Nanowrimo: Vanquished by Ulrich

Started on November 1st with no words whatsoever. Now I have a story over 50,000 words long. All this while turning in papers and homework on time for college classes. And spending time with my family. And (of course) watching the occasional movie, reading the occasional book, and occasionally hanging out with a friend. Occasionally.

I have defeated thou, looming word count asking to be met. Having slain thou, I claim my great victory, take my bow, and revel in the feeling. (hey, gotta enjoy these things when they come cause life just isn’t a bunch of victories )

Now I am ready for sleep and more sleep and a good long break from writing and school. Hello, December.

Nanowrimo Update: Day 26

Wow, the 26th day! Only four more days. Fortunately, though, I’ve caught up to my word count for the first time in many days. I now only have about 6,600 more words to write – yikes! I’m drawing fairly near the final battle, but by my guesstimate there’s still at least 12,000 more words until the story’s done.

That’s about all for the update – just wanted to let you know the finish line is drawing very, very near and I’m ready for it.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Nanowrimo Update: Day 21

Drawing near to the finish line now, only nine more days! I can’t believe how much I’ve written, yet there’s still a lot more to the story before it’s finished.

My word count is currently at about 32,500 – and I haven’t written any for today so far, so I’m a day and a half behind. =S Finding time to write will be rather difficult, as these last days are also the last days of school, and I’ll be taking my driver’s test on the 30th. Why must it never rain but pour?

Speaking of the weather it SNOWED today!! It was so beautiful, but I still can’t believe it’s winter. I suppose it’s because I’m getting so old that everything is just feeling like a cycle. Winter was just here, how can it be here again? Ah, years are just traveling faster and faster.

But I am super excited for the holidays! Although Caleb will be in Korea we will be sending him a package with a lot of fun things *rubs hands in glee*. This will be the first Christmas we’ll be missing a member of our family… there will definitely be sorrow beneath our happiness.

But I hope the month of December does not get flooded with busy-ness, and that there will be time to relax. And enjoy some free time, before the winter quarter starts. *Sigh* Who came up with this idea of quarters and papers and exams for school anyway?

Enjoy this week – and Thanksgiving!

Nanowrimo: Halfway There!

Well the halfway mark to Nanowrimo was yesterday, so the goal to be completed (yesterday) was 25,000. I’m a bit behind due to a choice I made last Thursday to play a long game with friends… and being unable to catch up since then. So today I reached 25,000. Wow! Last year I reached 28,000 for the whole month. And right now there’s still a lot more to my story that’s waiting to be told, so I’m very excited.

I decided since I’m getting so far in my story, I should have an idea of what the plot is. So I’m going to try to pin down a story synopsis for you, so you have an idea of what I’m writing. Here it is (and btw sounds cooler if it is not summarized in a couple hundred words ):

Kiara has lived on the steepes with her grand-da her whole life, and longs to see the mountains and faraway city of Hulan. When she gets an offer from her grand-da’s old friend to travel with him and some men to the city, she seizes the chance, but quickly begins to realize she knows nothing of the outside world.

Danger is brewing against her nation, and when she finds herself in the thick of battle, a mistake she makes costs someone his life. Trying to escape from her failures, she finds herself captured by the enemy and must use all of her wits to look past her shortcomings and save the lives of her new friends – and her people.

Annnnd that’s all folks! Well there’s also a handsome guy… and a traitor… and a very twisted bad guy. Overall I’m pretty excited cause the story’s tolerable to me so far, and I’m looking forward to reading it once it’s all done.

Halfway mark has been passed – going to try to catch up now and *crosses fingers* hoping to reach the 50K this year!

Nanowrimo: Day Three

My word count is currently 5,050, which is right on schedule! Actually it’s right on schedule for the 50,000 word count, which I had decided would be too high with school and work, but which I really, really secretly want to reach. As this month draws to a close, however, that means the school year will also draw to a close – which means more papers and assignments due. Plus Thanksgiving, birthdays, parents heading off to retreats… this month is just crazy.

And when facing the choice of working on my novel or school – guess which sounds more interesting? Yeah. But so far all the balls are still in  the air, none have been dropped yet.

Good verse for today? How about from Luke 10:

 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 Ahh.. doesn’t that just refresh your soul? The reminder that all of this running around and stressing out isn’t the meaning to life. It’s greater than any of that, and given to us if we will stop. And be still.

Psalms 131

LORD, my heart is not haughty,
         Nor my eyes lofty.
         Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
         Nor with things too profound for me. 
         
 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
         Like a weaned child with his mother;
         Like a weaned child is my soul within me. 
         
 O Israel, hope in the LORD
         From this time forth and forever. 

Remember to take a quiet moment today, and just tell your Father, “Hi. I love you.”

Two More Days…

Wow, I can scarcely believe it’s almost November. The sixth week of classes ended today, leaving only five more in the quarter. This whole year has flown by so fast… But I’ll leave musings along that line for December.

My Nano novel outline is progressing only a tad bit faster than a snail. Fortunately minus the slimy trail. I’m bent on making this novel a bit more complicated so I won’t run out of steam at 30K like last time. I’m pretty sure that won’t happen, though, but whether or not your story will keep going is something you don’t know until you’re at least 2 weeks in…

On a side note (have you noticed my posts are getting more and more devoid of spiritual revelations and mainly just concern daily life now? This must be the pit daily bloggers fall into. They start out with something brilliant to say and continue along that line for about a year, than gradually decline into uninteresting things to share about their everyday lives that they somehow feel they have to share with the world). Again, on a side note I’m working at Subway this weekend. I was rather bummed because there goes another weekend, flying out the window like your pet canary, but on the upside it’s Halloween and I get to give candy to the little kids and dress up. =D Plus a chance to see one of my writer friends who is also doing Nanowrimo!!!

I thank God so much for the summer I had. I didn’t do a lot of exciting things, but I got to spend a lot of time with my friends. Namely the friends I don’t get to see now that college and work has taken over my life. Looking back I treasure those moments we spend together so much! I thank God SOOOO much for the friends He’s given me, I truly have been blessed til my cup has run over!

Are you doing Nanowrimo? Have you been blessed? Please share. =)

Yo estoy… finito!

I can’t believe it’s over… *typing forlornly while surrounded by empty kleenex boxes*. Now what do I do? More specifically – what do I do with this story! =) It’s not in a form I would want to give anyone, yet I’m not sure how to reshape it a bit into what I want it to say. Right now it looks pretty good to me! Maybe I’ll just wait until my interior critic kicks in – but there’s always the danger of deleting everything I wrote in the outrage of how awful it is. =)

But right now I am excited about my next book! My imagination was temporarily set on hold as I focused on word counts, and now that it’s set free to dream I am looking forward to seeing what it comes up with. =)

God has really been confirming that although I do not feel especially called to be a full-time writer, writing is one of the talents and passions He has given me. While talking to my mom and dad I thought how strange it is that they have never had a story that they wanted to write down. Never an idea popping up out of nowhere. Nada. I can’t imagine my life without that! As they say (well, really, as I say) you don’t fully know something until you know or see its absence. Looking at the absence of a passion for writing in others’ lives – because God has given them talents in other areas – solidifies my own passion.

Thankful for God’s blessing this past month and looking forward to the days to come!

Sarah

Another sampling…

To accomplish the official NaNoWriMo goal, in the next week I would have to write as much as I’ve written in the last 23 days. (which isn’t going to happen) But I still have excedded my goal of 20,000. (which was 17,000 and started out in the very beginning as 15,000…) I’ve also written much more on ONE story than I’ve ever written before – which makes me very happy!

The words were flowing rather well today. At last count, I’ve called my main character a madman four times, thrown him down a flight of stairs, nearly sunburnt him to death in a desert, and (recently) had him whipped. I had mused I wanted to make my main characters ‘feel’ a bit more so they weren’t simply tripping through life happily, but I think this is a little extreme. =) No, not really. It makes sense for this main character’s situation.

Anyhow, I thought I would share with all of you another small excerpt from my novel. So enjoy, and God bless!

“Did you hear that?”

The gruff voice of a soldier echoed down the hallway.

“It’s just our minds playing trick from being down here too long, Samuel”. Another deeper voice responded. “None’s in this prison but the man Darius beat to death.”

A laugh. “An’ the dead can’t sing.”

The torchlight grew stronger. “But I could’ve sworn…”

A tall guard came around the corner, peering into the cells. He stopped when he came to Joash’s. “Issachar…” His voice wobbled and broke.

Joash blinked against the bright light as another guard came to stand by the first.

“By the beard of Rama…” The second guard breathed.

Joash shifted, starting to stand, and everything went black as the guards dropped their torches in their hurry to run.

He stared in the darkness. Dead?

“Elyon, what happened to me?” he whispered.

An excerpt from my NaNoWriMo novel…

I’m hoping all you fellow writers will understand, but still, please note that this is a ROUGH draft!! I haven’t gone back to edit anything. I just figured y’all would like a sneak peak. =) In the slim chance I never publish this book and it turns into a bestseller. Yeah, I know the chance is really slim but just in case… So enjoy!

Underneath the shadow of a booth, an ancient man quietly hummed as his foot rose and fell, setting his potter’s wheel swiftly twirling. His deft, wrinkled fingers guided the edges of the clay into smooth, graceful curves. His eyes, though, were closed and a peaceful smile was on his lips.
“Thank you, Elyon,” he whispered.
How long had he been waiting? He could still remember the days of his youth, when songs of praise to Elyon had been sung from the rooftops – had radiated from every face, every smile. The temple of Elyon had been filled with people, carrying gold or a lamb in their arms – returning back to their God the wealth He had blessed them with.
But those days were now distant specks on the road of time. The old man chuckled. Especially with what his sight was nowadays. His eyes could only see shades of brown where once had been shelves of urns and pots and a blur where once had been a pot steadily forming. So he trusted his fingers. And the money kept rolling in, eh?
He laughed again, feeling so, so happy. Although Elyon’s time was never what men expect, by and by – at just the right moment – his promises come to pass.
Finally this fallen city would be shaken. Once the truth is revealed, how can it be hidden? The old man shook his head. No, the truth had never completely disappeared. The people of Bethel had never forgotten Elyon and his covenant, they had just chosen to reject both. Day after day, they streamed to the numerous temples covering the city. This one promised wealth, this one love, this one power, and this one happiness. And they must fulfill their promises – at least so thinks Bethel, the old man thought – because the people lived wealthy and happy lives.
He sighed. One day all they thought they had would fall away to reveal a bleak, empty life. And that day was coming soon.
He felt a stirring in his soul and slowed his foot, brushing wet pieces of clay from his fingers as he opened his eyes and squinted at the street. A bit of white stood still among the bright, moving colors. The old man smiled, then called out, “Hello, boy!”

- Copyright Sarah Ulrich

Home again, home again, jiggity jog…

Ah, it warms my heart to see all the people stopping by my blog – even when I’m gone! =) It turns out that I had my laptop, but no internet. Ack! So I was unable to update all of you lovely people on my slow progress… but I was able to sort through millions of pictures of relatives when they were younger (and had hair!!) as well as pics of my mom – as well as spending some awesome quality time with my grandmother.

For the return trip home I took the train and spent the entire time with the notebook closed in my lap, soaking in the beautiful sights. Did you know that WA is extremely beautiful!?? Much more than a humming computer or the paint of your bedroom wall. And it smells better outside. So make it a point to step outside this week and inhale deeply. Especially if it happens to be snowing, as it did this morning here on the hill!

So yes, the novel is progressing but slower than I had thought it would at Nana’s. I am still maintaining an average of 1,000 a day (which means I currently have 13,000 – having been too busy to writ today). I will post some more updates – maybe I could even get a pic or two up of when everyone in my family was either extremely cute or youthful-looking. Til then, ttfn!

Sarah