NaNoWriMo 2012, Week 1 Update

19

So how’s NaNoWriMo going, people?

I have been pleasantly surprised by my own success. A lot of what I’m writing will need MAJOR reworking…but that’s just part of first drafts.

I attribute my higher-than-planned word count to the #NaNoWriMoBattles that Sarah J. Maas and I have been hosting every day on twitter. I mean, oh snap, guys. I have been averaging 2,500-3,500 words after three rounds or those 30 minutes sprints. This is insanely good for me–I am not a fast writer. It’s cool because our battles appear to have gone sorta viral and spread out to other people intent on battling words for 30 minutes.

I also think part of my productivity has been the rocking music I’ve got going. I must’ve listened to these tracks more times than every other person on the planet COMBINED. But hey–they got my Muse to cooperate, and they fit so well with the high intensity of some of the scenes I pounded out earlier this week.

Actually, do you want to read a snippet from those high intensity scenes? It might be kind of fun if we all share some of what we’ve written.

Of course, y’all have no idea who Oliver is since you won’t meet him until A Darkness Strange and Lovely…but I don’t think any of this clip is too spoiler-y. Just imagine the wind-ripped streets of Marseille…now crawling with the Dead.

Disclaimer: This is 100%, unrefined first draft. Please do not judge!

—

An explosion thundered through the city, carried on the wind. We whipped our heads toward the sound—smoke billowed up from only a few streets away.

The Spirit-Hunters.

Instantly, my feet kicked into a run. I yanked Oliver’s elbow, and together we sprinted back toward the stairs. “We get to the Spirit-Hunters!” I shouted as we ran. “Together, we can make a path through the corpses.”

“With what magic? And what tools? We’re all spent!”

My hammering footsteps faltered, but only for a moment. I had been planning to kill Marcus—I had been certain that, one on one, I could do that. I would use that power—that resolve—to get Jie back instead.

I had the rage and the skills inside me. So did the Spirit-Hunters. We could do this.

A groan burst from Oliver’s mouth—frustrated but still not arguing. I felt, through our bond, that he hated this decision. That he hated how he always got dragged into a mess he wanted nothing to do with. That Jie’s life was of no consequence compared to his own…

But I also felt that he loved me. That he would follow me to the ends of the earth no matter how many times I hurt him. No matter how often I betrayed his trust. He loved me like he loved Elijah, and he would always, always catch me when I fell.

—

What about you? Do you have an snippets to share? If so, please link to it in the comments!!

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