Hey y’all!
It’s kinda hard to believe that we are almost half way through the month of January!! It feels like we were just at Christmas! The first semester was a whirlwind, but I’ve got a feeling that the second semester will be even faster.
In the midst of all of this, among many things, I have been writing a fair bit. Christmas break was fantastic in regards to getting writing done. I thought today would be a good time to do a bit of a writing “check up.” Where am I at, and how have I been doing momentum-wise?
This NaNoWriMo season (do i sound like a sports commentator yet) was very successful for Mirage of Shards, and we came out of it (it being November + December, because I gave myself an extra month) with somehow 28,959 new words. Not sure how that happened, but my characters decided to cooperate, and so we just went with it. It wasn’t the total I was going for, and I didn’t technically “win” according to official standards, but honestly I don’t care. I’ll reach 50k eventually. I’m about 20k away from that anyways. 🙂
That being said, I had wanted to get to 50k by January 1st, but as December went on, I realized the impossibility of this desire. I’m thinking as long as I get to “50,000 words since November 1st, 2019,” I’ll be okay. I definitely want to hit it before November 1st, 2020. XD I don’t doubt that that will happen.
One of the things that I have been monitoring throughout this process is my quality. If you don’t know me, I am a very picky person. I want things to be perfect. This is very much a flaw that the Lord and I are working on, but even so, when it comes to writing I would like the integrity of the story to hold up.
This is often hard for me, as I’m sure it is for many, because there are segments I will write that I forget exist and then they seem out of place with everything else. Or maybe, similarly, I was dead-tired when I wrote it and now it is wacky and stupid.
I have a policy with myself in which I’m not allowed to go back and rewrite things unless it must be done. I can read all I want, I’m just not allowed to edit/rewrite. This keeps my inner perfectionist at bay, freeing myself to monitor the integrity of what I’m writing.
It’s something I’ve been really struggling with. I know who these characters are. They’ve stuck with me longer than the first book I attempted. I know their stories, and I’ve committed to write them down. Each word I write, I pray it’s something that is necessary and will get the message I want to convey across.
This is a story of hope. Yes, a story about fighting for what is right and standing up for your beliefs, but of finding your beliefs as well. Jaxen isn’t really anyone. He is shell looking to be filled by something. The team he works with is broken. The world he lives in is broken. (sound like anything we know?) But there is hope. There is light, even in the darkest of places. In the front lines of battle, there. is. hope. There is a new sun dawning.
Jaxen and his friends are just vessels for Jesus. I ask Him to fill every sentence. He keeps doing it. I don’t know how, but it keeps just happening. I am so glad He does, because as much as Madeleine likes to write, she can’t hold up plots like this. He really is the Author of Creation, y’all. 🙂
So as much as I want to reach a certain wordcount by a certain time, I know that I don’t have to worry about my timing. If it takes me five years to write this first draft, so be it. I mean, I really hope not. But as long as He is writing this, not me, I am set.
I also want to look at a couple things from my last post about resolutions, especially the writing goals. Because that makes sense. XD My three goals for writing in 2020 are 1) finish Mirage of Shards, 2) take better care of my blog, and 3) do more with The Rebelution. These are simple, gradual goals and I believe that if I put my phone down and get my head on straight, I can achieve them fairly easily.
And just because I’ve run out of things to write about goals and how this novel has changed me for the better, here is a snippet from chapter 11 about Jaxen eating brownies. XD You’re welcome.
After what seemed like an hour, but it probably was only thirty minutes in reality, they ended up in front of the doors to the cafeteria. Jaxen really hoped that they had the soup from before. As it turned out, they did not. Jaxen was sad, but he made up for it by eating five brownies, because those are obviously the same and equivalent.
“In hindsight, I probably should have eaten something with protein.”
“Yeah, probably. Don’t worry, though, I won’t tell Leharr.”
“Thank you, I’ll eat my brownies to my heart’s delight.” Both of them laughed.
It had not occurred to Jaxen that the other members of his squad would be eating lunch soon, or as it turned out, right at that moment.
“Oh hey, Jaxen! You got out!” It was Zarah. She sat down opposite him, where she could see both him and Coran. This was interesting. What surprised him most about seeing her there was that she wasn’t fully ignoring Coran. Sure, she wasn’t smiling at him or talking to him, but she wasn’t avoiding him. My, my, things seem to have changed over two weeks, Jaxen laughed silently to himself as he watched her being civil with his friend. It certainly wasn’t a lot to ask, but it was an improvement compared to how it was before.
“Why are you eating brownies?”
“Because it was the first thing I saw on the food line and I wanted them…”
Zarah made a face and laughed. “Do want me to grab you some real food? Like, you know, the kind with sustenance?”
When she offered this, Coran stood up. “I’ll get it,” he practically blared. “I don’t know why I didn’t offer to do it before.” With a renewed motivation to care for his friends, he took off towards the line again.
Jaxen, turning back to Zarah, grinned at her.
“I thought he’d never leave,” she mumbled with a grin on her face.
“Oh hush, I know you like him being around.”
She began to protest, but Jaxen silenced her with a laugh. “So, about today, we have a meeting soon then, huh?”
“Yes, it’s in half an hour. You’ll have to eat your brownies quickly, not to mention whatever Coran is bringing you…”
Jaxen nodded, still eating brownies. He would be eating the brownies for a long time. He had made the foolish mistake of getting five. He did not regret his actions, yet he wished that he had gotten maybe three instead of five. It was a lot of brownies. Coran hadn’t returned with his food yet, and Jaxen was dreading what he was to bring. All he really wanted was more brownies, but he knew that if in fact he did bring him more brownies, he would never want to eat brownies again.
Chapter 11, Mágoa – Mirage of Shards
Well, that was a bit of a weird post. It had a little bit of everything and not much of a structure. Pretty typical Introverted Raconteur post, though, so I don’t know what to tell you. Anywho, I hope you all have a lovely day and remember that God made you special and He loves you very much!
Now go forth, mis amigos and amigas, and smile. Your day is just beginning. Make the best of it. Don’t procrastinate. Work hard. Make me proud. 🙂
Love you all,
Madeleine ❤
The Introverted Raconteur 