The story is currently titled: Lines of Eterminty: French Charades it was originally thought up in 2002, and was my NaNoWriMo 52k word story in 2009.
In 2002 I was living in Northern California and on the verge of some life altering events. One night I had a dream about a young woman wearing a noble's dress while wielding a sword. There was a short conversation that was mostly in French and my main female character (MFC), Arien, was born.
The next three days saw me locked inside my room scribbling furiously as I committed her (then tiny) story to paper. It was one of the most horrible things I have ever written and an example of my writing style in those years. Lots of dialogue with no real back drop.
Originally my main Male Character (MMC) was based off men I knew in real life. Two of them specifically but they were an awful lot alike. At the time his name was Kai. I knew that the original story wasn't long enough and wasn't the whole story so in 2003 I set out to rewrite it by hand.
I purchased a lovely hard bound blank journal from the bookstore and set about neatly writing the story in pencil. Thirty three pages in I lost the story. It ran from me as if I had abused it. I put it down and walked away from it, though at the back of my mind Arien was begging me to complete her tale.
My life changed years passed and in 2006 I moved to a four year university. I picked up the story again and started trying to write it on the computer. Something was wrong, the story would not move beyond the introduction of the MMC.
Frustrated and sinking into an insane college life I put the story down again. Then I met Mike (MC Etcher). He was talking some sort of nonsense about an insane writing challenge called NaNoWriMo. I'd heard it whispered before when I used to spend countless hours on LiveJournal but had never known anyone insane enough to attempt this in real life.
With Mike and two other people talking NaNoWriMo in my ear I decided to join the challenge and on November 1st, 2008 I opened a blank Word Document and prepared to put Arien's life on paper.
It didn't happen. Instead of her story another flowed, one that was largely for healing. I wrote and wrote and though that story is unfinished, unedited, and lingering in a digital sanctuary it is complete. Arien was not pleased and demanded to know when her story would be completed!
Let me pause a moment to mention to you that if you have never written you do not understand. Stories are not created, they show up in your head and bang on the furniture until you allow them to move through you. They live inside your head waiting for opportune moments to interrupt, such as during exams. So I usually have a cacophony of voices running amok demanding me to write their stories. It's only when one of them rises above the normal din of conversation that I can actually sit and write.
I attempted to put pen to paper (as it were) over the course of 2009 and failed miserably. I knew that NaNoWriMo would be my time to shine. I wrote out information about the characters, reread the three incomplete drafts, and plotted till my eyes were sore. I was sure I would come to the end of this journey.
When I opened my Word document on November 1st, 2009 my story was still wrong. I didn't know it then but would find out when after writing for several hours I reached the introduction of my MMC, aka Kai. As I typed the name Kai on the page it was as if someone had politely knocked on the door.
"Excuse me," He said softly, "That is NOT my name."
I was stunned and pondered this revelation for nearly an hour. Not his name? His name had always been Kai. For seven...... Then it hit me. My story was stagnated because my MMC was incorrectly cast! Kai was not the man intended for this story.
"So then what is it?" I asked eagerly, fingers poised over the keys.
"I am Victor." And so he was.
******************************************* (To rest your eyes and give you a stopping point!)
I think I was done two weeks early. The ending was different, characters were related that hadn't even spoken before. There were plot twists and intrigues. This story ACTUALLY had potential. I am still astonished by the fact that I believe that.
Until NaNoWriMo 2009 I wrote stories for myself or for one specific person. Usually fanfiction these stories were for fun. I wanted to write professionally, but it was a dream for other lives.
Then I found out that NaNoWriMo had partnered with CreateSpace and the winners of NaNo 2009 got a free proof copy of their book.
That's right a free, paperback, you design the cover, you write the synopsis, your name across the binding book.
It's one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I squealed with joy when I opened the cardboard that came in the post. It still makes me warm and fuzzy when I look at it.
It's real.
And - it sucks.
I know what you're thinking, I just said it had potential and now I'm saying it sucks. And you're right. I am crazy, mad as a hatter but it still sucks.
And I still love it.
So I decided that in 2011 I was going to edit it (my NaNo 2010 story and I are still not talking), but this would mean writing all over my beautiful.... Oh right - through the course of 2010 a few people had read my proof copy, and I had read and reread it several times. It was bent, it was no longer perfect, it was ripe for scribbling all over.
So I cheated. I used my NaNo 2010 CreateSpace code to order a second proof copy of my NaNo 2009. It's in the mail and I should get it in two weeks.
So I selected three highlighters (yellow, orange, and green), got my favorite pencils, and my favorite pen. Collected together a blank spiral notebook, my laptop, and my proof copy. Then I went nuts.
And that's just two pages. I'm only twenty or so pages in but most of them look like those. Whole scenes begging to be rewritten or moved. Two lines of narration concealed an entire scene of dialogue. Characters who were marginal before actually have names and personalities.
There's life in this damn thing and I'm going to find it!
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