Well, since I finished my NaNo novel last Wednesday evening, that means I need a new project. I decided to take a break from writing for a few days and came into a conundrum. I had no idea which book to start working on. I have three books in edits, one of those has a sequel, so I could write it. Or I could write the last book in my cop series. Or I could write a companion piece to it. OR I could write a whole new piece with a whole new world.
Since my cop series is the only one I technically “have” to write, I went for that one. So that means back to the world of Grace. If I write about 2,000 words a day, I should be able to finish this novel before the start of the new year (writing wise anyway) which means maybe, just maybe, my publisher will bump up its anticipated release date. =D
Anyway, in non-writing/editing news, I get to go to Fort Worth in February for a visit! It’s so exciting and I can’t contain it. I haven’t been back there since I moved in July. And I get to go to Columbus, OH in July next year where I’ll hopefully get to meet some awesome WIPpeteers that I’ve know for awhile.
So here we go…
ROW80 first.
1. Write 1667 words a day.
Sunday: 0
Monday 0
Tuesday: 2583
2. keep up with all blog posts ROW80, WIPpet, Open When and add in 1 extra post a week
Haven’t done this yet, and I haven’t made up for the Open When post I missed last week.
3. Edit at least one chapter a week on something.
I have definitely been keeping up with this. Since Sunday I’ve done 5 chapters for Jasmine Lee on her copy-edit. I’ve done 1 chapter for S. K. Hart on her copy-edit. I… started a chapter for me! Yay! I need to figure out how to get in some of my own editing time since I have 3 novels in the process of it right now.
4. crochet one round of border a week
Have no done this and really need to do it. My guess is I’ll cram it in after NaNo is over and these copy-edits are over. I just don’t have time to think about doing it right now.
Now… for WIPpet Wednesday
As I said before, I finally decided to write Grace through Redemption, the last book in the Spirit of Grace series. I have absolutely no plan going into this novel and that is a scary, scary thing for me, so hopefully after I do some writing and working today, I’ll be able to outline a bit of it.
All are welcome to join in WIPpet Wednesday. If you want to join in, just create a blog post with a snippet from your WIP (Work in Progress). The ONLY rule is that you correlate your snippet with the date somehow. Then go on over here and link up with everyone else. If you get a chance, check out some of the other writers and leave them a comment–we’re all not-so-secretly comment whores.
For today, you get 21 sentences straight from the Prologue of Grace through Redemption. my math is simply. 19 + 1 + 1 = 21.
Grace grabbed the railings on the treadmill briefly to steady herself before sprinting and focusing on running once more. It wasn’t the first time Amya had distracted her from something, and Grace knew it certainly wouldn’t be the last time. She hunched her shoulders and increased the speed again for the last two minutes of her run, knowing if Amya could see the speed she had set on her machine she would get yelled at.
Closing her eyes and focusing only on how her feet landed and each breath she took, Grace charged toward the end of her workout. Her hair flung around behind her, wisps of it getting into her face as she movement forced strands of hair out of her loose pony. Amya wouldn’t have that issue. Grace sneered and looked up.
Two yellow lights barreled toward her. She didn’t have time. The car sped so fast she wasn’t surprised when the front windows buckled. Grace dropped to the floor and rolled to the side, not catching her breath as she was showered with glass and metal. Dust settled around the gym when she heard the wheel spinning on the carpet.
Pushing herself up, Grace’s ears rang. She crawled on her hands and feet in the direction of where Amya had been and couldn’t keep up with her still racing heart. The pounding was so heavy she couldn’t concentrate on anything other than finding Amya.
She found her leg first. Grace gripped Amya’s ankle and followed it up her body until her face was only a few inches from Amya’s lips. “Amya—you okay?”
Amya nodded and lifted a hand to Grace’s cheek. “Yeah, fine. What happened?”
“Car—straight into the gym.”
And there you have it! Please join in WIPpet fun. It’s loads of interesting smashed into greatness.
Crazy snippet! Scary stuff.
I thought she was having a flashback or something, and then I went back to check that I was right about her being on a treadmill and not a road because I didn’t realize the car was coming at the gym window. I thought the car’s front window buckled when it hit HER, not the gym’s window when the car hit it, and kind of freaked out. O.o
That’s probably my brain fart, or maybe it’s all clear from out-of-snippet context. I get that a lot with mine.
“I don’t get this!”
“Chill. You would if you read the whole scene…”
Its set up a lot more that shes in a gym just before this but it could not just be a brain fart. We’ll have to wait and see =P
I’ll be in Millersburg, OH in July — only I don’t know when yet. And I have no idea where it is in relation to anything else. So that’s…not helpful.
*cough* moving on…I was a little confused by the transition as well, and had to do the same thing Kate did, make sure she was on a treadmill. But by the end of the excerpt I was fine with it because the confusion I felt likely mirrored the confusion Grace felt. *whew* Scary.
And this is wgat happens when i write without a plan.
I have no idea where Millersburg is. To google i go!
Whoa, I was feeling exhausted by all that running and them bam – a car bursts into the scene. My head was ringing along with Grace’s and my first thought was ‘please don’t let Amya be buried under all that rubble’ phew! I really enjoyed the action – the way you set the scene so vividly I could all but see the sweat dripping down her back as she pushed herself.
Thanks!! Thats great feedback =D
Whoa! What’s a car doing in a gym? I mean, I know it’s important to get a long enough work out, but I’m not sure driving up to the treadmill will add enough seconds to be worth it. Someone ought to have a talk with that driver. 😛
Is this an attack on Grace/Amya/the gym, or is it just a dumb driver?
Very apt question, Regi.
I tend to have difficulty starting a new project after finishing another, although now I have so many projects at various stages–first draft, concept, in need of revisions–that it’s become easier to transition.
Wow. Talk about a freak accident. I wonder what happens next…
It’s probably just because this is an excerpt, not a full scene, but at first I didn’t realize Amya was in the gym too. I thought Grace was just thinking about a previous interaction. I didn’t realize she was there until after the car hit the gym. But I’m guessing it would be clear if I was reading the scene from the beginning.
Probably would be clearer if read from the beginning. I usually need some time between books to get my mind from one character to the next. But i cant work on multiple projects at once because ill never complete any of them.
I was thinking that the car was a video simulation, then I started to think this whole scene was a version of the Kobayshi Maru…a kind of simulated crisis situation.
A car ran into the front wall of the Old Faithful Inn one morning while I was working in the dining room. Up three steep steps and through a window…someone had been sitting in a chair there a minute or two before…fortunately, no one was hurt.
You paint a very vivid scene. I”m glad that Amya and Grace both seem to have gotten out alive, and I hope everyone else has…I especially like the detail of the ca’s spinning tires (although I also wonder how things smell – coolant leak? Burning rubber? Electrical sparks?
I’m excited to learn more!
I was working at albertsons and had a car slam into the wall tight where i was standing. Scary ahit
Oh my goodness. What a vivid and tense scene. I hope everyone is alright!
All except the driver. Thanks!
That was…intense. And of course, I want to know what the context is for someone driving into the gym. I can imagine Grace is about to find out.
she is about to find out! I need to go back in and completely resolve it though. I know in my head what happened, but I’m not sure that made it come across well.
Fantastic excerpt Adrian! I had to reread it to check if a car really was coming through the window or if I’d misread it!! Great stuff. 🙂
Thanks!
Kind of freaky – I was just at the gym on the treadmill!
Thats very creepy!!!
Sounds exciting. I love the titles you come up with.
Thanks!!
Great action in that scene! Also, great reason not to go to a gym, as if I needed another one… 🙂
Haha! So true!