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#$10novel – day 15 – HULK SMASH!

Dave made a valiant effort.

At 10:40am, he sent me a link to War & Peace, suggesting that i might like to spend the day reading.

At 1:10pm, he detailed all the things he would do with his $10, donations to despicable causes.

At 4:10pm, he sent me a study outlining the health problems associated with lack of sleep. A nap, he suggested, was in order.

It was a good try, Dave, but i am happy to report my $10 is saved.

Instead, you get a plethora of muppets!

Novel Excerpt:
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     They sat around a butcher block table in a white kitchen lit with warm light. He’d offered coffee but Amp had waved it off. “We really have to get out of here soon.”
     Mr. Winters looked out the window. “I think we all may.”
     The kitchen was bright, feminine, whoever had designed it had hand-drawn vines as trim along the ceiling. Mr. Winters caught Ras looking at it and said, “Mrs. Winters decorated herself.” His face fell. “She passed through the veil a year ago.”
     Ras looked down. “I’m sorry.”
     He appeared vulnerable and old for a moment, then he straightened his back, his face fell into the enigmatic mask he’d held in the church. “We’ll all pass through the veil. I look forward to becoming an elder.”
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Tomorrow’s Contestant: Kevin Kenan

I have to get to 68,000 words by the time i go to bed tomorrow, or i owe Kevin ten bucks.

Novelburns Update

Still there, still itchy. I’ll probably dye them sometime in the next few days. Pictures to follow.

Body Update

Did some DDR and a few pushups and situps, but not as much as i’d like.

Bed!

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#$10novel – day 11 – SNORT!

Dammit. I made myself cry again.

The end of ACT I is kind of intense for me. I guess i forgot.

Anyway, i’m on page 257, (50,243 words in.)

ACT I is done. Whew.

No $10 for Emily, so she doesn’t have to feel guilty. 😛

Instead, Emily gets a dragon of awesome!

Novel Excerpt:
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     Ras took Joyce’s hand, squeezed it and turned to go, But he pulled her back, leaned in close to her ear. He whispered but she heard him perfectly through the cacophonous noise. “My dear, thank you so much for what you do for me tonight. May all your dreams come true.”
     She leaned away, didn’t know what to say, so she just smiled and made her way to the stage.
     Backstage was almost as loud as the club. She and Beth and Brian wove their way in to the dark wings. Beth and Brian set down their bags sort through their juggling gear.
     The lights flared and Beth saw a man in a side room, sitting in a wheelchair staring at the floor. He looked sad.
     She wanted to go to him but was distracted when the band finished their song. The crowd swelled to a deafening roar.

Next up: Loreen Heneghan

P.S. –

Body Update:

Food: Raw and Vegan, plus juice
DDR: 0 songs
Bike: 40 mins
Walk: 6 blocks
Push-ups: 10
Abs: 0 mins

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#$10novel – day 7 – BOOYAH!

The $20 dollars is saved!

I wrote for nine hours today. Wrote / edited/ rewrote a total of 8000 words. I threw away two chapters and two scenes and rewrote from scratch two other scenes that were scaring the crap out of me

Man, i am achy, sore, fried and wired.

Nina, Ethan, i apologize for stealing back my $20. As a consolation prize, Nina, you get a picture of a My Little Pony ™, Ethan you get France!

Story fragment

(Sorry, am too tired to edit it, so it’s pretty clunky):
———————————————–
     The wind was warm on Ras’ face. She settled into a deck chair on a concrete patio in the Jones’ backyard.
     She was finally starting to relax when Beth startled her by taking her hand. “Hey, hon. Can I ask you something?”
     She leaned back. It felt so nice to hold Beth’s hand again. It’d been a long time. “Sure.”
     Beth kept her eyes on the ground, like she felt shy. Ras smiled. It’d been a long time since she felt intimate with Beth in any way.
     The falling sun made Beth squint as she looked out over the fence. “There’s a river around the bend. Brian and I were talking about taking a walk.”
     Ras smiled even bigger. “I’ll get my coat.”
     Beth squeezed her hand, looked at the ground again. “Um, we’ve all been in each other’s faces for a few days. I think he and I could use some alone time.”
     Ras’ heart felt a little painful squeeze.
     Beth said, “That’s okay, right?”
     Her neck tensed up. “Sure, of course.”
     Beth gave her hand one more squeeze and let it go. “Great. We’ll see you later.”
———————————————–

Next up: My awesome friend and editor of Shimmer Magazine, Beth Wodzinski.

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#$10novel – Day 4 – ZAP!

I woke up at 5am and began writing by 7. I actually finished earlier today, getting to 30,065 words (1000 more than i needed today!) by the afternoon, but then i got so busy i didn’t have time to post. I really should be sleeping, getting ready to write tomorrow morning.

Of course this steals the $10 from the hungry mouth of AnarchicQ, but … wait, i’m not suggesting AnarchicQ eats ten dollar bills, but … well never mind. Sorry AnarchicQ.

For a consolation prize, i post a monopoly board:

Story fragment:
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The car’s dim headlights illuminated dripping Hornbeam trees until full daybreak burned away the moisture. The sun was high by the time they drove through Orlando, Ocala, then Gainsvile. Their pooled money bought them tortillas and beans from a tiny Hispanic market in Tifton. Four hours later they parked just outside of a small town named Melrose, on the Georgia border.
They made their bed on the folded front seats of the car. They’d only had one night sleeping apart in the big tent, but Ras felt shy with them again. The seats were uncomfortable, the stick shift and seat belts poking through the padding. It took a while to settle, but eventually they slept, leaning on each other, piled with blankets and pillows.
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Next up: Friend and colleague, John Burridge, who i am sure will spend the $10 on either Pepsi, chocolate or Ceylon tea.

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#$10novel – Day 2 : Pow!

I got 3200 words written and Sean gets no pizza, nor a robot army.

Instead, he gets a picture of awesome.

Yikes! Another fragment from today’s writing:
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     It was like the walls were angry. He dropped to his knees into the black soot but the pain still dug in deeper and deeper. Searching blindly, he crawled out of the fireplace, not even caring whether he was on the tarp, sure he was leaving sooty black hand prints on the perfect white carpet.
     The zap still burned cold, but the shaking focus stayed back in the fireplace. It pushed at him, like a gusting wind. He managed to stand just as Mr. Smith came into the room. The pressure from Smith balance the angry energy from the fireplace and he felt like he’d be crushed between the two forces.
     Mr. Smith looked lost, confused. “The carpet, it’s ruined.”
     Amp tried to focus on him through the pain, managed to keep his eyes on Smith’s face. “I’m sorry.”
     “It’s all ruined.”
     Amp didn’t know how or why, but he got up and stumbled forward until his hands were on Smiths shirt, leaving black streaks across his front.
     “I’m ruined.” Mr. Smith hung his head. His voice cracked like he was about to weep. “Ruined.”
     Amp didn’t recognize the voice that came out from his own mouth. “I’m not ruined. I’m okay. I’m fine.”
     Mr. Smith said, “I’m fine.”
     “I’m okay.” Amp said.
     “I’m okay” Mr. Smith repeated.

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Something like that…

Today went faster. It only took me three or so hours to get through my words today. But i know this is just going to get harder and harder as i work my way into the more broken parts of the book. Whew!

Tune in tomorrow: Next up, Amal!

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