time to start writing. Goal for today is 1500 words.
#AmWriting #L3
G'morning all.
Getting a bit of a late start today, so just going to dive into writing with goal of 1500 words for the day.
Yeah, so that writing session went to shit.
Just as I hit my stride, everyone woke up at once and had on-and-off interruptions for 45 minutes.
First time in a while I haven't hit my goal, and I'm kinda pissed about it. I don't ask for much, but I do ask for these two hours each morning to get my writing done in. that shouldn't be too much to ask.
Still, I got 1000 words done, which is pretty good considering.
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Finally, everything was loaded. I climbed into the van and sat next to Karen, hiding my disappointment that once again we would not be getting a night together. Suddenly tired, I snuggling in against her side and yawned. She kissed the side of my head. “It's okay to sleep,” she said, “We have time.”
I didn't actually know how long or how far we'd be driving, but like the other's I'd learned to trust Karen's timelines.
I closed my eyes and held Lună's warmth close to me. The last thing I remember was the sound of the engine turning over as Victor started the van.
I still need to get daily writing done, because fuck if I'm letting the world's horrors stop me. Late start, though, so I'm aiming for 1000 words. Let's see how this goes.
Goal met. Got a thousand words on Clan Luna 2
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"The fact that none of them saw a real problem with how lax their security got makes me think the guardians aren't that good. Better than rent-a-cops, I hope, but not actual professionals,” Marcus said.
Victor grunted.
Am up and writing early today. goal is 2000 words since I have some extra time.
Wish me luck!
Went a few minutes overtime, but met my writing goal for the day, so Score!
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Karen had both Lia and Victor, and all three of them were happy with it. Less than a week ago she'd thought she would always be alone and now she had both of them. It was more than okay. It was perfect.
Hit 1000 words with seconds left. Time to get ready for my appt.
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Snippet:
I crashed on the sofa after the phone call. No one said anything, respecting my need for quiet after that long conversation. But I could feel them thinking, and was pretty sure we were thinking the same thing: what were the chances Nivele followed them to me?
Ugh. Multiple interruptions, I am not making goal today. Just hit 500 words now. But gonna keep going and get as far as I can.
In spite of constant and bloody annoying interruptions, I made 1500 words. Which is not the stretch goal I hoped for, but is my usual daily goal, so I'll take it and be happy.
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“I'm hoping you can answer several questions I have, and give me information. Then I'll answer any questions you may have and we can talk about plans going forward.”
Marcus grinned and nodded encouragement. She was taking control of the conversation from the beginning, just like they'd discussed.
“Very well,” Vasile said, “What do you wish to know?”
“Let's start with how cohesive the clan is at the moment. I was under the impression that the clan scattered after Nivele's attack, but you implied that you could take me to meet the whole clan when we met.”
Gonna start writing a little bit early today. Goal is 2000 words on Clan Lună 2
Wish me luck!
“Oh, something Leyla started — Natalia for formal situations, but Lia when it's just us. Lia said she liked it, so...” Benj shrugged.
“Alright. Lia.” Marcus sighed and took a bite of his cereal.
“Anyway, I was, uh, wondering if you'd want to trade watch shifts. That way you could be there for Lia when she makes the call.”
----
Managed 1000 words, not what I hoped, but a lot better than I was afraid of.
Time to start writing.
After the fiasco yesterday I'm lowballing and setting and initial goal of 500 words. If I finish that with time left, I'll set stretch goals as needed.
Fingers crossed, let's see what happens.
I'm at 1000 words and hit a scene break so taking a minute to stretch body AND brain out a bit.
1500 in two hours seems like it's a nice sweet spot for me. I can do more -- have done 2000 on multiple occasions. But it becomes a strain pretty quickly. What's that old rule about running at 80% capacity?
Once again goal met with minutes to spare. I thought I was going to be done early this time, but then phone call fried my brain.
One more reason to set goals at 80% capacity and not be constantly pushing for 100%.
Last line for the day:
The meeting slowly broke up after that, the team spreading out through the apartment to try to get comfortable and get some rest. Natalia stayed at the table, moving her chair around to sit next to Karen. “What are you making?”
I got about an hour and a half to get some writing done. Aiming for 1200 words again. Wish me luck!
Finished with minutes to spare. Rough writing session -- but I got it done.
Last Line:
“I've got an absolute ton of questions for Emil and Ozanna, too, and I need to be preparing to meet my clan for the first time and keep out of sight of Nivelle. I'm not sure where to start.”
My focus is shot and it took me about an hour to get 600 words, but solid progress. Got another 50 minutes to work, let's see if I can make goal.
Goal reached with 10 minutes to go. Gonna stop here and grab some lunch. Woot!
Last line:
"...So how about we plan a time—” he glanced at Natalia and she nodded, mouthing 'tomorrow' “—tomorrow when we can have that conversation.”
After a few minutes silence, she said, “Turns out Natalia is a cuddler.”
Victor grinned. “That so?”
“She and Benj are tangled together like a couple of puppies, but when it was Benj's turn at watch, she was just as happy to cuddle up to me.” Leyla smiled at the memory. “Didn't get elbowed once, either. Unlike some people I could mention.”
Victor rolled his eyes.
---
About 850 words done. Pleasantly surprised given how I've been feeling.
I think I figured out where i started going sideways on Clan Luna 2.
It's further back than I'd hoped, got a lot of rewriting to do. But I think I can finally start moving forward again.
Got 500 words written today on Clan Luna 2. Slow start, but progress counts.
---
Natalia nodded, “Yeah, that sounds good. Take care Gram and Pops, And don't forget that list.”
They hung up and Natalia stared at the phone.
Marcus watched her, worried. With the amount of trust she gave those two, would she see what he saw?
After a moment, Natalia looked up from the phone, her eyes dark.
“I'm starting to wonder if they didn't want me to find the clan.”
Once Victor left Leyla came out of the kitchen and gave me a hug. "That went well."
I laughed. "Eavesdropper."
"Always.
"I'm not…Natalia, I'm not toying with you, I just..."
That sense of rightness was still with me and I turned and quieted her with a kiss. "I said playing Leyla, not toying. I don't have much experience but I do know the difference."
"Oh. Good."
----
Nap helped. Getting some work done on the sequel to Last Lady of Lună.
My legs shook as I walked toward Mama’s grave. Marcus, my first, stalked behind me, unhappy with my insistence on coming here. I didn’t blame him. It was a predictable move, for me. And after this I promised that I would listen to his advice and not put myself at more risk if I could help it. But…
I reached the grave and collapsed to my knees in front of the stone.
“Mama…”
Mama couldn’t answer, of course. Couldn’t hold me the way I desperately needed her to. But Lună’s light caressed my shoulders and I felt her compassion and love for me. Her reassurance.
“Thank you,” I whispered, “I don’t think we’d have survived without your help.”
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Getting some writing done on the as-yet untitled sequel to The Last Lady of Lună
#PennedPossibilities 751—Check-in: Share a recent snippet you're proud of.
Ooh... Um... let me see what I can find that isn't too spoilery.
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The graveyard was quiet at night. There was probably a watchman somewhere, but if so I had never seen him. And my sotii knew patience and silence – it was part of why I’d chosen them. Though I still wasn’t entirely sure why they all had chosen me.
“I know you aren’t really here. You’ve become the grass but that isn’t the same as /being/ the grass. And Lună can hear me anywhere.
“But it won’t be the same when I can’t come here.”
After a minute, Marcus cleared his throat, interrupting the silence.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small stone. One I’d found the night Marcus and the others had agreed to be my sotii. Setting it carefully on the gravestone, I stood up and dusted off my pants.
Did it! Finished editing Last Lady of Luna AND got the pronunciation guide done!
Tomorrow I'll run a quick spellcheck and start on layout and shit.
For now, work is done for the day. Gonna get some housework done, have dinner, and go for a walk.
stardew was fun and relaxing. Now I'm back to work, editing Last Lady of Lună. I should finish edits in the next hour. Woot!