Nanowrimo Complete!

Well, I’ve done it!

51,935words, and the story (or part one anyway, there’s definitely heaps of room for a sequel!) is complete!

So, now I have these nifty little winner pictures, and a certificate… which means I need to decide on a name for my story. Why is it that after writing 50,000-odd words, it’s always coming up with a title that’s the hardest?

(oh, and is it just me, or does the cool ship look like the Dawn Treader?)

ETA: Well, I now have a title… Instinct. Sound interesting?

Nanowrimo…

50,583!

Yes, that means I reached the target!

I do have to finish up my story… which means writing one more main scene, but I should have time to do that tomorrow (today really… just later on, after I’ve gone to sleep and woken up again!).

So while I’m really happy to have hit 50,000, I don’t feel quite finished yet. I always like to finish the story as well, so that it feels like a complete novel.

Of course, in this case, that also means that I’m ending it at ‘Part One’… the story ended up being far too epic for just 50,000 words to cover everything. So, like Lord of the RIngs, my story will have be multiple stories… a whole series I guess…

And Part One is almost finished!

So I just wanted to post that, because reaching that 50,000 mark is a really great feeling.

another Nanowrimo update…

Here I am, yet again, sitting down at my computer and thinking about the number of words I have left to write.

It’s day twenty-eight. Which means that I have about two and half days left in which to hit 50,000 words.

I’ve already written almost 6,000 words today and my fingers were complaining after that so I took a bit of a break. Now I’m back again to try and churn out another 4,000 words.

Of course, being that I’ve reached the last 10,000 words, I need to try and also figure out just what I’m going to cover and how I’m going to end the story. Oh joy.

So, to summarise

Wordcount: 40,044

Words left to go: 9,956

Days left: 2.5

Nanowrimo Update…

I realise I haven’t really been blogging that much (not that I have a track record of blogging all that much), so thought it was time to add another post.

It is day 26 of November, which makes it the 26th day of Nanowrimo.

I have 31,120words.

That means I only have 18,880words and 4 days (not including today) to go!

Ah well, I figured that last year I was writing 6,000 words a day towards the end in order to get the 50,000 in time, so I should be fine.

And I just wrote just under 6,000 today, which I’m rather proud of. My fingers are feeling it, but the words are written, so I’m happy.

For those who are interested… my word count record (which is kind of correct, but not entirely… although the more recent days should be correct it really depends on when I updated it), looks kind of like this…

Searching for a Hero

I watched King Arthur again last night.

It’s one of those films that just make me want to write. And blog about them. A bit gory for my tastes, but it still leaves me full of ideas and inspiration, etc.

And so I was thinking (as I often do after watching films like that). I was thinking about how we have these ideas that heroes aren’t as popular in today’s world. Because people are over that. They realise they’re selfish beings, and they don’t expect anyone else to be good enough to be a hero.

But then I watch a film like King Arthur. And sure, he’s just a guy, but he’s also a hero – in the classical sense of the word. You know, good and just and selfless, etc.

As Guinevere says to Arthur at one stage, talking about what she has heard about him, “Fairy tales. The kind you hear about people so brave, so selfless, that they can’t be real.”

And despite the fact that there seems to be an idea that we’re over heroes. That people don’t want heroes anymore because they see them as unattainable, these great people that we can’t even imagine being – people are still making movies like King Arthur.

And that encourages me. Because it means that there are still people out there who want heroes. Who desire to be heroes.

Because isn’t that what we do?

We watch these films and we imagine what it would be like. To be brave and selfless like that. Because as much as we are selfish, we also desire to be selfless. To be heroes. To lead men into battle not because they fear us, but because they respect us. To commit great deeds which had a purpose, which have meaning, to leave something behind in this life so that isn’t worthless.

To have made a difference.

Isn’t that what we want?

NaNoWriMo update

2,220 words.

The End of an Era…

… well okay… maybe not quite.
Like many others, I’ve just finished my final year at Uni. Which means no more studying (well okay, I doubt I’ll ever stop learning things, but no more pressure to learn this and do that… for now, at least). And it means that I’m kind of at a crossroads in my life. Where do I go from here?

I figure the best thing to do right now is ask God what He wants me to do. Where He wants me to go.

While I’m doing that, I also have a bit more free time on my hands. And I was reminded that I’ve been neglecting this poor blog. Hence the post.

It’s also November, which means that NaNoWriMo is in full swing my now, and I, having waited to finish Uni work before starting, have yet to put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard). So my total wordcount is on zero.

Who are you in One Word?

A lot of my thoughts recently have been taken up by Narnia. The reason for this, of course, is due to the fact that the Prince Caspian film came out recently. Well, a bit ago. It’s taken me a bit to get around to blogging about it.

Of course, being me, watching the film wasn’t enough. I also re-read the book. And Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And re-watched The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. So I’ve been rather Narnia-focused for a bit.

It was after watching LWW again that I was thinking about their titles. You know, High King Peter, the Magnificent; Queen Susan, the Gentle; King Edmund, the Just; Queen Lucy, the Valient. And I was thinking, what would my title be?

Every Moment of my Life

We often talk about the fact that God has a plan for our life, or that God knows when things should happen, or that God is control of everything, or that God determines how long someone is going to live. It’s a fairly oft-heard phrase to say that when someone dies they have completed the tasks God set for them, and therefore He has called them home.

In my experience, in Christian circles, these things aren’t questioned all that much.

But I was thinking – if we accept that God has a plan for our lives, and that He is in control of everything, and therefore, He is in control of when we die, then doesn’t it stand to reason that God knows exactly what we should doing each and every second of our lives?

The Price of Love

I was thinking about Valentine’s Day the other day, and it made me start thinking about love, and what would be the best thing someone has ever given you for Valentine’s Day – or just any time really. I’m of the opinion that it’s more special for someone to buy you something on a day that has no special significance then to remember Valentine’s Day (not that I’d particularly want them to forget).

 But I’m getting off-topic.

 I was thinking, what would be the best thing you’ve ever been given? The thing that most makes you sure that someone loves you?

Chocolates and Roses get crossed off the list immediately. After all, they’re pretty generic (at least in Western Countries), and don’t need much thought.

Something special, something that has meaning, something specific – that would probably be pretty high up in the list, right?

Well, what’s the best thing I’ve ever been given? A nice card or meaningful letter? Something that was very expensive? Something I really wanted? Something handmade? Maybe if someone helped you to reconcile with an old friend or family member you’ve been apart from for a while?

And I realised that I’ve been given all of those things – and all by the same person.