Monday, November 4, 2013

Progress Report 1

So, I decided that Monday's would be NaNo progress report days! On progress report days I will tell you guys my total word count, whether or not I'm on track, and I'll post my favorite snippets from that week.

This Monday, I'm behind by like, two days! But, for a good reason! A friend of ours had her baby this morning. We were there yesterday, last night, and most of today. And writing  at the hospital was near impossible! I only got about 500 words done before I gave it up. There were too many people coming in and out for me to be able to concentrate.

So far, my total word count is 4,104 words. As of midnight tonight, I need to have 6,668 words. As you can see, I'm wayyy behind!

Now, for the snippets!:)

I'm going to set the scene for this snippet. So, Jacory is out doing some Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve when a woman slips a note into his hand. This snippet is what the letter says.


Jacory,

At this current time you have no idea who I am or why I am writing this letter, but in the months to come you will begin to understand. My name is Cynthia Storm. You will never hear me called this, though. I will not introduce myself with that name when we meet, either. I know you are wondering why I wrote a letter to begin with- why not call, or say all of this in person?- but it has to be this way. We cannot meet until the appointed day. If we meet any sooner it would alter the flow of events and it could (possibly) change how and when everything takes place. It’s not hard to guess that if that happens- well, never mind. Let’s just make sure that doesn’t happen.

The main reason I am writing this letter is to warn you. I need to warn you that some men are going to come after you. I don’t know exactly when, but it will be sometime in the next two weeks. Don’t let them catch you. They catch you; they kill you. They’ll seem like your friends. Like someone you want to trust. They’ll even tell you that you can’t trust me. That I mean to kill you. If that were true, I would have already done it. When they come for you, you need to run! Get away from them as quickly as possible. You can’t leave until they come to your house, though. When they do come, you need to get to London. I can’t tell you why, and I don’t care how, just get there. Preferably without getting killed, okay?

I promise that when we meet I will be able to tell you a little more. Not everything, but I will be able to tell you a little. I wish I could tell you more now, but it would cause trouble. I know you are very confused and undoubtedly a little afraid, but just remember these things: get away from the men, get to London, and don’t die. Easy, right?

                                                                      Can’t wait to meet you,
                                                                                                     CS

For the next scene, Jac just showed up at his family's Christmas party. He's being greeted by his cousins Shaun and Robyn. Shaun and Robyn are time-travelers, but no one in their family knows that. Their cover jobs are that Shaun is the manager of a pencil-making factory and Robyn is his personal assistant.


“Hey man! How’ve you been?” Shaun asked, shaking my hand.  

      “Pretty good, how about yourself?”

      “Busy, busy. Work has kicked up. It’s been a bit stressful.”

      “Oh, yeah. I’m sure the pencil factory business is just so stressful!” I remarked.

      Robyn hugged me and then backed up Shaun’s statement,

      “He’s not lying, you know. It is stressful right now.”  

      “Oh, so you’re in the business now, too? Leave it to me to be the cousin of the two most boring people in the world.” I teased.
 
In this next snippet, Jac is still teasing the twins about their jobs, but the setting has changed. Now they're walking to the barn from Jac's parents house.
 
     “I love your parents’ place, Jac,” Shaun announced, “I want to move somewhere like this one day.”
     “Yeah, it’s nice, isn’t it?”
     My parents lived on a farm. Growing up we always had at least ten horses along with goats, peacocks (my mother loved them), and tons of dogs. Now that I was gone, they cut the horses down to five.
    “Why’d you ever want to move in the first place, Jac?” Robyn questioned me.
     “I wanted to get away for a while. I might move back when my lease is up.”
    “I bet you regret moving. Now you’re stuck working in a shop nine to five every weekday. What a drag.” Robyn teased.
    “Coming from the girl who works as an assistant to the manager of a pencil-making factory. And since when did you start saying ‘drag’?” I could dish it right back.
    “Since I fell in love with nineteen-fifties America.”
    “I’ll have you know, managing a factory is much better than working the register at a clothing shop.” Robyn nodded in agreement with what Shaun said, and Shaun gave me his best snob impression.
      “Alright, alright, I deserved that! But that still didn’t mean you had to say it.” I pretended to be hurt. Neither fell for it.
 
 
Ok, progress report over!

2 comments:

  1. The letter reminded me of Lemony Snicket books. Very mysterious and makes you want to know more. It sounds like you are off to a great start! It sounds like a really good book.

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  2. You have no idea how awesome it is to be compared to such an amazing author! He is a favorite of mine!:) The whole plot was sort of built around the letter and the woman who gives it to Jac. Thanks so much! I'm really excited about where it's going!

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