It's official ...
I finally finished today, two days ahead of the deadline!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Freakin' Insane
So you wanna know something? ... Life is freaking nuts ... and I'm not talking about the literal, physical nut you eat on an airplane (which, btw, they don't give out anymore unless you pay for them ... cheap bastards). But really, like is freakin' crazy. I remember telling myself one time that I loved the way my life, as a roller coaster, used to be the scariest yet most thrilling ride I had ever been on, but now that I am here in this place in my life I'm so freaking bored. Isn't that nuts? One day I'm a senior in high school, engaged, and the next I'm a Junior in college, single, writing a novel in a month. I don't know about you, but that's a lot of change in three years. Don't get me wrong though, I don't take back anything I have done because it has molded me into the person I am today, but I do wish that I had dragged my friends along the way. I used to have a "crew" and look at me now, I'm a freaking hermit with two friends who rarely hang out aside from study groups. It's true, we all have our own lives - I have my writing, friend one has her awesome job, and friend two has a kid. What more could I ask for? Lol, that wasn't a question that actually needed an answer. But seriously, freaking nuts, right?
So I'm sitting here in the black abyss that is my room, tucked under my new flannel sheets from LL Bean, and I'm thinking to myself ... how am I going to instigate a subplot into my novel without it sounding too cliche? Seriously, that's all I think about - NaNoWriMo. Please someone find me a boyfriend lol. Not really, I don't have time, but thanks anyway. I would just be super duper joyous if all of my friends moved to my town instead of living across the world. Thanks Santa, I'll leave that one to you.
So I'm sitting here in the black abyss that is my room, tucked under my new flannel sheets from LL Bean, and I'm thinking to myself ... how am I going to instigate a subplot into my novel without it sounding too cliche? Seriously, that's all I think about - NaNoWriMo. Please someone find me a boyfriend lol. Not really, I don't have time, but thanks anyway. I would just be super duper joyous if all of my friends moved to my town instead of living across the world. Thanks Santa, I'll leave that one to you.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Chapter Five - Emily (cont.)
[Here is the continuation of yesterday's excerpt. Remember, it's not edited.]
Dracula nodded in understanding. He opened the heavy wooden door using its metal handle. It swung open without any sound, mimicking the vampire mannerisms.
After opening the door, Dracula stepped aside to allow Neroma to enter before himself. Dracula followed after her and shut the wooden door behind him.
Before them, two humans sat on the cold stone floor. Their wrists and ankles were clasped in irons which were chained to the stone wall behind them.
The human on the left was a thin woman who looked about eighteen years of age. She had long black hair and pale skin, but not as pale as her visitors. The dress she wore was a dark green and would have reached her ankles if she stood up to her full height. It had been buttoned up the back with delicate fingers that were not her own. There were tear stains on the girl’s face and her cheeks were dirty. Her hands and feet were covered in blood. She had struggled so defiantly with the shackles themselves that she made her wrists and ankles bleed. She was most likely the one who had been heard screaming.
The human on the right was a female as well who looked about twenty years of age. She had long brown hair and somewhat tanned skin. She also wore a dress about the same length, but hers was not as fancy as the dark green the other girl wore. This girl’s dress was a light brown which resembled the color of the soil, it had patches in a few places, and the hem was so dirty it was almost black. There were no tear stains on her face and her body was free of blood. She had not struggled as far as the surface was concerned.
“You will choose one,” Neroma began, “and you will change her. This is your cure.”
Dracula was still appraising the two females on the floor before him. He did not notice their beauty, nor how the second girl’s beauty out weighed the other’s.
Neroma turned Dracula’s face to look upon hers.
“Choose one and change her,” Neroma repeated.
“I do not know how Neroma, please guide me.” Dracula said.
Neroma let her hand fall from under his face as she turned to face the women on the floor.
“Pick the one to change first,” Neroma began to guide him.
Dracula studied each of them, but still surpassed their beauty because Neroma was the only woman in the world to him.
He noticed the first woman’s aristocratic manner of her dress compared to the second woman’s dirty garden dress. By simply looking into their faces, Dracula could tell that the first was spoiled and selfish. Dracula did not think she would make a good addition to Neroma’s coven. Neroma’s coven was hard working and devoted, but this girl would not be either of the two.
The second woman’s manner was the opposite of the firsts. She looked to be a hard worker, especially with her hands. Her face was firm and she had not cried out as far as anyone knew.
“Pick me!” The first woman shouted. “Please! I want to live.”
Dracula’s gave did not shift from the second woman’s figure; she had not flinched or shown any emotion when the other woman had cried out. She was not afraid.
Dracula nodded in the second woman’s direction, but to the human’s eyes it could have been directed towards either of them. Neroma knew, unlike the humans, which one Dracula had picked.
“That is a good choice my pet,” Neroma said as she laid a hand on Dracula’s back.
His eyes closed in satisfaction; he had pleased her.
“Me! You must mean me. Who would want her?” The first girl said.
“Silence,” Neroma said.
“Oh thank you, thank you!” The first girl continued.
“Silence!” Neroma’s commanding voice echoed throughout the dungeon and the first girl shrank back against the wall behind her.
“Now dear one, follow my guidance.” Neroma told Dracula.
Dracula nodded.
Neroma lowered her voice so that only Dracula could hear her. “The one you have picked, you will approach her. You will sink your fangs into her as you would prey, but instead of draining her you will leave her barely alive. After you have done this you will cut your own skin, making yourself bleed into her mouth. She will drink of your blood and soon be one of our kind.”
Dracula nodded again.
He waited for barely a second to make sure Neroma had nothing else to add, and then he began walking towards the second woman. She did not show fear, nor did she cry out or plead. Her fate was approaching slowly with each step Dracula took and she did not plan to fight. Destiny was destiny and nothing more nor less.
Dracula bent down near her face.
“This time, it will not hurt.” Dracula said.He was not addressing the second woman, but all of his prey who were now in the afterlife.
Dracula nodded in understanding. He opened the heavy wooden door using its metal handle. It swung open without any sound, mimicking the vampire mannerisms.
After opening the door, Dracula stepped aside to allow Neroma to enter before himself. Dracula followed after her and shut the wooden door behind him.
Before them, two humans sat on the cold stone floor. Their wrists and ankles were clasped in irons which were chained to the stone wall behind them.
The human on the left was a thin woman who looked about eighteen years of age. She had long black hair and pale skin, but not as pale as her visitors. The dress she wore was a dark green and would have reached her ankles if she stood up to her full height. It had been buttoned up the back with delicate fingers that were not her own. There were tear stains on the girl’s face and her cheeks were dirty. Her hands and feet were covered in blood. She had struggled so defiantly with the shackles themselves that she made her wrists and ankles bleed. She was most likely the one who had been heard screaming.
The human on the right was a female as well who looked about twenty years of age. She had long brown hair and somewhat tanned skin. She also wore a dress about the same length, but hers was not as fancy as the dark green the other girl wore. This girl’s dress was a light brown which resembled the color of the soil, it had patches in a few places, and the hem was so dirty it was almost black. There were no tear stains on her face and her body was free of blood. She had not struggled as far as the surface was concerned.
“You will choose one,” Neroma began, “and you will change her. This is your cure.”
Dracula was still appraising the two females on the floor before him. He did not notice their beauty, nor how the second girl’s beauty out weighed the other’s.
Neroma turned Dracula’s face to look upon hers.
“Choose one and change her,” Neroma repeated.
“I do not know how Neroma, please guide me.” Dracula said.
Neroma let her hand fall from under his face as she turned to face the women on the floor.
“Pick the one to change first,” Neroma began to guide him.
Dracula studied each of them, but still surpassed their beauty because Neroma was the only woman in the world to him.
He noticed the first woman’s aristocratic manner of her dress compared to the second woman’s dirty garden dress. By simply looking into their faces, Dracula could tell that the first was spoiled and selfish. Dracula did not think she would make a good addition to Neroma’s coven. Neroma’s coven was hard working and devoted, but this girl would not be either of the two.
The second woman’s manner was the opposite of the firsts. She looked to be a hard worker, especially with her hands. Her face was firm and she had not cried out as far as anyone knew.
“Pick me!” The first woman shouted. “Please! I want to live.”
Dracula’s gave did not shift from the second woman’s figure; she had not flinched or shown any emotion when the other woman had cried out. She was not afraid.
Dracula nodded in the second woman’s direction, but to the human’s eyes it could have been directed towards either of them. Neroma knew, unlike the humans, which one Dracula had picked.
“That is a good choice my pet,” Neroma said as she laid a hand on Dracula’s back.
His eyes closed in satisfaction; he had pleased her.
“Me! You must mean me. Who would want her?” The first girl said.
“Silence,” Neroma said.
“Oh thank you, thank you!” The first girl continued.
“Silence!” Neroma’s commanding voice echoed throughout the dungeon and the first girl shrank back against the wall behind her.
“Now dear one, follow my guidance.” Neroma told Dracula.
Dracula nodded.
Neroma lowered her voice so that only Dracula could hear her. “The one you have picked, you will approach her. You will sink your fangs into her as you would prey, but instead of draining her you will leave her barely alive. After you have done this you will cut your own skin, making yourself bleed into her mouth. She will drink of your blood and soon be one of our kind.”
Dracula nodded again.
He waited for barely a second to make sure Neroma had nothing else to add, and then he began walking towards the second woman. She did not show fear, nor did she cry out or plead. Her fate was approaching slowly with each step Dracula took and she did not plan to fight. Destiny was destiny and nothing more nor less.
Dracula bent down near her face.
“This time, it will not hurt.” Dracula said.He was not addressing the second woman, but all of his prey who were now in the afterlife.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Chapter Five - Emily
[Here is an excerpt from my NaNo novel ... please remember it is not edited yet. I would appreciate it if you would keep your negative comments to yourself. Constructive criticism is happily accepted!]
“Follow me,” Neroma said.
She walked past Dracula and into the front entrance hallway. Instead of turning left toward the bend in the hallway and the black marble staircase, Neroma went straight across from the parlor.
Dracula had been this way only once because it led to the kitchens where blood was stored for emergencies. When they entered the hallway Neroma led him straight down and past the kitchens. There was a bend in this hallway as well, but this bend went to the left instead of the right as the other one did.
If Dracula’s mind was not being controlled by the madness and Neroma’s mind control, he would have been curious to see what lay around the bend since he had never been this far down the hallway, but he was not the slightest bit interested.
As they curved with the bend, a staircase leading to a lower level greeted them. Neroma descended the black marble stairs covered in the middle with red carpet and Dracula followed. Darkness greeted them as their footsteps took them lower under the mansion, but it did not affect their journey. The stairway was long and eventually the black marble began to fade out and was replaced, gradually, with cold grey stone.
Once they had reached the bottom, screaming and cries for help greeted their entrance. Neroma led Dracula through the tunnel they had arrived in and they went further under ground as they walked.
The walls were made up of the same grey stones the stairs had been. There were no fancy portraits on these walls, however, but water trickled down in their places. It provided the occasional visitor with a smell of mildew and rot; Dracula did not register this either.
There were also no doors to be seen as of yet, but then there was yet another bend in the passageway. Once they followed its curve they were greeted with a wooden door. Two guards, similar to the ones at the front entrance of the house, stood in front of the door with blank expressions. They too carried axes and spiral metal stakes, but their belts also included at least one rope.
Each guard nodded to Neroma in turn, foregoing the traditional bow so as to not lose their concentration of the duty at hand.
“Leave us,” Neroma told them.
This time they bowed and left the way Neroma and Dracula had come. They took their posts to the top of the stairs instead.
“In here awaits your cure,” Neroma said looking at Dracula.
“Follow me,” Neroma said.
She walked past Dracula and into the front entrance hallway. Instead of turning left toward the bend in the hallway and the black marble staircase, Neroma went straight across from the parlor.
Dracula had been this way only once because it led to the kitchens where blood was stored for emergencies. When they entered the hallway Neroma led him straight down and past the kitchens. There was a bend in this hallway as well, but this bend went to the left instead of the right as the other one did.
If Dracula’s mind was not being controlled by the madness and Neroma’s mind control, he would have been curious to see what lay around the bend since he had never been this far down the hallway, but he was not the slightest bit interested.
As they curved with the bend, a staircase leading to a lower level greeted them. Neroma descended the black marble stairs covered in the middle with red carpet and Dracula followed. Darkness greeted them as their footsteps took them lower under the mansion, but it did not affect their journey. The stairway was long and eventually the black marble began to fade out and was replaced, gradually, with cold grey stone.
Once they had reached the bottom, screaming and cries for help greeted their entrance. Neroma led Dracula through the tunnel they had arrived in and they went further under ground as they walked.
The walls were made up of the same grey stones the stairs had been. There were no fancy portraits on these walls, however, but water trickled down in their places. It provided the occasional visitor with a smell of mildew and rot; Dracula did not register this either.
There were also no doors to be seen as of yet, but then there was yet another bend in the passageway. Once they followed its curve they were greeted with a wooden door. Two guards, similar to the ones at the front entrance of the house, stood in front of the door with blank expressions. They too carried axes and spiral metal stakes, but their belts also included at least one rope.
Each guard nodded to Neroma in turn, foregoing the traditional bow so as to not lose their concentration of the duty at hand.
“Leave us,” Neroma told them.
This time they bowed and left the way Neroma and Dracula had come. They took their posts to the top of the stairs instead.
“In here awaits your cure,” Neroma said looking at Dracula.
Monday, November 10, 2008
NaNoWriMo
I just found out about NaNoWriMo yesterday, so I'm already more than a week behind but I thought I would give it a shot anyway. If I don't make the 50,000 words then that's cool, at least I'll have another manuscript to finish. :)
Here is the "summary" for my entry:
For centuries he has been known as Dracula, but what the world doesn't know is that he didn't enjoy it. Night after night he searched for a cure, but never found one. After years of failure and living as an outcast, his mind began to warp into madness, causing him to forget his morality all together and live a life he had always stayed away from.
He still lives among us today without recognition while still trying to find a cure, his madness leading him to be shunned by even the vampire world. His reputation was stemmed from the horror filled minds of the people in his village who had once claimed him as their friend, but had quickly turned their backs and pitchforks on him when he became ill.
Who will help him now? Who will be the one to destroy the madness within his mind and bring his morality back? Anyone, or no one? The madness will destroy him if no one steps up to the challenge.
Here is the "summary" for my entry:
For centuries he has been known as Dracula, but what the world doesn't know is that he didn't enjoy it. Night after night he searched for a cure, but never found one. After years of failure and living as an outcast, his mind began to warp into madness, causing him to forget his morality all together and live a life he had always stayed away from.
He still lives among us today without recognition while still trying to find a cure, his madness leading him to be shunned by even the vampire world. His reputation was stemmed from the horror filled minds of the people in his village who had once claimed him as their friend, but had quickly turned their backs and pitchforks on him when he became ill.
Who will help him now? Who will be the one to destroy the madness within his mind and bring his morality back? Anyone, or no one? The madness will destroy him if no one steps up to the challenge.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Oh So Inspired
It's been a few days which isn't really "normal" for me, but I've been completely weighed down with homework and studying. I finally got finished with Freud and will get my paper back on Tuesday, but then I still have to do the Jameson rewrite Tuesday night after class. I have most of that already in production though.
Mom and Dad were out of town most of last week which is another reason I haven't been around. I would like to say I was partying and having a good ol' time, but mostly what I did was homework and laundry. We had another fun study group for Freud. I actually haven't been able to work on my manuscripts in a few weeks, so that is what I've been doing today. I was inspired by Dante's Inferno which we are reading in Lit class and I've been itching to write out my latest ideas. It's turning out great so far, but we'll see how it ends up. I don't want to give away too much, but mostly because I'm paranoid about someone stealing my ideas. Happy weekend.
Mom and Dad were out of town most of last week which is another reason I haven't been around. I would like to say I was partying and having a good ol' time, but mostly what I did was homework and laundry. We had another fun study group for Freud. I actually haven't been able to work on my manuscripts in a few weeks, so that is what I've been doing today. I was inspired by Dante's Inferno which we are reading in Lit class and I've been itching to write out my latest ideas. It's turning out great so far, but we'll see how it ends up. I don't want to give away too much, but mostly because I'm paranoid about someone stealing my ideas. Happy weekend.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Complete Blow
Legend of the Seeker ... I have no words. Hollywood strikes again. It positively sucked! Wow, I was utterly depressed. Don't expect me to watch the rest of the season. There were so many things wrong with the entirety that I don't even know where to begin. In fact, I don't even want to begin because my rantings of the differences would take up the entire page. Ugh ... crap.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Legend of the Seeker
I didn't end up doing much last night other than watching "The Covenant" with a friend. Really good movie. I was asleep by 11:20 ... super fun Halloween night right? Oh well. It's actually my favorite "holiday", but I can't ever do what I would like to do. I'm not a Wicce or anything, but I do find Wiccan rituals fascinating.
I got a call from Carter Blood Care today and apparently my blood is awesome and they want more. So here I am about to go donate more blood even though last time was not very enjoyable. But if I were to depreive the needy of my blood for selfish reasons alone, I wouldn't be very humane now would I? It's the least I can do anyway.
Tonight is the premier of Legend of the Seeker and I'm pretty sure it's going to blow because they changed almost everything that Goodkind wrote, but it's still following Xena and Hercules and those were entertaining. I want to tell everyone who hasn't read the books to watch the series tonight, but then they will just be deprived of an amazing story. Hollywood completely botched Richard Cypher's world and it's pretty sad. I will, however, recommend the books to everyone because they are wicked awesome (if you enjoy reading a series of 12 books with 900 pages each).
I got a call from Carter Blood Care today and apparently my blood is awesome and they want more. So here I am about to go donate more blood even though last time was not very enjoyable. But if I were to depreive the needy of my blood for selfish reasons alone, I wouldn't be very humane now would I? It's the least I can do anyway.
Tonight is the premier of Legend of the Seeker and I'm pretty sure it's going to blow because they changed almost everything that Goodkind wrote, but it's still following Xena and Hercules and those were entertaining. I want to tell everyone who hasn't read the books to watch the series tonight, but then they will just be deprived of an amazing story. Hollywood completely botched Richard Cypher's world and it's pretty sad. I will, however, recommend the books to everyone because they are wicked awesome (if you enjoy reading a series of 12 books with 900 pages each).
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