DON’T PANIC…Eleven days in and breathe….
Where to begin? A rash decision or exciting challenge, or both? The dying weeks of October saw me contemplating a dip in writing. After viewing the build up to NaNoWriMo on numerous social media outlets I delved deeper and thought why not?
That was the easy bit.
Feeling rather smug about things I decided to resurrect an old idea that paused during the writing of another book called,
The Assent of Rose Marie Gray.
That follows the journey of one of four former friends from school. After a disastrous marriage Rose spiralled into depression and entered places that challenge reality, and what lies deep within the mind of a coma patient; one who doesn’t know she is actually not in the real world. One of my very few beta readers described that one thus.
“Amaze balls! This is no fluff book. It’s dark full of twists and turns. The line between reality and fantasy becomes blurred. The mind itself is tricking the reader making you doubt your own perception of what is real and what is not. A veritable emotional roller coaster.
It explores emotion from love sadness guilt grief to the dark half which resides in us all.”
The NaNo project involves another of those friends, Emma Strickland; the current (working) book blurb, for which, is given below. While Rose was more a psychological thriller, Emma’s journey is a horror story. One that begins with the death of her father.
THE BEQUEST
(Blurb v1.1)
Emma Strickland’s late father was a professor of archaeology and modern day Indiana Jones, specialising in the occult. The family home, MarshBank House, fitted his interests closer than imagined. It collected the past, stored it and waited.
On the death of her mother, Emma inherited everything; unaware that not every bequest is part of the chattels.
Something is reaching out, beguiling Archibald Cleethorpes, a man who once unearthed a mirror in Rome while collecting with the professor.
A mirror with a past.
A mirror that shows death.
More precisely, people that are living, until the watcher, thinking they are witnessing an accident, becomes the assassin.
Emma has the mirror now and Archie, haunted and possessed by a reflection he once saw, will do anything to get it back.
So far things are on track and it is quite possible the 50,000 word in a month target might be reachable. Chapter five is underway, although I strongly suspect the final draft will be longer than this, and nearer 70,000 words. If things go well, then that will be completed (first draft) before Christmas.
Two things here to say;
First, an apology to bloggers and friends that are possibly feeling neglected. Between normal world things and writing there is little down time to catch up.
Second, chattels….beware the chattels!
Comments on the blurb are welcome. I remind you it is a work in progress and may well change as I go deeper into the tale.
One final note, I will be doing this again next year. Anyone out there who wants to buddy up then drop me a line below and I’ll add you to my NaNo buddy list. Support and motivation from peers is an invaluable mechanism for success.
How did you do?? Just checking you made it through 🙂 x
Well, at this point I will merely say things went better than expected and…look out for the upcoming post that will offer a snippet from the story…there is something about a post euphoric slump today…a good thing though because….umm… YAY 😊😇😜
Oh, Gary, I am soooooo excited for you….and so excited to read anything you write….I hope it doesn’t sound lazy when I say that I love your writing…but, what else can I say? It continues to astonish me….you really do write like a seasoned writer who’s written a host of number one best sellers….your gift is undeniable and much appreciated, my friend….you’ve got this 🙂
What can I say to such a wonderful accolade except…watch it or I will consider asking you to beta read this one and then you will see writing outside the blog…that might make you rethink 🙃
I rather like the idea of being a seasoned writer mind…with ot without a string of best sellers !!
This week I will be posting an update on the NaNo end game…but will lets you have a heads up….blasted over the finishing line yesterday 😊
Look at you go…you are so disciplined and are so amazing at writing so consistently…and it’s all so fantastic….you couldn’t write any thing that isn’t impressive….I love your style 🙂
Hey, I have huge gaps between doing any !! As for impressive, I shall put a taster out in the next post. Then we shall see 👻
Sounds good
Thank you…lets just hope by the end I’m still able to post about it and not have a fried brain 🙃
Gary, breathing is ALWAYS an excellent idea!! You can do this!! Remember to schedule! lol Couldn’t resist!
Put your nose back to the grindstone, and see ya in Dec!!
It is, it’s stops you going, well, purple… Not that you should try that given you have a penchant for all things of said colour. Schedules…yes…I will ignore that on the basis I…err…forgot to do one! Dammit…no wonder it’s dripped under my target word count….and breathe… December… Seems so very very close 🤕
You sound hardy and of sound mind on Day 11. I did NaNo last year and thought my brain was fried by D11.
Sounds you’re going strong and going to make it. Good luck. 🙂
Oh, ’tis a false facade…although, in truth it’s quite easy. The tricky bit is getting all the words in the right order!!!
So far I’m slightly adrift. Not by much, but I need to up things this weekend. In truth I started thinking 30,000 words a success criteria given that with a family you can’t just shut down and ignore everything 🤔
Whatever you accomplish will be a magnificent satisfaction. 🙂
Good motivational point. It’s not about 50,000 words in a month or fail, but starting a project and getting as much fine as life allows and then finishing it afterwards rather than seeing it just as a November thing. Good point indeed and thank you. Might even get back to blog battles after too 🙃
The middle time is the toughest. 🙂 … go you!
You mean the bit where you see your daily word count growing and the goal posts shrinking 😱 Thank you for the support though 😊
Sorry.. “The Bequest”..although both..oh no I can’t decide! No..I like the sound of “Bequest” but I would definitely read “Rose”..what have you done to me?? Gone the happy days of Celia Aherne and Jilly Cooper..I now inhabit the dark world of King and Masterton…
Gosh, I thought you’d go for Rose…although it seems you are developing a sinister taste in reading 😊 Can’t go wrong with King. He even wrote a children’s book Charlie the Choo Choo…although it might not make good bedtime reading. It’s from The Dark Tower…you must read that before the movie comes out next year🙃
I’m sure my son has a copy…have to finish “Carrie” first…lol!
Ooh, starting with his first publication. Good choice. I have a question though…have you really only just converted to the darker side of reading?
Yes…I had a foray into Herbert with “Lair”, I think it was, when I was 14 and was truly horrified and repulsed. Likewise, Shaun Hutson..he seems to include gratuitous animal torture which in my opinion doesn’t further the plot. King is more subtle…and I’m finding that I feel sorry for Carrie. So then, before your blog, I’d maybe read about four or so dark literature books..and even then not all the way through! Why…?
Gratuitous and gore are not really my way of writing. To me the trick is to try and let the readers mind work on that. I like King because, as you say, it’s subtle. Carrie works for me because she is a reluctant antagonist through circumstances. It’s actually sad from all perspectives and she is almost driven to do what she does by people around her and experiences. Very clever writing. I asked because I am very curious as to what it is about mine that you like. I get lots of feedback comments, but if there’s an omission in how I present or write things, or if it’s written in a way that works then feedback there is more valuable
Just catching up now…
Yes, I like how you describe Carrie, but I am also finding Annie Wilkes strangely empathetic…!
You have a way with characters that make them very vivid and immediate…you know..they are “real”people. Also, I tend to favour descriptive books, and I like the parts where you set the scene..etc. Does that make sense?:)
That’s why King works though. He gives credence to each character’s POV. That makes them real. It’s what I try to do too. If I’m half way close to his ability then I’d be well satisfied! Description is also something I like too. Not too verbose and riddled with opportunistic adjectives though. It does make sense (to me) as I think setting the scene and reason for an event is essential to make it both plausible and “real”
You may hate this NaNo project mind lol
Yes that makes sense 🙂 although I sometimes think I get a little too descriptive…but I like details! Bet I don’ t hate it…lol!
Fine line between too much description and not enough. I tend to underdo charactera though. Give enough for a reader to picture them or identity with them and fill in the gaps on their own. Not sure if that’s the right way, but it’s the way I like to read.
Err, at the moment…bet you do lol
Never sure how to strike the right balance with character description…don’t want the women to look like me lol!
*clutching front of jumper nervously*
Why do you think I won’t like it..? You haven’t…you wouldn’t…
That’s why I leave dress code simple…I try and get the reader into the characters mind rather than what they look like. At least that’s what I set out to do !
Fear not….Saturday is the day the township will see a number of, err, incidents. Currently it’s Tuesday night. Which is coincidental with this evening thinking about it. I’m writing Wednesday tomorrow lol
Also, it’s OK, you don’t really know Conrad Carmichael 🙃
Well what can I say…as usual, I await your next update eagerly :)x!
Will be doing an update Friday or Saturday 😱
It sounds really good! Just my sort of book 🙂 It sounds as if it’s going well …remember amethyst, clear quartz and moss agate ..lol! 🙂
Which one lol…Rose or The Bequest 🤔 And yes, crystals are us…it’s going OK…very easy to get behind though and then catching back up is tough 🤕