Honestly, though, I have never written anything that is even close to 50k. The longest story I had ever written (before this) was the first draft of the Inhumans trilogy, which is currently sitting at 30k.

The Silver Sword still isn’t quite done yet. I planned it out using the 3-Act Story Structure method, and according to that, I have most, if not all, of Act 3 to still write. But for now, I’m satisfied with what I have.

Right now, the Silver Sword is going to have to take a backseat. I have another writing project to work on for Christmas, and Abby @ When Words Fly is hosting a Christmas writing contest! And because I don’t have enough on my plate already, I decided to enter! *facepalm*

But back to NaNo.

Actually, I stayed pretty on-track with the word goals this year. I decided to wake up a half-hour earlier every day to write, and that helped quite a bit. Apparently I write better at 6:30 in the morning??? Huh.

I didn’t think I would be able to win this year. November is always the second-busiest month of the year (and December is the busiest). In previous years (aka last year), I got about 5k in and then gave up.

What does this mean? Well. *clears throat for sermon*

If you didn’t give up, you’ve already won. Sure, maybe you didn’t hit 50,000, but you still did write. I know, this is the cliche advice that everybody says, but . . . it’s also true.

Enough with NaNo, however. After all, I have to satisfy my clickbait, right? ;)

Life Happenings

I discovered Hamilton. I’m going to be honest, I was VERY doubtful of the musical. It seemed over-hyped, most of the music was rap/hip-hop, which I am not a fan of - not to mention that it’s a musical about history. I mean, how well could Hamilton pull off this combination?

Well. I guess I shouldn’t judge until I listened. Yes, the rap does take some getting used to, and yes, there is some language that I would rather not listen to. But the lyrics are amazingly written, the music is catchy, and the storyline is so wild.

Also, I watched the Crimes of Grindelwald! Aside from a few parts I didn’t care for, I really enjoyed it. And THAT ENDING DESTROYED ME. (Credence easily made the entire movie worthwhile. Easily.)

For Thanksgiving, I met with both sides of my extended family to eat turkey and junk food and watch stuff on TV. Just your typical holiday. XD

Last weekend, I went to see to see my friend perform in her band, MJM7! You should definitely go check out their YouTube channel - it’s seriously awesome!

Gosh, what else happened? Honestly, November is kind of a blur.

But you guys are probably in this post for exactly one reason.

Silver Sword snippets (1st draft)

However, just to spice this up a little bit, you’ll also get behind-the-scenes sarcastic commentary!

This should be fun. Let’s do this. (The commentary will be in red, and the snippets will be in normal text. You probably already knew that. It’s fine.)

First, we're going to start it off with snippets from Faye's POV!

This is when Faye first meets Whit - with all the spoilers cut. 
Just as I thought it, he moved, and a long sigh escaped his mouth like a snake. His eyes opened, and he sat up, cradling his head in his hands. I was too scared to move, and watched him intently, making sure he wouldn’t start attacking me all of a sudden. 
“What now?” he asked, his voice a mere whisper. “Still going to kill me?”  
I didn’t answer. What was I supposed to say? If I said anything, he would know I wasn’t [SPOILER].
Fortunately, I didn’t have to say anything. The prisoner glanced up. When he saw me, he jumped.
The look in his eyes gave me chills. He didn’t look like a prisoner. He looked haunted - haunted by however long he had spent in [SPOILER'S] captivity.
“Um.” I gulped. How should I approach this? “Hi.”  

Yes, I was a healer and a Xylem Gardener, which meant that while I worked there, I couldn't eat meat. I knew that meat was killed animals. But it still tasted good. I had missed sausage.
Honestly, I wouldn’t survive in the Xylem Garden without meat. 

I’d always loved how people said “no offense” when they clearly meant offense, but I didn’t say anything about it to Whit. 

This is me getting irritated that people say "no offense" when they don’t mean it. -_- I PUT MY PET PEEVES IN STORIES, OKAY????
All right, and now it’s time for Rowan's!

Why was I shaking? I was only going to meet a girl. There was nothing to it. 
Hahahaha, yeah, right.

No one ever thinks that a prince could be lonely.
I’m actually rather proud of this line.

And this is when Rowan first meets Erin.
Following custom, I did not break eye contact as I lifted her warm hand and kissed it. “A pleasure to meet you milady.”
She held my gaze for a full second.
Then she burst into laughter. “Oh, my. Sorry - was not expecting that. Hold on a sec.” She doubled over with laughter. In desperation, I looked at Jules, hoping for some advice. He grinned and shrugged at me.
The books had never prepared me for something like this. I simply stood there, pretending to be a statue.
When the girl had recovered herself, she met my eyes again, her cheeks flushed pink from her hystery. “Sorry, my lord.” She bowed.
“Please - there is no need,” I said, reverting back to the script I had read in so many of my ancestors’ journals. “You may call me Rowan.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Okay, Rowan.” I could tell that she was barely holding back laughter. I did my best to ignore it. “So you’re the chap I have to marry.” Nodding, she added, “A little rough around the edges?”
“I am - sure I do not know what you mean,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I could make out Lorcan covering his mouth. I was sure he was laughing at me.
What was I supposed to do now? They had never taught me to prepare for a girl who was not serious about taking the queenship.

(Just pretend that this conversation makes sense.)

-Nicole

How was your NaNos? What are your WIPs about? Let’s talk!