This has been a fantastic writing week. In the three days I could work on it, I got well over my 6000 planned words, and am closing on the midpoint of the novel.
But more that that, this has been remarkable fun to write. I’ve been using processes I came up with to simplify novel-writing for first timers in my How to Write a Novel class… and using them is making this book more fun for me to write than anything I’ve done in years… while still keeping me heading in the right direction with every scene.
The Snippet Disclaimer: This is raw first draft, copyright Holly Lisle and all rights reserved. Do not quote, review, or bug hunt. The contents of this snippet are subject to change, and during revision I will not see any problems you find here.
The little kid that lives in the back of my mind gave an annoying squee of happiness. Mystery! it chirped. Something to solve.
Only I already had a long line of mysteries, with the meaning of SGAVOD at the top of the list.
“Do you know what the letters SGAVOD mean?” I asked.
Strasse wrote, They mean it’s time for you to go to the Entrance.
“The… basement? [SPOILER CUT]”
Yes. Take the kitten.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “He’s tiny and adorable, and I don’t want whatever might be down there to eat him.”
TAKE.
THE.
KITTEN.
Type the letters.
Don’t be stupid. The reason you have the kitten is so he can go to the Entrance with you.
The words canary in a mineshaft floated through the back of my mind. A kitten might be able to sense dangers that I could not.
I did not want to endanger him. But maybe he was a safety measure for both of us, and if I kept him safe, he would keep me safe.
I wanted to think so.
Wanted to believe that with all my heart.
So now I’m moving on to other things I need to get done. And then… weekend. I’m looking forward to doing pretty much nothing for that, though Becca and I do have a fun podcast to do Sunday — Event Writing, Part 3: Follow-Through. That will go live on Alone In a Room with Invisible People on Tuesday.
Leave a Reply