Tag: nanowrimo 2018

Reader Message: Goldfish?

Neon BrightLeave a comment

Wolfie180g: I was hoping we might be able to read the nanowrimo you wrote? Bubbles? I reread all the excerpts and I really wanna know more! It’s such a new take on g/t I’m so excited and anxious for Seth and his encounter . What happened with the tiger?? 
Lol there’s an eels song called ‘tiger in the tank’

Of course! The story you’re thinking of is Goldfish, my NaNoWriMo project for November of 2018. I actually came very close to the ending of the story at the time I left off with NaNo! Since then I’ve been taking a little break from writing every day at such a pace, since I’ve been working on stuff all year. Soon, though, I want to come back to poor Seth’s misadventures and wrap them up, edit a little bit, and share with everyone!

(I’ll have to give that song a listen 🙂 )

Thanks for writing in! You’re officially the first person to use the Askbox here on the new blog! ❤

NaNoWriMo Day 30

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I made it!

It’s been such a fun project! Even though I did have a couple days where I just did NOT want to do ANYTHING, I made my word count and got the story very close to a really nice conclusion! I can’t wait to share more of it once I get it edited up.

Excerpt:

“Please help me again,” Seth spoke and signed at the same time. “Again” was new to them, but he doubted it mattered.

Click remained dim for several seconds, not a flicker of what they might be thinking on their skin. Then, finally, they lit up in a new pattern he hadn’t seen in some time. They most often used it in his first days when he was skittish. “It’s okay,” he guessed it meant. Then, they used sign to emphasize it. “I’ll help you.”

NaNoWriMo Day 29

Neon BrightLeave a comment

Oh gosh I’m so close! And the ending of the story finally revealed itself to me as well. It’s been so much fun and the finish line is in sight! For now, here’s where I’m at.

Word Count: 49,342

Excerpt:

“I want,” he began, using sharp, clear motions as he curled his hands towards himself. It was one of the trickier signs to teach them, he’d discovered, without the benefit of any context or even an analogy to give them. He repeated it in case they needed to jog their memory on what the desperate motion meant.

“To go home,” came next. He’d never signed that to them before.

“I just want to go home,” he said it aloud along with the signs then, all at once and with even more yearning on his face. How much they could read from an expression was unclear; they’d never had to read body language like that before. But they’d learned sign.

NaNoWriMo Day 26

Neon BrightLeave a comment

Back again. Yesterday I wasn’t feeling it for making a post. Today I feel pretty awesome about what I wrote. I’m on the home stretch, folks. 😀

Word Count: 45,207

Excerpt:

Seth held up a hand and, after a shaky, hesitant moment, pressed it against the barrier of his reverse fish tank. It didn’t feel like glass; it never had. It always reminded him of those fountains, the ones with a sheet of water raining down a clear surface, and instead of glass this time it was slightly pliant, like a cushion against the wild current.

Click stared at him in shock, the patterns flickering through their head tendrils and across their face.

Then, just as hesitant and just as gingerly from pain, they held up their own hand. It was much larger than Seth’s, but still they placed their palm against the barrier opposite his, meeting his gesture the best they could. They practically hid him from sight when they did it.

NaNoWriMo Day 24

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I’m not leaping ahead like I assumed I would over the long weekend, but progress is being made! Seth has a dog now, which is cool. Now if only he could like … go home.

Word Count: 42,725

Excerpt:

Seth had his enclosure more organized. Some of it was by the sheer determination to finish projects, and some of it was by necessity. The dog, which he’d discovered was a girl and who he’d named Bubble, liked to chew on things if he left them lying around. Considering how enough of what Click brought him was some kind of plastic or twisted metal, he didn’t want to leave it around for her to choke on. He didn’t exactly have a vet around.

Bubble was smart. She learned a few tricks once she got more used to Seth and the sandy enclosure. Her favorite pastime, however, was to roll around on the sand, a goofy dog grin on her face whenever she glanced over to see if Seth noticed.

NaNoWriMo Day 23

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I’m well out of the section of the story that I wanted to keep somewhat under wraps as a big plot-ish scene (does this story have plot? only kinda). And I’m back on track, sorta, to keep doing these posts again. Didja miss ‘em? If not, too bad, they’re back anyway.

Word Count: 41,622

Excerpt:

It had been so long since Seth saw a dog that he almost didn’t recognize it for what it was. It was a midsize animal, with somewhat shaggy fur clinging to it in clumps from the water. Its chest moved rapidly, so he knew it was alive as he inched towards it.

It rolled over with a sudden whine, and Seth noticed it favoring one paw as it tried to push itself upright. A short, jowly snout like a boxer angled at him, the nose twitching madly. One ear flopped over and the other stood up straight, and the dog’s tail was tucked close. It kept its head somewhat low and it shuddered visibly.

“Oh, you’re kidding me,” he muttered.

NaNoWriMo Day 18

Neon BrightLeave a comment

Woooo I hit a pretty important plot landmark today! It was a lot of fun and it actually launched my word count back up from the last few days. The following scene was kinda scary to imagine but also I’m pretty sure I’ll need to revise it a bit to actually make it scary to read lol. That’s what first drafts are for, right?

Word Count: 35,635

Excerpt:

He pointed at the giant once more and enunciated the best he could despite his bubble muffling and echoing around him. “Click.”

To no surprise, Click emitted the chittering noises that had inspired Seth’s name for them. They were curious now; he recognized that pattern. He repeated the action once more, and suddenly felt silly for it. They had no need for spoken names; who knew what they would take away from this exercise.

The patterns suddenly brightened and flashed in excitement. He smiled, even though his cheeks were warm with some embarrassment. He couldn’t have expected that to work, but already they were glowing rapidly at Fireworks. The other giant was watching with more interest now. The spark patterns that inspired their own name lit up enough to reflect in their eyes, and they leaned closer to the bubble.

They held their chin in their hand in a thoughtful gesture that looked entirely human, considering they were a giant from the cold abyss under the ocean. Their own hooting chirps murmured out of them as they flickered new patterns over their face.

Seth had no idea what they might be saying now, but this all felt like a huge breakthrough. After days of living in a coral box with few ways to communicate, few ways to assure them he was an intelligent being, suddenly they were reacting to him as if he was.

NaNoWriMo Day 17

Neon BrightLeave a comment

Today was somewhat chill in writing-land. I wrote a flashback for Seth, one of a few that I plan to pepper throughout the story to break up the stress and also provide some insight to his backstory since he’s kinda … far away from anything that might otherwise indicate that.

Word Count: 33,402

Excerpt:

But at least he has this moment, with an unknown but solid roof over his head and a serene moment in the backyard.

The deer looks up, staring into one of the neighbors’ yards. Whatever she sees or hears over there, it’s enough to prompt her to move on, and she shuffles to the back alley and continues on her way. Seth leans over the sink to watch her go until she’s out of sight past the corner of the neighbor’s privacy fence.

Just like that, the moment is broken.

NaNoWriMo Day 16 (and 15)

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I missed a post yesterday. It completely slipped my mind (in my defense, the episode of Supernatural was really good and after I watched it I basically ended my evening on a high note). I did my word count yesterday though, and I managed to make plenty of progress today too before I have to go off to my evening plans! The notes for this sequence are “Inexplicably, tigers”. Just because.

Word Count: 31,640

Excerpt 1: 

Seth couldn’t help but imagine that bubble shrinking too far, leaving him without any air at all.

It didn’t, for whatever relief that was worth. He found himself once again with an odd bubble around only his head, sealed off at his neck and keeping only his hair dry. His clothes were soaked and his skin felt like a thousand needles poked at it.

After his brief thrashing, he floated back down to the black palms beneath him. His hands braced against Firework’s rough skin, but he wavered nonetheless in a current they couldn’t completely avoid in that cave.

All things considered, the current was the least of his worries.

Excerpt 2:

Seth almost allowed himself to wonder what might happen next. Did Click intend to leave him there? Had they given him over to the care of Fireworks in the hopes of helping him get healthier or feel better?

He didn’t know how to feel about the possibility that the giant fish that kidnapped him might be abandoning him.

The thoughts fled when he noticed something in the underbrush near the trees. His gaze whipped to the side, and Seth froze in his low crouch. He parsed what he could see easily, but then determined that couldn’t be right. It was too absurd, too ridiculous to be true.

There was an animal in the enclosure with him, and it had a white muzzle, stark yellow-gold eyes, and orange and black stripes.

A tiger?!

NaNoWriMo Day 14

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I wrote a lot today! I got past a bit of a block (thanks to a pep talk from the inestimable @creatorofuniverses, u da best) and kept right on truckin. Also I found a place for one of my fave GT tropes at last, so there’s that

Word Count: 28,035

Excerpt:

He was just pushing himself up on his hands and knees when he felt it, and grimaced. A giant fingertip brushed at his back, strong enough to pin him down if it wanted to. Instead, it pinched at his hoodie and secured an unbreakable grip on him.

This was, admittedly, unexpected. Seth had just enough time to frown in confusion before his jacket pulled taut on his torso and he lifted upwards as effortlessly as a mouse in a cat’s paw.

No, wait. Not a great image– his thoughts were cut off by the movement of the sand below him as Click ferried him closer to the pool.