Teaser

As mentioned, I signed up for NaNoWriMo - 50,000 words in 30 days, a quick estimate makes that about 75-100 pages.

So here is what I have, no idea yet where it will go:

Hard soled footsteps echoed in the darkness.

… LOUDER …

… softer …

… Approaching …

… Receding …

… In unison …

… At random …

… Solitary …

That was his favorite, a single pair of footsteps echoing lonesomely in the darkness. It was the only sound he liked. The only sensation he lived for.

Clip … Clap … Clip … Clap.

Regular or irregular, fast or slow, soft or strong, it did not matter, to him it was a soothing metronome beating a comforting rhythm into his life.

It receded and he was alone in the silent darkness.

He was blind. He was numb. He was severely burned. Only his hearing remained and he chose to be selective, listening only to the footsteps, ignoring all other sounds. He knew the doctors and nurses spoke to him, but he chose not to hear. He only wanted the soft comforting darkness and silence of the womb with nothing more than the steady, assuring lub-dub of his mother’s heartbeat.

Consciousness was not something he wanted. Consciousness meant memories. Memories meant pain. Pain meant suffering. He preferred not to suffer. He had suffered too much.


sigh. only 49,806 words to go. The only thing I know for certain is that I wanted that opening sentence.

For those who want something lighter to read, you can find a bunch of mathematical jokes here. I'm not sure it will appeal to everyone, but it made me smile.

But, before you go wandering off somewhere you might have preferred not too, here is a brief sampler:

Zenophobia: the irrational fear of convergent sequences.

You know what seems odd to me? Numbers that aren't divisible by two."

My mother is a mathematician, so she knows how to induce good behavior. "If I've told you n times, I've told you n+1 times...."

Comments

Anita said…
Well, you have an excellent start! I am writing like a fiend and totally unsatisfied with my first chapter. My second one is a lttle better but it's going slower. Keep it up. I like what you've written so far!!

P.S. That was the funniest math joke ever! I'll have to go check out the joke page, because I'm kind of a nerd like that!
Richard said…
I think reading your own writing is like looking at pictures of yourself or listening to your voice - "Ick! That's me? I'm so depressed."

I read your blog (even if I don't comment that frequently) and you write well, so you should have no problems in writing a masterpiece. I think the trick it to write naturally, rather than what you think you ought to write. In other words, stop thinking about the process of writing and just write!

I Still don't know where my story is going to go. I think I have set a mood. I think my hook is reasonably effective - now to just back it up with substance.

Some ideas I have are:

(1) consequence of a space mission gone wrong in the style prevalent in the '40s and '50s.

(2) love story where a man tries to change the past to recover a lost love / fix an unrequited love.

(3) story of a soldier and the horrors of war.

(4) story of a man who has always been down on his luck and the tragic consequences.

(5) something else entirely.

So, faithful and intermittant blog peruser's any suggestions or thoughts?
Ooh, I vote for #2, but then I am a hopeless (hopeful?) romantic. :) Your intro has me hooked.
i have absolutely no courage to start writing. Don't know why. The thought of 50,000 words just made me freeze and I couldn't think. Sigh... I am really losing it...

:(
Richard said…
MIO: thanks for your vote.

Elvina: A quick perusal of your blog, counted up about 3-1/2 thousand words (ignoring a poem cribbed from Bee, and filler text from online quizzes).

I think you could do it. Break it down it's only between 75-100 pages (less if you use really short words ;-)

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