bit of what I need to do with it.

Good to know, for rewrites. :D I got this idea from Scott Westerfeld's NaNoWriMo advice. He's had quite a few good tips, so check him out if you're looking for writing pointers.

Anyway, here's ( this year's book as a Wordle: )

Thank you so much for writing fic for me! I am so grateful you've decided to take on this challenge, and excited to discover whatever you create.

I am going to get into the details in a minute, but before I do, I just want to say: ( Have fun with this! Whatever bunnies or other ideas I suggest, it's important that you tell a story that pleases you; If you do that, how can I be anything but pleased? )

I hope you have as much fun writing it as I will have reading it.

Love and chocolate,

<3 Mel

2k again! Plus I got to validate my NaNoWriMo win, so that was a bit of extra squee.

Darling du jour:

Amelia gestured for Kaye to follow her, and stepped along the flat area where the crest of rock at the water's edge evened out to form a sort of walkway. They walked for a few yards, and Kaye's eyes adjusted to the dim, watery light. She could make out a person floating in the water away from the edge, brown skin glistening as the light bounced around the cavern off the water. with a gentle slap the woman dove, powerful arms moving over her head before she disappeared. a further glint of light on metal showed the fluke of prosthetic tail and then ... nothing. In scant seconds she surfaced near the edge, water sluicing from close-croppped hair and chiseled features.

55020 / 80000 words. 69% done with the first draft!

One fun realization I had today was that this book is now at least a few thousand words longer than anything I've ever written before. Hee!

I bring you a brief excerpt from the Pep Talk from Robin McKinley that went out last night. (Nano hasn't put a link up to the whole thing yet, but I'll post one when they do. That said, I had never read her blog before and it's hilarious. do click through.)

You need that live, tensile, surprising strength between you and the story you're trying to write, or it'll die on the page. But this doesn't make it easier. It makes it harder. It's more exciting—more thrilling, more appalling: on good days you'll fly higher than a peregrine cruising for dinner, on bad days someone will have to scrape you off the floor with a spatula. This is what writing is like.

Why yes, it is exactly like that. /Goes back to writing./

And now we return to our regularly scheduled program...with a 2k day. :) I don't think the book will be done by 11/30, partly because I'd like to write it without aching quite as much as I have the last two weeks.

So I am plowing merrily ahead, and just trying to tell myself the story. Fast, but not too fast.

Darling du jour:

Amelia paused, tilting her head to catch Kaye's eyes again. "But I would encourage you not to make up your mind too soon. There are still a lot of people for you to meet, Julia among them. Everyone here has their own reasons for being with us, and everyone has the option of changing his or her mind, just as you do."

Kaye felt her eyes prickling again. She liked these people so much, but she hated how they made their living. It was maddening.

53016 / 80000 words. 66% done with the first draft!

This girl cries too much. And grins too much. I need to find her some new and exciting emotions in December. :D

I dunno, I had a weird day. I didn't take the day off, at least not definitively. I sat here at the keys...and wrote 500 words of fiction. /facepalm./

One of the more interesting moments in this less-than-productive Monday was the dawn of the following realization:

I won Nanowrimo with an original novel. I've never done that before.

*Blinks*

Okay, I knew at some point during the month that this was the exciting part - but somehow I ... forgot?

O.o

ANYWAY.

50739 / 80000 words. 63% done with this book!

I should have made a great pronouncement at about noon, notifying myself and my roomies that I was taking the day off in celebration of this wonderful achievement. Then I could have proceeded to watch tv, knit, walk to the bakery and buy a decadent piece of cake, etc. etc. etc. I have no earthly idea why I didn't. Now I have a sucky word count and no neato day off to show for it. :Sigh.:

I crossed the NaNo finish line! Woo Hoo!

And just as I crossed the line, I cracked open the book with the biggest revelation to date. There are bigger ones to come, and a lot more words, but there we are. :D

Darling du jour:

A new door lit up, and [the spider]'s legs pattered on Kaye's shoulder, urging her forward. She stepped through the door and again the lights came up. "Oh! Miles this is...this is amazing!" Kaye gushed. The room was lined with lovely brass mannequins, their gleaming limbs and faces augmented with various prosthetics.

50222 / 50000 words. 100% done with Nanowrimo! Yay!

50222 / 80000 words. 63% done with the first draft! (Maybe.)

2k day, which is not on-pace for my goal, but a big improvement over the last couple of days. I had 2 500-word days this week, because of a combination of awesome social opportunities plus my body deciding it really would prefer not to type quite so much at a time. Argh.

Having said all that, I am still telling the story and still having fun. :) I have one of my big reveals coming up soon, and I'm equal parts excited to write it and terrified of messing it up.

Darling du jour:

"Hello, Kaye," Said Miles' voice from inside the elevator.

"Miles?" Kaye boarded the car, and only then spotted a jeweled brass spider clinging to the wall of the elevator car. It was about the size of her hand, and mounted with a speaker on its back.

"I hope you don't mind my sending this little trinket to play guide for you," he said, "The workshop can be noisy and I wanted to make sure you could hear me all right. would you mind picking it up?"

Kaye bent to examine the mechanical spider more closely. every bit of it was polished to gleaming, brass and copper mesh and little winking jewels in the same cloudy green Amelia said matched Kaye's eyes. "This is beautiful work, Miles! I would dearly love to learn to make such things." She reached for the spider, and squealed as it scrambled onto her hand, up her arm, and onto her shoulder.

48109 / 50000 words. 96% done with Nanowrimo!

48109 / 80000 words. 60% done with the first draft!

I like the spider. I haven't actually created a lot of interesting critters yet. (Yes, the pacing is off. That's to worry about in December.) Looks like tomorrow's the 50k day. :D

Wednesday was a 1k day, because I had plans in the evening to go to a talk about the surface of Mars \o/ Considering the science fictional elements of this book, it seemed a good tradeoff. :)

Darling Du Jour:

"There are inexpensive foods to be had, as well." Miles mentioned. "I've heard that the new crepe vendor at the near end of the arcade runs specials. But Kaye, you'll be making plenty of money. Have you still not decided to stay with us?"

She took a sip of coffee, and then another bite in order to think. "I...I think I want to stay, Miles. I just don't know enough yet. It will take getting to know people here, I think."

44381 / 50000 words. 89% done with Nanowrimo!

44381 / 80000 words. 55% done with the first draft!

I have taken some time to iron out where the book is going, so that's progress too - though more ironing is needed. :)

Another 3k day!!

I think I need to figure out my next major plot point and make it happen. I'm halfway through this book and I have a lot of story to make happen still.

Kaye couldn't help the grin that she felt spread itself across her face. "Are you really going to dress as a jungle-woman [Amelia]?

"Apparently the costume is quite beautiful and exotic - though Magda's bikini will outshine it, I hope."

43363 / 50000 words. 87% done with Nanowrimo!

43363 / 80000 words. 54% done with the first draft!

I am still having fun, too.

And a 3k day! Yay!
After such a high wordcount day I worried I'd be too drained to get a more "normal" count. Especially since I've been kind of alternating good days with not-so-good days.

[Amelia] waved Kaye to follow her as she strode through the parlor and hallway to a gleaming pale gray marble kitchen. "You have no trouble appreciating lovely delicacies, but you can enjoy a simple glass of cold water." Amelia took a crystal carafe from the icebox and poured a glass. "Ice?"

"Yes please. I like coffee and wine, and water and tea and chocolate," Kaye said. "I had no idea I was in the minority!" Kaye teased.

"You'd be surprised how many people there are who would accept Austrian dessert wine when what they are really craving is ice water." Amelia handed her the tumbler, in the same crystal pattern as the carafe. "There's a belief that if one is offered something expensive, one should take it - just because of what it costs."

"We aren't talking about wine, are we?" Kaye asked, sipping water without taking her eyes off Amelia's face.

40338 / 50000 words. 81% done with Nanowrimo!

40338 / 80000 words. 50% done with the first draft!

I am very tired. I am going to watch Castle and go to bed! :D

You guys, I had a 5.5k day! That is the most words I have written in one day, ever.

Darling du jour:

After a bite or two, Dierdre leaned close enough to whisper in her ear. "That one's like a leech, and he's taking his toll on [Amelia]. I don't like it!"

Kaye met her dark eyes and smiled with tightly closed lips, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. She leaned close to Dierdre and whispered, "What can we do?"

Dierdre took a pomegranate seed from her plate and held it to Kaye's lips, eyes dancing with mischief.

Blushing, Kaye accepted the fruit. At the same time, she felt Dierdre pass her something under the table. Paper, some kind of packet.

37264 / 50000 words. 75% done!

And as far as my personal goal to finish the whole first draft in November:

37264 / 80000 words. 47% done!

Not *precisely* on par for the middle of the month, but close enough to touch.

I enjoyed writing dinner party intrigue, and I began to draw in several characters that should have been created when I skipped the earlier dinner party scene. I'm feeling really good (and really tired.) Zzzz....

1.5k day, (I was a bum today, for no good reason.)

Also, because I promised t_vo0810 I would post it, a bonus:

Announcing the Top Three ways I Can Tell It's Week 2 of NaNoWriMo:

3. I haven't put on pants in a day and a half.

2. My characters are doing nothing but going from one meal to the next.

1. My roommates (and their pets) are afraid of my hair.

Body count: 1 maybe

Darling du jour:

A hundred dollars! Kaye had never seen that much money in one place, let alone had it for herself. She suppressed the urge to run through the house and workshop whooping like Nate and Brian playing Robot Rangers, but it was a close thing.

31750 / 50000 words. 64% done!

In other news, I GOT MY YULETIDE ASSIGNMENT AND IT IS AWESOME!!

Another 3.5k day! I finally got back to trusting Muse Madeleine today, and it feels really good.

Body count: 3

Darling du jour:

"Were ya just daydreaming about the funny papers, or thinking something useful?"

"I had an idea, but - nevermind." she turned back to her sorting, moving faster to separate the scrambled pile of parts into useful categories.

Mr. Beeder tapped her on the shoulder and held something out to her: A little pad of paper and a stubby pencil. "Always get my best ideas when I'm working on something else." He tapped his shirt pocket, where a similar pad and pencil peeked out. "Forgot a real good one, once or twice, and wised up. Hardly go anywhere anymore without a paper and pencil."

"Thank you," She told him. "It's really different - you think like a tinkerer too."

30163 / 50000 words. 60% done!

Good progress today, both in word count and in spinning the tale. /happy sigh./

1.5k today, and a serious crisis of faith in my muse (sorry Madeleine!) I will be spending a hunk of tomorrow on creating a real scene list, so I don't have to stumble around in the dark through the middle of this book.

Darlin du jour:

"Looks like it's viral." [Mr. Beeder said.]

"Viral? You mean like [a disease]?" [asked Kaye.]

"Not exactly, though that's where the name comes from." They pulled into the primary dome, and headed for the Big House. "He's got a second-source lunar augmentation - made with our alloys and designs, but not made by anyone here on Luna. Sometimes the folk who make these things ain't so careful, and sometimes the engineer's careful enough, but the design's been altered past what's safe. Either way, it's more than sloppy clockwork. It can go real badly."

26545 / 50000 words. 53% done!

I think I can get back to the fun if I calm down and sprinkle some breadcrumbs.

1k day today. Not what I wanted, but I had to go out for errands, and then when I got back my stomach decided to try keeping me from writing at all. However, I persevered. \o/

[Mr. Beeder] looked over at her, and softened a little, one corner of his mouth quirking up. "Just you keep in mind, a lot o' these folk, visitors I mean, they think Luna's a big adventure, like the movies. They'll be pleased to make you part of their adventure for a day or two, but they go on about their real life soon enough."

He didn't say anything else, and she let it drop. She knew he was right - and it would only be worse yet at the Big House. Their whole business was making people's fantasies come true. Beautiful as it was, none of it was real.

25097 / 50000 words. 50% done!

Halfway to victory and I am definitely in need of a more detailed scene list, as I move through the land of the middle. :D

3.5k today and I would have gone for 4k if it hadn't gotten so late. I don't know why things have changed so much for me during this Nano. I hope it doesn't stop when December rolls around!

Darling du jour:

"Why me?" Kaye blurted.

"Your talent isn't reason enough?"

"There are at least two tinkerers in Locust Grove as good as me. And there sure are other places, besides."

"It's complex, Kaye. I can tell you that I was looking specifically for a woman, and for someone with few family ties."

"Why did you come to Minnesota?"

"It was next in the alphabet." Amelia took in Kaye's shocked expression and smiled more broadly. "No, we didn't start in Arkansas. Miles won the coin toss, so we started in Michigan.

24052 / 50000 words. 48% done!

The darlings get longer as time goes on. :D I'll cross 25k tomorrow. This part is great because the world is established and the characters are blooming.

500 words today, folks. I was thinking about a couple of concerns I have about my story, and I just didn't want to keep going until I figured them out.

Darling du jour:

"You look like you're being sent to a very nasty headmaster's office, Kaye. It won't be like that, I promise you." Amelia fussed with the necklace, with the loose curl over her shoulder. Her touch was exceedingly light, and as the gloved fingertips skated over Kaye's skin they left chills in their wake. Amelia bent and whispered warmly in her ear, "Trust me."

20502 / 50000 words. 41% done!

Tomorrow I'll plow forward again. No worries!