Sunday, November 6, 2022

Update and NaNoWriMo 2022

 Morning, been a while, and I do have an explanation. 

So last year, I did actually participate in NaNoWriMo. I didn't post that here because I felt like I wasn't gonna make it. 


And hey, look at that, I didn't. 


I felt kind of dejected, honestly, and didn't want to post a failure.

I was also just not happy with the story. It wasn't awful, an intrigue murder mystery at a school for the arcane, but I was just struggling to find the progression every day in a way that I wasn't struggling with Fight or Flight and Bound. Each time I opened the doc I found myself fighting to keep any semblance of pace and not really knowing where I wanted the story to go. In the end I had a story I was not proud of and came way... way short of making NaNoWriMo. 

I could blame my work, I was at a new job at the time. Clearly that massive change in my life made it hard to sit down and write! But no... My new job has a lot of downtime, a lot of opportunity to sit and write *at work.* Hell I even had a desk and a computer to work at so I wouldn't have to haunch over my tablet to bang out a couple hundred words during my lunch break. So no, it wasn't my work. It was just lack of motivation, which is always my problem. The self imposed obligation of doing a NaNoWriMo was what got me to 50k with Bound and Fight or Flight last time, but it didn't manage to get it's hooks in me last year. 

So I'm not participating this year. The same thing will inevitably happen, I can feel that it will. I don't have a good story idea in my head right now and I don't want to force it like I did last time. So I'll sit this year out and do my best to actually hit the ground running next year. 


But that doesn't mean I shouldn't be writing. I'm still clearly struggling to find motivation to sit and write when it's not NaNoWriMo, when I don't have an (arbitrary) obligation to sit and write hanging over my head. I have to work on that. Need to figure something out. I need to write because it's something I enjoy doing... which I do. I love writing. It's just getting it into my routine that I struggle with.


And hey look I have three unfinished projects to get to work at. By end of year I want to have finished Bound (there's only really the final fight and wrap up to do there) and get back in to Fight or Flight. If I can finish both by years end even better, and I'll look into making that third project, Faces in the Crowd, my New Years Project.


Expect updates soon... Not every day, I imagine, but once I have something I'll post it. 

Monday, November 30, 2020

NaNoWriMo2020 - Final Report 11/30

 So here we are on the last day of NaNoWriMo. I already have my 50k and I am, to put it mildly, very tired from work. Giving myself a break day and heading in early tonight. I'm not gonna make the same mistake I made last time and completely abandon my project the moment November comes to a close and then only try to pick it up again right before the world explodes, that's for sure. I'm too close to the end of the draft. I need to finish this story. 

Then comes revisions... Eventually. 

Once I'm finished with Bound I'm going to go back to Fight or Flight and finish that. That way I'll have two complete first drafts and can start, I don't know, leaning how to revise a book? Again I've never done that before and I'll kinda be stabbing in the dark for that one. 

Sunday, November 29, 2020

NaNoWriMo2020 - Progress Report 11/29


Fifty-Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty-Five words and I have now completed a second National Novel Writing Month challenge. That's twice now, twice when I've forced myself to sit down and write every day I've been able to produce. I feel amazing. If I can just keep this up, keep the momentum, and not let it slip like I did last year... I mean, I could do so much. 

Stories not done yet but we're at the final climactic battle. We have our villains and we have our heroes. I wonder who's gonna win! 

Bound - NaNoWriMo2020 11/29

 “Kassadi!” Madrona shouted, reaching out and grabbing the Wizard, shoving her forward to the front of the line. “Take care of the walking metal man, I’ll deal with the ones behind!”

“What?” Kassadi bellowed. “What are you talking about I’m the only one who can see them!”

“I don’t need to see them!” Madrona said coldly.

                The warlock raised her dagger in one hand, resting it atop the other at the wrist. Her FINGERS slipped into the familiar gesture as the energy began to gather inside of her. She lurched forward and the energy released. Once again the walls of this labyrinth separated at the seams, cracks stretching along the stone, a deep set darkness found within those crevices. The tendrils snaked out, dark like the night and dripping a black ichor. The tendrils had no eyes, no ears, no way of perceiving the world they simply reached out and grasped for warm living flesh. They found it, scaled though it may be, and lashed out. Two yalps and guttural cries filled the ears of Madrona as the lizard creatures were throttled. She smiled, a wicked smile, a smile of a woman who wasn’t quite done. With her targets grappled she lifted her dagger up and released it, letting it float in the air. Her arms swaying up and around in arcs revealing her hundred dagger spell. Her smile grew wide exposing her devil like fangs that framed her pearly whites. The daggers flew with one final flourish as the soaring weapons found bodies to slice and stab.

                Ahead was not going so well as that. Maryl loaded a bolt into her crossbow and let it fly, striking the construct in the… head? Whatever that area was the bolt flew true and with a resounding clang, ricocheted off into the darkness behind. Cursing the goblin drew her shorts word. Kassadi tried her own, hand out to release her whizzing darts of magical energy. They seemed to do more to impact the lumbering creature, but aside from a small dent and mildly splintering wood, the automaton continued on unimpeded. The mechanical being lifted it’s right limb, revealing a serrated circular blade, it began to spin rapidly, the whirring sound it made rattled the back of the goblin and human’s teeth.  Maryl looked to Kassadi, exasperated.

“Do something!” The goblin shouted. “Throw fire at the thing like you did with me!”

“That’s a really powerful spell I don’t want to be out of magic when we face Travlona… why don’t you use a wand!?” Kassadi responded, gesturing to the bag of wands.

“Because I don’t know what any of them do until I swing them!” Maryl said. “Also I don’t want to be out when we face Travlona!”

“Oh for goodness sake!” Madrona shouted, glancing back at the women. “I just burned two spells on these lizards, stop bickering and do something you two!”

                Kassadi and Maryl glanced at Madrona, and then to each other. They rolled their eyes at each other and both faced the construct. It was starting to pick up speed and would be on them in a few seconds now. Kassadi needed to act or it would be too close to the group to avoid being burned by the blowback. She pulled from her satchel the ball of sulfur and guano and whispering her words while quickly working her hand gestures the ball began to smolder and sizzle, Maryl reflexively pulled away from the ball, having been caught in it’s detonation last time. Kassadi hucked it and grabbed Maryl, pulling her a good ten feet back as it crashed into the construct. There was a flash of sudden brilliant light that soon bloomed into a firey ball as it detonated. The hallway quaked and all three women were buffeted by a strong wind. Glancing back they saw the construct in flames, the wood slowly burning.

It took another step and then leapt. The creature cleared the distance between them and swung it’s spinning blade at Maryl, who just barely managed to duck under it. Sparks sprayed across the floor as the spinning metal collided with stone. Maryl scrambled away from the construct, hand digging through her wand bag. She grasped onto a wooden handle and gripped tight. Kicking off the wall the goblin twisted in the air to face the construct head on as she drew the wand and cast all at once. As the tip of the wand pointed forward towards the metal man a stream of green shot forward, a spray of acid covering the creature with enough pressure to knock it back ten feet. It stumbled and rolled as the acris liquid coated it, burning away at it’s metal frame. Maryl looked very pleased with herself… until the thing got back up.

Madrona turned to see how the others were doing and saw the construct still standing. Her eyes widened, the creature seemed heavily damaged but it was not backing down. She gritted her teeth and reached down to her belt and pulled from it her own wand. Leveling the point at the construct she swore before calling out the command word. ‘Meteor.’ As the word left her lips a massive swirling flame burst forward so hard it knocked Madrona to the ground. She grunted and skid a half foot, jostled to the point that the tendrils down the hall vanished. She was able to steady herself and look up just as the construct exploded with the force of the combined Flaming Missiles. Chunks of the construct flew in all directions as what was left over was a smoking husk.

“Holy crap Madrona!” Kassadi called out, staring at the burning pile that was once the construct. “That might have been a little overkill. Still it worked I gue-OOF!”

                Madrona and Maryl watched as Kassadi went down, seemingly tackled roughly by an unseeable assailant. The Wizard flailed helplessly and there was suddenly blood across her face and chest, she was being sliced open by something! Madrona gritted her teeth, only two of the creatures were snagged by her tendrils, the third must have seen it’s friends get taken and retreated back, avoiding the hundred daggers spell. Once it saw the tendrils vanish it took it’s chance. Maryl took no time to think, simply leaping forward. Not being able to see the creature didn’t matter at this point since goblin knew exactly where it was, on top of Kassadi! She drew two daggers from her jacket sheaths as she leapt onto what she assumed was the lizard’s back. She felt the sting of it’s spines jabbing at her face and shoulder, but she just pushed through and jammed the blades into what she knew must be flesh. There was a guttural howl and Maryl knew she hit her target. She drew her short sword and began hacking at the creature, who abandoned Kassadi and began to scramble. It jumped to the wall and then to the ceiling, trying to buck the tiny goblin free.

                Kassadi pushed herself from the ground, a trail of blood down her face forced her to clench one eye shut. She looked pissed. She reached into her pouch and drew out a pearl, gleaming and perfect. Tucking it into her palm she reached out with one finger extended, aiming carefully with one eye she let out a command word and a lance of energy, crackling and vibrant violet, shot in a straight line it struck the lizard and pierced right through it and continued on into the stone. The lizard let out a croak and fell to the ground, collapsing into wrenching spasms for a few moments before finally going still. Maryl rolled off the beast and onto her back, panting.

“Yeah. That’s why we try to avoid these things.” She said.

“Kassadi!” Madrona rushed to Kassadi’s side and began checking the Wizard’s wounds. “You need to take the potion.”

“No.” Kassadi said, swatting at Madrona’s inspection. “I’m fine, really, just scratched up a bunch.” The wizard reached down and gripped at her shirt, lifting the breast to her forehead to wipe the blood away.

“You’re sure?” Madrona said, a severeness to her voice.

“Yes.” Kassadi said, smiling. She placed a hand on Madrona’s shoulder. “I’m fine I promise.”

“No, no!” Maryl called out. “No one check on the goblin at all! I’m fine by the way.”

                The three pressed on, a little sore and lacking some magic, but fine overall. They were very much all sniffing the air as they continued on this time, and were lucky enough to not encounter the lizards. The constructs, however, seemed much more difficult to avoid. They were growing denser as they got closer to the throne room. This did mean they were getting closer to their goal, though it came as small comfort to them as they hid from not one but two of the lumbering creatures as they moved through a patrol. The only saving grace was the lack of intelligence in the creatures, as long as they weren’t spotted they would be fine, and the three women could hear a construct coming from a few hundred feet away.

                Eventually they came to where they needed to be, Valel Hex’s throne room. The three peeked around the corner and they all felt like cursing in the same moment. Not only was the Throne Room blocked off with a large stone door sealed by a magical glyph, but it was being guarded by three constructs.  Kassadi wanted to mention how absolutely unfair that was, but thought better of mentioning it as she saw the annoyance on her companions’ faces. Maryl took a long breath and glanced up at the two of them.

“Well, I guess this is where we part ways.” She said, brow furrowed.

“Wait what?” Kassadi said, confused.

“Come on, we all know where this is going.” Maryl said, she was busy adjusting her boots and making sure her weapon straps were secure. “This is your fight. I’m not like you two, I can’t cast magic without some alchemist to force the spells into sticks first. I’ll go out, get their attention, and flee down the opposite hall. That should give you enough time to get through the door.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Madrona said, reaching out to take Maryl’s wrist, the goblin pulled away.

“You know it’s not. You two gotta get in there fighting fresh and it took three powerful spells to take even one of those things down.” Maryl was breathing in and out in a rhythm, psyching herself up. “This way only one of us has to die and at least you got a chance of taking that bitch out. Just make sure to tell my mom, okay?”

                Kassadi and Madrona looked to each other, a slightly droll expression on both their faces. They shook their head and reached out, grabbing Maryl. As they did they both cast their Short Hop spell, splitting the difference between them in needing to double it for their third traveler. Maryl found herself in the span of a blink moving from the hallway, ready to throw herself into a suicide run… to now standing at the entranceway to the Throne Room, the large stone door that sealed the room now behind her. She blinked a few times, not sure if she should be annoyed or thankful.

“So good of you to join us.” Travlona spoke.

                Travlona was sitting in the throne, arms outstretched over the armrests, one leg crossed over the other. It was a strange pose that communicated both a casualness and a demand for respect and submission. She was no longer in the nightgown that Madrona and Kassadi last saw her in, with strawberry hair rolling over her shoulders. No now her hair was done up tightly in a bun and she wore a long coat of plush blood red velvet. Her face still held that mild disgust Madrona remembered, but there was a sick smile now, the smile of a sadist. Standing next to her was Gild, not wearing his suit nor thankfully was he naked, but instead garbed in a pair of hide trousers and furred vest, carrying at his side his large axe. To the other side was Gilbert, of all people. He still wore his normal clothes, but certainly did his best to appear sinister besides Travlona, it wasn’t really a contest the poor halfling had a chance at. At the woman’s foot was the Hellhound, it snarled and bared it’s fangs, letting out aggressive barks and waiting for the command that would let it sink it’s teeth into flesh.

“So.” The woman in the throne stated, steepling her fingers together. “I’ll be taking those bracelets now.”

Saturday, November 28, 2020

NaNoWriMo2020 - Progress Report 11/28

 I'm at 48k. I will be completing NaNoWriMo 2020 tomorrow, that's just a fact. What I'm actually growing excited about is coming to the end of the story. I've always had these ambitions to be a writer but I have never been able to get more than a couple chapters into a project before finding myself distracted by... something. Some life obligation or hobby comes along, or I get frustrated with a lack of satisfaction with my writing and I just abandon the project. Here I come, though, to what will be the definitive end to a story I've written. 

I'm just excited. 

What comes after that, however, terrifies me. Since I've never actually finished a story I've never had to revise a first draft and I kinda... have no idea how to do that.

Bound - NaNoWriMo2020 11/28

                 Kassadi and Madrona glanced at each other, they didn’t know what to say. They wanted to provide some comfort, reach out to Maryl and show her their sympathy, but could they? It was only a handful of days ago that it was both of them that slew the goblins. Could they truly reach out to Maryl despite being guilty of the same slight? Eventually Kassadi walked to the goblin woman and kneeled down, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” Kassadi said. Maryl stared at the Wizard for a long moment.

“You’re going after her, you’re gonna kill her?” She asked, looking between then both.

“She’ll likely give us no other option.” Madrona stated.

“Then save your sorrys, bring me with you. Let me put a blade in that horrid monster!” She gritted her teeth. Kassadi looked back at Madrona, who just shrugged.

“Okay.” Kassadi said. “But all the traps are back up and it has the monsters are agitated.”

“Traps aren’t a problem for me.” The goblin assured, “You won’t need to avoid the mechanical ones anymore, I can disable them. Spent enough time down here that I learned how they work.”

                Maryl got up from where she was, glancing once more over the dead bodies she let the pain rush through her one last time. Then she took a calming breath and steeled herself. She moved away from the two tall-folk, to one of the make shift huts they had in the encampment. When she returned she looked ready for war. Wearing a thick leather jacket that had been shorn to fit a goblin’s stature and the breast of the coat had sheaths for thin stiletto daggers stitched into the material, four daggers on each side. At one side of her hip was a two-foot-long short sword and a hand axe at the other, wrapped around her chest was a bandolier of crossbow bolts, the crossbow they would be fired from her back. And of course, slung from her shoulder, was the bag of wands that Kassadi and Madrona had procured for her. She pulled a pair of goggles over her eyes, flashed a sinister grin, and walked past her two new companions. Kassadi glanced at Madrona with brow raised.

“Well, she’s on our side this time, so that’s good.” She whispered.

“She’s on her own side, Kassadi.” Madrona said in response, moving to follow behind the goblin.

                Maryl did turn out to be invaluable and was not lying about her skills in regard to the traps. Just as Madrona was about top step on a pressure plate that to the naked eye seemed completely flush to the other stones around it Maryl barked a command to stop. The goblin glanced at the floor of the hallway, and pointed out half a dozen more of the plates. Normally at this point Kassadi and Madrona would have turned and attempted to find another path to loop around the trap. It was time consuming as the very nature of a maze meant there was no simple path. Now with Maryl they needn’t bother. The goblin quickly found a particular odd stone out along the wall and produced from her jacket a hand dril, placing the bit against the stone she cranked until the drill was firmly lodged in place. With a simple chisel and mallet against the gap in the stone she was able to loosen it enough to come free, exposing the mechanism of levers that connected to the pressure plates. When any of the plates on the floor sank, this lever would lift and release the trap’s payload. She took the chisel she had just used to remove the stone and crammed it tightly into the lever, locking it into place. Kassadi watched all of this go on with rapt fascination, gasping and hissing with each move. Eventually Maryl had to tell the wizard to get the hells away from her while she worked. Madrona tentatively tested the pressure plate on Mary’s request and sure enough as the plate sank the lever attempted to shift, but ran against the chisel with a hard clunk and was unable to move. The three continue on.

                The next trap was a little simpler. Upon discovering a room with a series of trip wires, Maryl ushered the group away and around the previous corner. Instead of carefully stepping over each wire in sequence and hoping no one tripped, Maryl tied a simple string to the first wire and walked back to Kassadi and Madrona. Once all three were safely behind the corner, Maryl yanked the string taught and the trip wire pulled free of it’s tension lock. There was the sound of sliding stone followed by a thundering boom accompanied by a cloud of dust and wind that rolled down the hall towards them. Glancing around the corner they saw the entire ceiling for a stretch of thirty yards had come free and crashed into the ground. Once the dust had settled it was simply a matter of stepping up onto the stone slab that had once been the ceiling and walking over it.

                The group was making fast progress now, with Maryl’s aide in the traps. Deeper they moved into the labyrinth, though never losing their sense of caution. They knew that as they moved further towards the throne room they would find themselves in only greater dangers. They each creeped forward, keeping perceptive of everything that was before them, and always with a glance over their shoulder to check the rear. They saw nothing, and honestly that seemed to bother Maryl something fierce. After about an hours’ time from the last trap she suddenly stopped and sniffed the air.

“Shit!” She called out.

“What is it?” Madrona asked.

“They’re behind us, shit I should have noticed them before this! Always stink to high heaven, I was too distracted, too focused on the traps!”

“What are you talking about?” Kassadi said, turning around. “There’s nothing behind us.”

“They’re invisible!” Maryl hissed. “Natural ability the shit-heads have.”

                Kassadi frowned and reached into her satchel. Pulling from it a vial she poured a bit of powdered talc into her hand again and began her incantation. With a clap the powder exploded from her palms and her eyes began to glow. She gasped. With her magical sight she could now see the what had been stalking behind the group, she wondered how long they had been there. They were lizard like creatures and they were large, slightly larger than an average human. They crawled along the walls with large, segmented limbs that each ended with three fingers containing a claw four inches in length. Their eyes swiveled in chameleon like stalks and their scales were mottled brown and red. A long ridge trailed down their back with a frill of spines extending from it. Lolling tongues extended from wide maws which were lined with jagged and serrated teeth. There were three of them and they seemed to notice they had been spotted, they increased their speed, closing the distance.

“I can see them.” Kassadi said.

“Well that’s lucky for you.” Maryl said. “We can’t, so I would suggest we not fight them!”

“Yeah I think they noticed I can see them, they’re speeding up.” Kassadi took a step back.

“Great, that’s just great!” Maryl said, letting out a curse in the goblin tongue.

“Will you two stop bickering?” Madrona said sharply. “Both of you! Run!”

                They began to sprint away, Kassadi noticed that as they did the lizard creatures also leapt into a dash. Whipping down the halls now with abandoned the three women tried to take hard corners at random to attempt to lose their pursuers, but every time the Wizard glanced back her magically augmented sight spotted the invisible creatures just barely keeping up. Barely. If they kept this up they could lose them, They just needed to press a little harder! Kassadi turned to let the others know they had almost lost them but before she could get the words out she found herself skidding to a stop, Madrona and Maryl had halted while Kassadi wasn’t looking. Confused, the Wizard looked up ahead and her heart sank, them at the end of the hall… was one of the constructs. There was no point in trying to hide from it, the wood and metal creature had clearly already spotted them. It began to stomp forward towards the three with purpose, that purpose being to kill the intruders. The construct blocked their path forward and from behind, the clattering of lizard folk claws against the stonework of the walls became louder and louder.

Friday, November 27, 2020

NaNoWriMo2020 - Progress Report 11/27

 I don't really have much to say at this point. I keep writing and keep getting closer to the end. I feel as though I'll likely reach the end of both NaNoWriMo this weekend, either tomorrow or Sunday.