Adventures in writing battles continue kinda?

I mean I tried to do the banter thing with John and Nikola as they dealt with the SHU outbreak, but then I swapped to James who just thought about what to do as he awaited the Cabal agents (that may have ruined the tension). Right now I’m pondering how to write the James vs Kate battle so James can show off his sharpest weapon – his mind.

So no I did not spend all my time on that gifset hehe BUT I am going to bed super late because I couldn’t stop fiddling once I started. Honestly this ship needs a name as I wasn’t sure what to tag it. I don’t think #this ship is pain is very unique however true it is.

So tomorrow James fights Kate and then I get to the part I did not plan particularly well – the dismantling of the Cabal. Hope that doesn’t confuse me for too long. I’m tempted to leave it a bit vague like they did in the show and spend my words on flashbacks instead. There’s a still a lot of the Oxford days I want to explore. Hmm.

Words Written: 2,510
Current Total: 33,182

Did better today.

I did struggle to start a bit because the scene was so complex in my head I wasn’t sure how to write it. Basically you know in the movies when it’s action and they swap between groups of people rapidly? It’s like that but it doesn’t work so well on the page.

In the end I started off with the ‘villain’ breaking into the Sanctuary and destroying containment in the SHU. I then swapped to the alarm sounding in the lab where James and Nikola were. I managed to have some back and forth with Helen and Henry who were in different places over the radio. Now I’m kinda stuck again because I want to follow Nikola and John into the SHU where they have to subdue the ‘worst of the worst’ but I don’t know which POV to use.

I’ve already used Nikola as a POV character so I’m comfortable with that. But on the other hand I’m overdue to use John. I’ve heard from Helen and James, it’s John’s turn BUT I’m trying to hint at something with John and if I go in his head then it won’t be a secret anymore – oh the dilemma!

I guess I’ll think about it and try and decide before the morning. If I don’t decide then I’ll struggle to start tomorrow out of indecision. I don’t really need more excuses to procrastinate heh.

Words Written: 2,308
Current Total: 30,672 

The inevitable happened 🙁

I’ve never been very good with consistency so maintaining 11 straight days of NaNo pace (1,667+) is possibly a personal record. I can’t say for sure but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Today I just wasn’t feeling it. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t get started. By the time I did start, I didn’t then have enough time to write the needed amount.

So I still got words but not quite enough. Still I suppose the fact that I wrote anything is good as it wasn’t a zero day (usually I’ve had at least one by now) so I’ve still maintained a streak – just not the 1,667+ one. I mean that’s a positive but got to be honest still feel kinda bummed. There’s no reason why I couldn’t have written more I just didn’t. 🙁

Words Written: 1,347
Current Total: 28,364

So I’m still doing this thing.

I was singularly distracted today and I only partly blame Death Rising in Warcraft for it. I lost a good chunk of my morning to that but then with the transmog not sharing between characters of the same armor-class I lost interest. It’s quite a lackluster event at the moment to be honest. I wonder if when the zombies get going it’ll be better?

Anyway, today I wrote two scenes and they both included dialogue from the season 1 finale. Basically Ashley calls for an evac, John goes and saves her and Henry from the clutches of the Cabal, Ashley promptly collapses. Duh, duh, duh! But then it differs because as I said yesterday James Watson is still alive to wreck the Cabal’s plans.

Tomorrow will be James explaining his deductions, finding out what the Cabal did to Ashley and then … a wild Kate Freelander appears. Poor John, he almost managed to tell Helen and now I don’t know when he’ll next get an opportunity :/

Words Written: 1,805
Current Total: 27,017  

I woke up this morning and decided I was going ALL IN.

I used to be a walking advert for NaNoWriMo, especially in November. I have the hoodie, I have winners t-shirts from previous years and I have wristbands. Looking around my room actually I have a fair bit of merch (I’ve never been subtle about the things I love). Anyway I haven’t worn my NaNo gear for a few years as NaNo hasn’t happened but I dug it out today.

Then I decided on today’s goal. I wanted to get to 25k for the month (requiring a bit over 3k). It took me longer than it should have but yes I did do that thing 🙂

We’ve also finally left Praxis! We’re back at the Sanctuary, in the lab working on the blood to produce a cure for the Lazarus virus. I’ve had to quit for the day but any second the phone is going to ring and it’s going to be Ashley saying she needs a quick exit from the Cabal stronghold. Oh I wonder what will happen next haha.

Oh and I’m now five days ahead of pace. Sanctuary is simply the best.

Words Written: 3,291
Current Total: 25,212 

Today I finally confessed to my mum that I was doing NaNo. As I wasn’t sure how it would go I’d avoided mentioning it prior to the 1st and then it had just felt awkward. Today I went to help with a chore and my mum asked whether I was too busy. I assured her that I wasn’t and that she came first anyway, but she asked what I’d been doing. Very hesitantly I confessed that I’d been writing, but that it was just a silly fanfic and no big deal.

My wonderful mother told me to go straight back upstairs and write more words 🙂 She said she didn’t care what I was writing, just the fact that I was writing again after having panic attacks over it all year was enough. I am so damn lucky. I really don’t deserve her.

Anyway, today we finally just about reached the running and shooting portion of escaping from Praxis (still haven’t quite made it out). I made a reference to The Five being ahem rather close in the past haha, which I might go back and edit out. I’ve never quite decided my preferred headcanon for that. In terms of love I 100% ship Helen/John/James no question. I’ve always seen Nikola’s regard for Helen as being unrequited, and that while he flirts incessantly it’s without any real expectation, more like friendly banter than anything. But that doesn’t preclude some group bonding sessions so to speak back at Oxford. Can’t decide.

Tomorrow we should finally leave Praxis and return to the Sanctuary where things will kick into high gear. John will have to go and rescue Ashley and Henry from the clutches of the Cabal but with James Watson on the case, the Cabal aren’t going to have such an easy time of it.

Words Written: 1,914
Current Total: 21,921

Ok so you know how yesterday I said I’d been a little distracted, and had written the bare minimum to get my 5k weekend, thus putting paid to my pie in the sky hopes about reaching 20k this weekend as that would require 4k and that was never happening. Well…

Yeah I got my 20k! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Wriye did a twitch stream this evening and so I joined in with the sprints after dinner. When it was over I realised I only needed another 600 words to get that 20k and so I kept plugging away until I got it. Crazy, crazy. Like this is NaNo magic again. This is what used to happen in November until it stopped working a couple of years ago.

It’s entirely Sanctuary’s doing I think. I love that show far too much at the moment. I’m a little bit sad that I’ve run out of ideas of tags I can deep-dive and I need more gifsets. I actually wound up googling today how I can get footage off DVD’s as I briefly considered learning how to make my own. I’m sorry I just need all the Sanctuary content. I don’t care the shows a decade cancelled. I need it.

Anyway, the five have now been executed and resurrected, I had a fluffy christmas OT3 flashback and Helen’s all screaming in her head now “I didn’t want to remember that! I’ve spent a century trying to forget how much I love them dammit!” Xan wants them just to escape already but Helen’s not leaving until they get what they came for – the source blood.

Fun times 🙂

Words Written: 4,032
Current Total: 20,007

I was singularly distracted all day. Not by memes this time but by the wait, it was really starting to wear on my last nerve. The world has heaved a great sigh of relief this day and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to all Americans.

So words! Did they still happen? Yes, yes they did.

Not very many before PA saved our collective sanity and announced but I kept plugging away at it after dinner to make up the count. On WriYe the challenge is “5k weekend” and so I wanted to get at least half that today so tomorrow wouldn’t be a total uphill slog. Ideally this morning I wanted a bit more because I did have some pie in the sky thoughts about trying to hit 20k for the month tomorrow (I’d need 4k tomorrow for that so that’s not likely).

Anyway, Helen has finally allowed herself to think about feelings a tiny bit (she was avoiding the topic even in her own head up until now). They got caught entering Praxis and are currently restrained in the execution chamber. Oh no! How will our heroes get out of this one? Hehe 🙂 

Although to be honest I think at the moment Helen and John are more concerned by the fact that James was taken somewhere else….

Words Written: 2,523
Current Total: 15,975  

Well holy shit that was a lot to wake up to this morning.

I can’t stop laughing. The constant stream of memes has been a distraction but dear god didn’t we all need a laugh. Plus it amuses the hell out of me to think of some poor college student in the future trying to make sense of it all for a paper.

Anyway, I still wrote words. I must waffle or something because the gang are just in the tunnels approaching Praxis now. So no action yet but tomorrow for sure there will be soldiers with guns, and yelling and shooting, and death and resurrection, and daring escapes and stealing stuff.

That’s the plan anyway. I also think I need to start getting a little less subtle with this OT3. Maybe I’ll work in a flashback to Oxford days, I think that would go well with the whole death/resurrection thing. You know, my last thought was of you. I just got to do it. Honestly this ship is so damn tragic.

Oh! And I’m now 2 days ahead of pace. I love Sanctuary 🙂

Words Written: 2,052
Current Total: 13,452 

We’ve left Helen’s office, rejoice! Haha.

Honestly I didn’t think words were going to happen today. I woke up tired which I didn’t get because I’d had my usual amount of sleep (I was less tired yesterday after only two hours sleep!) and then I had to clean the house. That made me even more tired and the news really doesn’t help.

It got to 3pm and I opened up what I wrote yesterday. I fiddled with it for an hour and so it was even later. I mean I struggle to start things at the best of times but at 4pm? Yeah that’s a stopping time, not a starting one. However, I decided I had to a least get a few words – get out of the damn office – so I finished that. I was then only a couple of hundred away from 10k so I started the next scene, and then I was only a bit away from 1k, and anyway I managed to grow it.

I’m proud of myself for today. It would have been easy to have not bothered, I was a day ahead of pace anyway. It would have been easy to have watched TV or played Warcraft this evening, but instead I kept plugging away at it. I actually chose to do that, so yeah I’m proud of me.

Tomorrow will be a bit more action-orientated as The Five (four) break into Praxis to steal the blood. I wonder what that’ll do for my words.

Words Written: 2,454
Current Total: 11,400