So as of this morning I am only 9k off “winning” Camp NaNo for August. I am sure I will meet the target easily. I may even get there tonight if I do not fall asleep again. That however has become a big if.
I often fall asleep while writing. That usually has nothing to do with the interest level of a novel I am working on but more to do with the state my mind goes into while writing. I often find myself writing somewhere between consciousness and the dream world. Some of my best work comes from being in that zone. And yes sometimes I do nod off.
The problem I am having is I am treading water with this one and not getting anywhere. I know the ending and it is fabulous. The beginning is intriguing enough. It is this middle section that is troubling. I have had to evaluate why I have just written 5k words and nothing more has happened then the poor protagonist has slept, had a shower and went swimming.
I know the point of NaNo is to just write and sort it all out later and that worked brilliantly for me in November but this time that tactic is not going to work. My own novel is putting me to sleep after all.
I need more tension and I need more conflict. I need to torture the poor girl so she does not have time to sleep, shower or swim. And this is what I intend to do. The problem is I need to go backwards in the story to make any forward progress. I need to make things harder on my protagonist. She needs to scratch her way to freedom, she needs to get off her backside and toughen up and she needs to stop crying so much. The entire fate of our world is in her hands after all.
Into the Sun 
Goodness…I really want to read this, now! Any chance of a snippet? 😉
This is where she is in the beginning:
The man in front of me smells of urine. I am sure I see actual insects crawling in his hair. I would take a step backwards but the woman behind me already has no concept of personal space and I think she has a cold. She is breathing heavily and a few times I have felt the force of her cough part the hair on the back of my head. I wish I had the courage to turn around and ask her to cover her mouth but I don’t. I hate this about myself. I am all thoughts and no action.
This is our midpoint:
My entire body is either aching or bruised. I rub my eyes and gaze up at the ceiling. I fell asleep on the floor. I crawl over to the door and reach up for the knob. It is still locked. I put my back against it and feel fire ripple through my ribs. My side has been rubbed raw from where I was dragged across the carpet. It does not even remotely compare to how raw my insides feel. I ache there worse.
This is a part of the end:
Anthony Brown looking up at me begging for mercy will be a look that haunts me for the rest of my life. The overall body count has been too high for it to cripple me though. I can’t let it. This is only the beginning. There is more blood to get on my hands. I feel Peter’s hand in the small of my back supporting me as I walk out on the platform. The people need me to be who I really am but for now I will pretend to be the person they think I am.
It is getting her from the beginning to the end smoothly and without the readers falling asleep that I need to work on now. Thanks for the support as always!
Oh, thank you for sharing this. It sounds even more intriguing and I know that you will be able to fill it out with perfection!
Congrats on getting your word count up there! I am starting to feel sorry for your protagonist, she is about to experience real life.
Thank you Patti! A few days of lounging on the couch with my laptop have helped.
Life is already hard in this girl’s world it is just she has not had to deal with real pain or loss until now. She can handle what she is about to experience…or at least I hope she can. 🙂
Middles always plague me too. But you’ve got the answer in you from the sounds of it. Very intriguing story!