When You Fall Off the Horse

     It has been over two months since I wrote a word in Flight. What happened?

     What always happens: life. 

     Ok, well, that's what I'd like to think. Sure, my schedule has been hectic, but it's always crazy over here. If I'm really honest, it comes down to this: I'm a procrastinator. I got half-way through the manuscript, started doubting everything, became discouraged, and let my fear drive me away from writing.

     It's the same old story.

     So I didn't finish in January like I wanted to. I fell off the horse, but I refuse to stay here.

     I'm going to start fresh, get back up on this horse. I'm going to finish this draft (Oh Lord, help me; I'm only on the first draft!) and I'm going to quit putting it off. It might be slow going, but it's better than not finishing at all.

     Keep an eye on the Facebook page for detailed updates.

Post Tenebras Lux! 
-ST

          

Flight Character Roll Call

     Today, I am gathering the bits and hints about the characters of Flight in one post. Why? Because I haven't written anything since Nanowrimo, and I need some kind of kick in the pants. This story is halfway done. I need to get over the crest of this hill. So, I hope a peek at the main cast will make you want to meet them and make me want to continue writing them. They are pretty cool.

     1. "Phoenix"

          This is the main character. That's all I've revealed so far. My sister wonders if this is a mythological creature; I tell you this so you won't feel alone as I continue to evade that question. 

 2. Benjamin

          This guy does not relinquish his secrets easily. I blame most of my struggles over Flight's plot on him. Very rarely do I get a clear look at his past and what his present goal is. That excites me, because I get to uncover secrets as I write, but it also worries me because I wonder if I'll be able to figure it out before the end of the story. Much of Flight hangs on him, so we'll see how this goes. He's also extremely sassy. I accidentally slipped his last name (which I apologetically stole from a real couple I know) on my Facebook page during Nanowrimo.

     3. Mrs. Highland

          This little old lady was inspired by my grandmother and other elderly relatives. She started out as an add-in to this story, just because old ladies rarely ever play a part in Spec-Fic, but she has grown into a vital character. I've described her relationship with Benjamin as "awkward" and you will get no further definition at this time. 

     4. "Nerd boy"

          I haven't yet revealed this character's name, but I will show you what helped inspire his personality traits and physical features:

I'm told this awesome picture was crafted by this artist: http://punziella.tumblr.com

          Yup. He basically looks like hipster Hiccup. My nerd boy's hair is a bit darker in color, and he's a few years older than Hiccup in this picture.

     5. Mr. Eden

          Oh, Eden. He's another rebellious character. I love him, but he has his own ideas. He pushes me to figure out new plot lines. Look, see?

     

     Also, he's apparently a pilot? Yeah, didn't see that one coming. 

     Those are all the significant characters I have mentioned so far. There are others in the story, but I will save them for a later time. Flight is, after all, still top-secret. Or something like that.

Yeah, none of the characters I mentioned today have a goatee. ;P

Post Tenbras Lux! 

-ST

Nanowrimo 2015 Summary

     I wanted to write 25,000 words in November, but I failed.

     I only wrote 16,908 words. That's a little over half-way there. 

     Actually, I'm ok with this. November turned out to be a lot crazier than I expected. Come to think of it, life in general turned out to be a lot crazier than I expected. Hm.  

     Anyway, guess what else is half-way there? Yup, Flight! Right now the word count stands at about 28,000 words. 

     It's easy to get discouraged these days. I'm ONLY half-way done, and I KNOW stuff is still missing. I waver between wanting to share this awesome story right now and being convinced that it's not worth the effort I'm giving it. So please pray for me. And if you have any words of encouragement, I sure could use them now. Kamsamnida. 

     On the flip side, thank you to everyone who followed my progress this past month. You guys are awesome!

Post Tenebras Lux!

-ST 

Nanowrimo Numbers

     It comes every year, ensnaring writers by the hundreds. It births novels amid a flood of sweat and tears. It is (dun dun DUN)... National Novel Writing Month.

     But I'm only kinda doing it this year.

     Like I said in my last post, this year I am competing for half the official Nano word count. This means I should write about 835 words each day. 

     But last week is making question my ability to reach 25,000 this month. 

     Last week, I happened to have a bit of time on my hands. I hoped to write 10,000 words (and fantasized about 20,000), but the week ended with 5,333 new words. That's basically half of what I hoped for. Maybe shooting for 1,000 a day was too much. 

     Thankfully, I don't have to do 1,000 a day this month. 835 is just a few hundred more words than my original goal (500 words a day). I am both apprehensive and hopeful. 

     Here are a few more numbers for you (just because I can):

     12,000

     This is Flight's total current word count. 12,000 down, 38,000ish to go. 

     31

     December 31st, that is. According to the Nanowrimo word count tracker, I will finish 50,000 words (Flight's estimated final word count) on December 31st if I write 835 words everyday. 

     4

     This is how many major characters have been introduced in Flight so far. One of them hasn't had time to speak any lines yet, but he will. I love this particular character because he is a nerd.  

     84

     This is how many people are a part of my Support Team page on Facebook. What even. That's a ton! Thank you sooo much to everyone who follows that page! The encouragement is overwhelming. 

Post Tenebras Lux!

-ST

P.S. If you're doing Nanowrimo, buddy request me! I love seeing how other people are doing with their writing. 

Y I NO WRITE

     If you follow my Facebook page, you may have noticed that I haven't written anything in about a week. This is because a friend of mine, the lovely Jenny Kniskern of Little Faith Blog, was at my house for a week-long visit. The break from writing was well worth the fun times Jen, my sister, and I spent together.

     One of the first things Jen said to me was, "I want to hear all about Flight!"

     My response was, of course, "Um, sorry. I can't tell you anything until it's done."

     My sister shook her head like a war-weary veteran. "Yeah, Jen, you're not getting anything out of her."

     Now that the authoress of the ingenious Little Faith Book has returned

to her domain, I am plunging back into writing. My schedule this upcoming week will be pretty relaxed, I think, so I should be able to pound out a solid word count. I would love to get 20,000 this week, which would put me about half-way through the draft, but I will need to double my 500 words per day goal to achieve it. As usual, I will be tracking my progress on the Facebook page.

     The week after next will land us in November. Time for Nanowrimo! I won't finish Flight next month (unless God works a miracle), but I will be participating for 25,000 words. It will help me track my progress and interact with any of you who will be writing. Find me on the Nanowrimo site so we can follow each other!

Post Tenebras Lux!
-ST

EDIT: Ahem, did I say 20,000 words this week? Sorry, I can't math. That would be about 2,000 words a day. I can't do that! I don't think. I could try. But that would be crazy.