February Writing Update.

Today is the last day of February, and I'm here to tell you how I'm doing with my writing.

This month, I was supposed to finish CinderEddy.
Write Unforgiven.
Finish editing Do You Take This Quest?
Write draft 2 of The Ankulen
And write at least 100 words a day on The New Division.

Well ... I didn't finish CinderEddy, though I did make a little bit of progress. Not much though. Sigh. Short stories are supposed to be easy, aren't they?

I didn't even touch Unforgiven. I'm not sure how to start it. The only way I've ever completed it is in play format, and you introduce plays in a very different way than you do stories. Sigh. This little story is one that's very close to my heart ... it just doesn't like getting written. And it's not the character's fault, because both Keely and Carlin are wonderfully cooperative. It's just ... getting it going, since I'm not sure where the story begins.

I'm ashamed to say that I really haven't worked with Do You Take This Quest? this month. Some conversation with my mom and my kindle as we walked down the road, but that's about it. We're on chapter ... six or seven, I don't remember which. Actually making the changes she's suggesting ... I'm on chapter two. Sigh. Since this is a 23 chapter book, that's not exactly good. My brain ... just doesn't want to think about Robin, Madeleine and Arthur right now, though I love all of them dearly. I ought to force it to think about them ... but I don't have the gumption. There's a cold/flu going around, and it's sapping everyone. I'm not sure I've been down with the flu part, but the cold ... ugh. At least I'm not coughing anymore.

The Ankulen, though, is what has mostly captured my attention. I don't think I've ever connected with a character as well as I have Jen, nor has there been a story so close to my heart. I thought I loved the story the first time I wrote it ... but now ... oh! There's depth to this story I hadn't even glimpsed the first time, plot twists I hadn't noticed, character quirks I'd barely guessed. I think I just crossed the half-way point chapter-wise, but I'm not sure. I don't know how close I am to the middle of chapter 13, and this is a 25 chapter book. It's almost 30,000 words long at the moment, so I'm pleased to say that I'm fully expecting it to be a full-length novel. About 8,000 of those words have been typed up into the computer.

However, with only three exceptions, I have managed to write at least 100 words a day on The New Division. Not all of those words have come easily, and most of them have been horrid, but they are words. This is a story that I've been wanting to write, but haven't had the courage to actually do so. There's a lot of heavy stuff in this book, and a lot of uncharted waters to wade through. I don't even know how it's going to end, which is scary for me since, usually, that's the one thing I do know for certain.

Interesting fact, last night I was on my mom's computer and had The New Division on the screen and The Ankulen on the desk in front of me, and, yes, I was working on both at the same time. (One of my weapons against writer's block. Have two things to think about. Your brain will be forced to come up with something). Within seconds of each other, I had knocked both Chris (TA) and Jaqob (TND) unconscious - for completely different reason, and completely different ways, and I'm not sure I was planning either of them until they happened.

There was a whirring sound, a flash of light, and Jaqob fell over, unmoving.

For a few seconds, Alistaar just stood there stunned, as he gazed at Jaqob’s body, then he whirled on the man, opening his mouth, but was unable to form any words.

  “Oh, fear not, youth, I didn’t take his life – Elonodi forbids the taking of life, even if it belongs to a cursed Harsha,” said the man.

- The New Division

  Then she cocked her head to the side. "This may be painful, Chris, but not as painful as your betrayal is to me."

  Without hesitation, she struck Chris on the forehead with the Ankulen. He winced, and I could see the pain in his eyes before he collapsed, unconscious. He didn't even let out a whimper.

- The Ankulen

Oh, I've also been plotting on a Secret Project. I can't tell you what it is until it has a title, but it is related to the Secret Project that some of my readers may have heard mentioned on another person's blog. That's all I can say.

So ... there you have what I've been up to, and, hopefully, within a month or two, I'll have my own laptop again. I've been babysitting for an aunt every other week, and I've almost saved enough money to buy a successor for Algae. Then I'll take the new computer to my computer-fixing uncle, and he'll transfer all of Algae's old files, and I won't have to rely on mom's computer, and can access my own pictures again.

Because, really, trying to use a combination of your mom's, sister's, and brother's computers, and a android isn't exactly the most convenient thing in the world.

Oh, and no, I haven't even thought about book three. Okay, well, I've thought about it, but not the scene I'm stuck on. Who knew a crazy dream sequence could be so hard?

Maybe we got the Wrong Address

Via Pinterest

It is nearly the end of February, and I've decided to finally post my snippets from December and January. Due to the lack of Algae, I haven't been able to write as much as I would like. I did write quite a bit in notebooks ... but ... it's not as easy to share notebook writings.

But I do have some writing on the computer, so I will some snippets. Mostly The Ankulen and Do You Take This Quest? but some other stories might slide in. Head over here if you would like to join in.

  Madeleine was in the middle of a glare war. She threw up her hands. “Will you two please figure out how to get along?”

  Both Robin and Shira folded their arms. Neither said anything.

  “You two are so much alike,” said Madeleine, standing up. “Have your glaring contest, then. Just don’t hurt each other.”

  Shira was on her feet in a moment. “Thou art not leaving me with her.”

  “Fine, you don’t have to have a glaring contest. Honestly, I thought you two were having fun, and was getting out of your way.”

  Shira’s face contorted into something between disbelief and rage – but Robin just snorted. “Of course we were having fun. And it seems that I just won.”

  “Thou didst not win,” said Shira, whirling back around to glare at Robin.

- Do You Take This Quest?

  “It looks like a meteor struck,” I commented, indicating the barren land.

  “I suppose it does,” agreed Chris. “If only the cause were as simple as that.”

  “Are you sure this is my imagination?” I hesitantly asked. “Maybe we got the wrong address or something …”

- The Ankulen

  “I actually can’t tell much of a difference between whose sewing is whose,” remarked Robin. “She seems to be imitating your style Robert. Is that legal?”

  Robert laughed. “It is if I’m letting her.”

- Do You Take This Quest?

  “Well, well, well,” said Pearis, in the same condescending voice that Joan used when talking to people of inferior rank to herself, “if it isn’t one of those girls that Robin dragged in the other day. They said you were all over a hundred years old, didn’t they?”

  “Verily,” said Serendipity. “We were under a spell that rendered us in an enchanted sleep for an hundred years.”

  “Well,” said Pearis, “I almost didn’t believe it – how could people be over a hundred years old and yet look so young?”

  “An enchantment, as I said before,” said Serendipity.

  “But then I saw you and your hair,” continued Pearis, seeming not to notice what Serendipity had said. “And I knew that it had to be true. Concerning you, at least.”

- Do You Take This Quest?

Shasta put a tentative foot out onto the flowstone. It was solid enough – but it moved so fast she soon found herself seated on her rear. At least she was still on the stationary ground and hadn't fallen onto the flowstone.

-The Nine Gems of Virtue

  “Why don’t you ask her to dance?” questioned the old man.

  “Oh, but Grandfather, I couldn’t – I can’t dance at all, and she’s already dancing with someone else!”

  “Her brother, I’m sure,” said the old man. 

- Do You Take This Quest?

  “Glowbeetles,” said Chris, the only one of us who was not hampered by the low ceiling. “You put them in all of the caves. They’re really handy.”

  “And they seem to like hair,” I commented, knocking several more to the floor.

  “Yes, so they seem,” agreed Tisha, brushing several out of her hair. “I’d never noticed that eight years ago.”

  “Perhaps because we were shorter eight years ago,” I pointed out.

  “Quite likely, Jen.”

- The Ankulen

  Since he got no negative response from the suit of armor, Edward decided that the answer must be in the positive.

- CinderEddy

  “That may be the case,” said I, “but wishful thinking isn’t going to get us anywhere. Let’s … let’s start looking.” I stood up and, after carefully positioning the notebook and pencil on a nearby stump, began kicking at the dead leaves that carpeted the ground at my feet, looking for the glint of gold.

  I saw none.

  “This is going to take a while,” I muttered.

- The Ankulen

  I raised both of my eyebrows as I lifted my wrist, holding the Ankulen like I’ve seen spies hold their communicator watches in movies. “Attention Ankulen. Bring me Tisha.” Self-consciously, I loswered my wrist. “Like that? What’s supposed to happen?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “You have to tap it!”

  “Tap it?”

  “Yes, tap the gem,” said Chris. “Then you say ‘Bring me Tisha.’”

- The Ankulen

  “Robin,” said Queen Charlotte, as Meg placed the sword on a desk. “Brides don’t usually carry swords.”

  “Brides usually aren’t the best swordsman in the world,” Robin countered.

- Do You Take This Quest?

  “Oh! That’s terrible.” Tisha’s voice was panicked. “We must find a way to – oh! Jen, do you have any idea where the Ankulen might be?”

  “I thought we had already come to the conclusion that your guess was as good as mine.” I gave her a pointed look.

- The Ankulen

E - Erran

Via Pinterest

E - Sir Erran

When I wrote about Sir Christofer, I mentioned that there are few people who question the fact that Chris is the finest knight in the land.

Sir Erran is one of those few people.

I don't remember planning Sir Erran, though I might have. I was at a dum dee dum dee dum part of the story, and I wanted Jen to meet one more person from her imagination before a Really Important Event happened.

So I thought, hey! Chris had indicated earlier that there were other knights - why don't I have her get attacked by dragons so one of the other knights could help her?

So ... that's what I did. The scene that followed provided Jen with both amusement - and frustration. You see, at that point in the story, Chris and Tisha aren't with her, so she doesn't have their side of the story, just Sir Errans. Also, Sir Erran doesn't realize that she is Lady Jenifer and insists on helping her on the quest that she won't tell him about.

"It is a blight to the honor of every knight that you are without protection," Sir Erran Declared, striking a heroic pose. "No, I cannot allow you to continue alone. If you insist on endangering yourself, then I must insist on accompanying you so that I may protect you."

"I would much prefer continuing on my own," I countered.

"But I insist!"

I gave a defeated sigh. "Fine. If you insist."

- The Ankulen

According to the story he tells Jen on the way, she made him up as competition for Sir Christofer. From time to time, the two bold knights would meet, and Sir Erran would challenge Sir Chris's position. Lady Jenifer would then set up a competition.

Because Chris was Jen's favorite, he always won.

Sir Erran represents those people who rebel against God because if He were a loving God, surely he wouldn't let this happen to them, or that happen to their neighbors.

Oh, he knows that Lady Jenifer exists - he's met her several times in person - but he thinks that she is unfair and plays favorites. As Jen points out however,

"But she was behind him, what of that? She couldn't choose every knight to he her personal protector. She didn't even need one."

- The Ankulen

And the Winners are ...

First, a thank-you note for the lovely presents that everyone gave me for my birthday ...

Andrea C: Thank-you for the lovely coffee mug - I've placed it on my shelf and labeled it with one of my special "Kendra-only" labels. I'm not sure I'll take you up on the offer for coffee, though, since I'm not a coffee person (too bitter for my taste). How about Hot Chocolate?

Kiri Liz: Thank-you for the lovely short story. Wow! You managed to cram so much into so little space, seemingly effortlessly! I can only imagine what your 100,000 word novels have packed into them.

Mom: Those are the toy tractor keys. Honestly, the John Deer beeper button was a dead giveaway. Thanks for the thought, though.

V: I did ask for it, didn't I? Oh, and it's spelled kernel, not curnal. You could also spell it Colonel but that's only if you're in the military.

Miss Melody Muffin: Oooh!!! Lovely Scarf! Thank-you! Sigh, I wish I could figure out how to make eye holes while knitting ... I mean, I know how to do it in theory ... but in practice ... it eludes me.

Robyn Hoode: Thank-you for the Magic Mirror. It turned out to be Snow White's. I've been using it to help me answer questions in school.

Sarah Holman: Thank-you for the books! I can't wait to read them! I'll be writing reviews for them on the O.Scarlett blog at some point or another. (Once I have my own computer again. My reviewing has been one thing that I have dropped since Algae's demise.)


And now for the Givaway winners! As I said before, I chose three, and here they are:

1. Miss Melody Muffin!
2. Sarah Holman!
3. Kiri Liz!

I happen to have all of your email addresses already, so I'll be emailing you tonight with your prize details - since you get to pick which of my writings you want to read.

Oh, and keep posting on Rescue Me! and Finding North, and feel free to join in on those stories if you haven't already. Rescue Me has turned out to be quite an interesting story, to say the least. Kendra's Clues indeed.

Rescue Me - Chapter 2

Since the comments on Rescue Me are trying to fall off the page, I thought I would start a new thread.

Here's the first one:
http://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2013/02/rescue-me.html

Basically what has happened so far is, I've was kidnapped by King Rosck and hid in the Room of Eternal Books. Ransom notes have been sent out to various people, calling for a flower called the Quicklythummy. A dwarf named Flewder gave us a map, and we had to play Kendra's Clues to figure out how to get down a cliff.

The answer was "Call for the Super villain ROCKS."

Below I have listed the last 11 comments to remind us what has happened.

The Map!

Any who wants to join in, feel free to do so, just bring a ransom note, and we'll quickly fill you in on the details (and you can read the former thread.)

Close up of the Forest, which is where we have just entered

Closeup of the Quicklythummy

1. Kendra E. Ardnek

   "She does have a note," Jen pointed out.
   
   "And what good would your men do against solid rock? My suit is proof against any weapon - even electrical, for my roommate at the Academy had an electrical power, so I made sure I was proof against it," ROCKS smirked, unafraid. "However, your fears are needless. I will play the hero this time. It will give me amusement."
2. 
   V. Kathie Ardnek

   "I didn't mean that we meant to attack you. I was just letting you know that there were men that we could call upon. But now we need to get down this cliff and since you know what to do with rocks and more importantly rocky cliffs we were wondering if you could help us with our delima." Captain Kathwren said with an diplomatic air.
   
   "It is your duty as one of her characters, if you do not help us your book will never be finished and you will die in the woodwork. ROCKS" V said not quite as diplomatically.
3. 
   Robyn Hoode

   "V has a point." Robyn added.
4. 
   Kendra E. Ardnek

   "Helping you was my intent," said ROCKS. "I knew what you needed when you called me, and I am no so heartless as to wish to trap you on this cliff forever. Oh, and V, I honestly doubt that King Roshk will succeed in killin my beloved author. He doesn't have that power. However -" she clapped her hands suddenly, "Any who wish to descend this cliff, step into this circle of chairs - and get those horses, too. It won't do for us to leave them behind."
5. 
   Miss Melody Muffin

   "Right!" Melody hurried over and picked up the reins of her black horse, leading him into the circle of chairs.
   
   "I'm ready when you are."
6. 
   V. Kathie Ardnek

   Kathie led Snip (the horse) into the ring and removing the silk scarf belt tied it over his eyes to keep him from spooking. Then nodded toward Roxanne
7. 
   Robyn Hoode

   "I'm ready." Robyn said, entering the circle.

   ReplyDelete
8. 
   Kendra E. Ardnek

   Jen tapped the gem of her bracelet. "Snowflake, Dancer and Carousel, get over here."
   
   The three horses that she and her siblings had been riding obeyed her summons.
   
   "You too Derek."
   
   Derek sighed and entered the circle. "It's a bit crowded with all of the horses," he observed.
   
   "It won't be for long," said ROCKS, closing her eyes. At first, nothing seemed to be happening ... then the area with the circle began to lower.
   
   "Kathie," said Jen, "you may want to contact Elm and tell him that he needs to take the chairs back."
   
   A few minutes later, the ground closed over their heads, and they were in utter darkness.
9. 
   V. Kathie Ardnek

   V grasped Derek hard her eyes clamped shut.
   
   "HEY!!" he exclaimed "What is that for?"
   
   V didn't answer. Kathie smiled. "V doesn't like elevators they make her dizzy. and don't worry Jen Elm had his orders. I promise you that they are already back on board, if they aren't he will have me to contend with."
10. 
    Robyn Hoode

    "Boo!"
    All the girls shrieked, then heard Derek laughing.
    "Can I shoot him, Jen?" Robyn asked. A sliding sound could be heard like an arrow being pulled from the quiver.
    "Land sakes! You wouldn't really shoot someone would you?!" The other girls cried.
    Robyn was puzzled for a moment, then she laughed. "Oh, you thought... no, I would never! I have darts that will make a person mute or submissive... they're magical so I don't know which it will be until the person has been shot. Either would be good for Derek, I think."
    
    Kendra E. Ardnek
    
    "You will do no such thing!" Megan exclaimed. "You will not shoot Derek be it with darts or anything!"
    
    "I agree with Megan," said Jen, calmly. "Derek is our brother, and, even if he is annoying, I do love him, and I do not want to see him harmed in any way. He's been through a lot in his life - and I don't even know the half of it - so I don't want to make the rest of his life any worse than it has to be. No, you may not shoot him."
    
    "Oh, now you're making me sound like a pity case," muttered Derek.
    
    Just then, the downward motion came to a halt, and the a wall slid open, revealing a short tunnel that led to a forest.
    
    "It will never cease to amaze me why people who are not forced to argue and fight still choose to do so," said ROCKS, the slightest edge of regret creeping into her otherwise emotionless voice. Without waiting for a reply, she started walking towards the light.
    
    

    

    Joel, the Striped crayon, and the shrinkerscope. I unfortunately couldn't find the handy dandy notebook that the crayon had come with.