Writing... Stuff...

So, four days into Nanowrimo.  Let's see how I've done so far.

To reach the end-of-the-month goal, I have to average 1,667 words a day.

Day 1 - 2,301 words.  Excellent.
Day 2 - 1,457 words.  Decent.
Day 3 - 0 words.  This is why I can't have nice things.  Like the internet.  It's too distracting.
Day 4 - 999 words, but I intend to write more after this, so it should be higher by the end of the day.  I'll see if I can hit my 1,667 goal.  Then I'll only be a day behind.

I've found I have two major flaws working against me.  The first is procrastination, and the second is an attention span the length of a gold fish's.  I have a couple of plans that I think may prove helpful.  One, is to track down and download my trusty "Q10" program, which is a simplistic word processor that takes up the entire screen.  (You have to actually minimize it to even hit the Windows "Start" button.)  (If you're interested, just google it.  It's a free download.)  That might lower the temptation to pop into the internet while I write.  The other is to set a time limit for myself and set an alarm.  One of the temptations, when you're writing for a word count goal, is to check your word count every five minutes.  I think maybe if I measured my progress by time, and set alarm so I don't have to check the clock either, I might be able to work better.

I had an interesting experience while writing in which I introduced a new character, and then they ended up being different from how I pictured them.  I needed a bad guy for the hero to fight, and I ended up with this idea of a teenager.  He's a knife fighter, and moves really fast.  I was actually kind of picturing something parkour-ish, in the way he'd chase people down and kill them.  I imagined he'd be this really cocky guy, who tries to play it cool, and chasing down his prey would be kind of a fun game for him.  Then I started actually writing about him.  Was he a cool, cocky guy?  No.  This guy's creepy.  This kid is not right in the head.  He does enjoy chasing his prey, but in a really creepy, overly-predatorial kind of way, and he's not someone I would ever want to meet in a dark alley... which is pretty much what happened to the hero.

And then he went and got himself shot!  And I wasn't really expecting that!  And then I was like, "Oh no, creepy predator guy, what will happen to you?  Will you live?  I don't even know!  But, strangely, I kind of want you to live, so you probably will, even though I have no idea what I'll do with you for the rest of the story, because you were only supposed to be in this one scene."

(Oh my gosh, "creepy predator guy" sounds terrible!  You need a different nickname, Creepy Predator Guy Who Has Nothing To Do With Stalking Women.)

And, I guess I promised an excerpt or something.  So here's a little scene that was kind of amusing (to me anyway).  This is from Trigun fanfiction, but it's spoiler free, and you don't need to know anything about Trigun to read it.  The characters in question are Razlo, a character from the manga, and Chapel the Seer, who's my own.  If you know Trigun's Chapel the Evergreen, well, he and Seer are of the same stock.  In this story, Chapel is a title and has been passed down from Evergreen to Seer.  If you don't know Chapel the Evergreen, all you need to know is that Chapel the Seer is a priest and he's evil.  The name Seer comes from his ability (although somewhat limited) to read the minds of others.  In this scene, Razlo had stolen something from Seer and was captured soon afterward.  He's found himself tied to a chair and expects to be tortured.

Chapel the Seer walked in and closed the door behind him.

“Oh... It's just you.” Razlo said. Then he eyed Seer and asked, “Wait, are you the torture dude? I've heard you guys are running on a short staff. Maybe you're pulling double duty.”

Seer looked unamused. “I'm here to interrogate you, if that's what you mean.”

Razlo looked him over and then said, “I've never been interrogate by a priest before. Is this what making a confession is like?”

The unamused look grew stronger.

Razlo gave a cocky grin and said, “Forgive me father, for I have sinned!”

“You're not forgiven.” Seer answered flatly.

“Aw, come on, Chapel! I mean, Father! I'll pray my rosary beads and everything!”

“Honestly, I would be surprised if you even knew how to use rosary beads.”

“What? Give me a break! Everyone knows about rosary beads!”

With slight amusement, Seer said, “Alright then, tell me.”

“Uh... well... They're beads.”

“Yes,” Seer said slowly.

“And... uh... they're pink, like roses, and that's why their called rosary beads!”

Seer gave him a blank look. “Uh...huh...”

“And, you say a prayer for each bead on the string.”

“And that prayer is?” Seer prompted.

There was a silence following that question. Finally, Razlo offered, “Our Father, who art in heaven?”

Seer gave a look that showed he was waiting for more.

Razlo continued, “Hollow be thy name.”

“It's 'hallowed,' not 'hollow.'”

“That's what I said!” Razlo said quickly. “Uh... then it's... thy kingdom come, thy will be done... on earth and in heaven... Give us this day our daily bread... Forgive our trespasses as we forgive the trespasses of others...” Razlo paused. It stretched into a very long pause. Finally he decided to cut his losses. “Forever and ever, Amen!”

“That was horrendous.” Seer said. “Now what's the other prayer?”

“Uh... You just say that one over and over.”

“No, there are two prayers involved.”

Razlo concidered a moment. “Is it... a Hail Mary?”

“Yes. How does that one go?”

“Uh... Hail Mary... full of grace... blessed art thou of women... and blessed art the fruit of the loom.”

“It's 'fruit of thy womb,'” Seer interrupted. “You're praying about underwear.”

“I said 'womb!' I totally said 'womb!'” Razlo cried. “Hey, wait a second! I see what you're trying to pull here! I got you all figured out! You're trying to torture me by making me pray!”

Seer raised an eyebrow. “Is prayer torturous for you?”

“Yeah, obviously! Praying is boring sissy stuff!”

Seer sighed. “Alright, we'll get down to business, then. Tell me where the plant is, and I'll read your thoughts to find out myself.”

Razlo frowned at that sentence a moment before saying, “Don't you mean, 'tell me or I'll read your thoughts?'”

“No, I meant 'and.' I'll read your thoughts to see if you're lying or not.”

“What!? What the crap! Why even bother asking me to say it!?”

“I thought it made things a little more polite,” Seer answered.

“Man, this is bull! I'm never letting myself get tortured again! It totally sucks!”

There was a silence while the two eyed each other. Razlo guessed correctly that Seer was reading his mind, and he wanted to make sure his expression showed that he didn't appreciate it.  Then, slowly, Seer grew angry.

“You don't know where she is!” he cried.

“Nope! I passed her off to someone else!”

“Why didn't you say so!?”

“Because you were going to read my mind anyway, you idiot!”

Seer gave him a hateful look. Then he turned on his heal and left, slamming the door behind him.

Razlo relaxed in his chair and grinned. See? I told you I could handle being tortured.