(vol 2) Chapter 45: “NaNoWriMo – Day 18”

2015 WORD COUNT=                        71606

2015 NaNo WORD COUNT=               28151

2015 TOTAL WORD COUNT =           99757

With November the 15^th now out of the way, it’s the downward rush towards the finish line.

These last seven days have been tough, a lot tougher than I expected, and I feel like I’ve let myself down. The want to write was there (most of the time), but as I got to the end of CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE FOREST OF DEATH, I found myself wading through tar again. Yet it’s not the ending that gets me, it’s that annoying little bit just before it. The part where the heroes prepare themselves, and head off to face the finale. It’s that pause, the build in tension, the wind up. Hopefully it’s something I can work on.

But, despite the struggle, I did manage to write these last few days, so it’s not quite the disaster that it felt like at the time. 

  

DAY TWELVE – 629 words

Well, I thought I’d been clever by sticking a cottage in front of my heroes, so as to mix things up a bit. And then I found I’d written myself into a basement shaped corner. Today was spent of winding up the solution, getting the heroes the hell out of there, and getting them back on track.

One silver lining was that I’d discovered a solution to a series of breadcrumbs I wasn’t even entirely aware that I was dropping. From the start I’d placed a mysterious figure watching from the shadows but not really thought much of it. While the boys were fleeing the cottage, my brain was busy building an elaborate backstory for this mysterious figure, as well as a way to intertwine his plot into the main story.

Unfortunately it was late, and my mind was struggling to keep a steady pace. I planned what was coming next and called time.

DAY THIRTEEN – 1204 words

To have written anything on Friday was a massive surprise. With it being my son’s birthday, I had planned for a zero word count day (plan for the worst, hope for the best). Add Flash! Friday, a health visitor visit, a trip to the doctors for my son to have a flu jab, the morning at a play shack, a meal out – well, as you can see the day was pretty packed. So 1 word would have been a blessing; 1204 was just plain awesome.

This scene was all about taking what I’d thought up the previous day and putting it on page; the mysterious figure is reveal, and a key location is set up.

I sensed the ending coming now.

DAY FOURTEEN – 1740 words

A few weeks ago, while planning the story of CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE FOREST OF DEATH, I had this vision of the whole forest collapsing into the ground, our heroes barely surviing. The only problem was how that would fit in with the story of two guys just lost in the woods.

Flash forward and the story was becoming a little more epic in scale. The shadowy figure is revealed to be a key character to the forest, a forest that doesn’t exactly sit in our plane of existence.

I really had my ending now.

DAY FIFTEEN – 2039 words

My son’s birthday party. A day far busier than the Friday. Another planned zero word count day. So guess my surprise and excitement when I managed to update my spreadsheet with 2000+ words. How did I manage it, I hear you ask? Well, I guess I was kind of lucky that the Brazilian Grand Prix was nothing short of a bore fest. I mean it was the opposite of entertainment. So out came the laptop and the words flowed.

It was the last planned day for CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE FOREST OF DEATH. I’d decided early on that I’d handle a minimum of two novellas this November, and day 15 was the halfway point. Couple that with the struggle to build the ending (I ended up skipping the build-up and the last burst of writing was the last couple of scenes of the story) and I was ready to start the next story.

DAY SIXTEEN – 1281 words

A new story meant a new intro. I decided to open CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE TEMPLE OF GLOOM with a standard TV show opening. So the scene is set, new characters (an archaeologist and his assistant) and the novella’s big bad is semi-revealed.

DAY SEVENTEEN – 1759 words

In a similar way to how I started the last novella, I wanted to find Chris and Mike making their way through the real world, dealing with new real world problems. In this case, Mike is homeless and jobless and is now relying on Chris for help.

Of course Chris being Chris, things are never that simple. And that’s why, instead of show Mike to his house, the pair end up at a house viewing for a building that really should be torn down.

DAY EIGHTEEN – 1704 words

After venting to his friend, Mike finds that Chris has bigger plans than just being a cheap, run down home. You see he has a treasure map.

I spent a lot of this chapter doing more world building too, aware that this series could have legs, and things can be dropped in here and there to set up for later adventures.

The point of NaNoWriMo (in my opinion) is to always march forward, to keep writing and leave the looking back (all that editing) until December 1^st. And so I apply that logic to all aspects of the process. Like badly written prose, the distractions and writers block of the last week are now firmly stuck in the past and cannot be amended. All I can do is keep my chin up and power on, knowing from past experience that a word splurge can happen at any moment. I’m behind my targets, sure, but nowhere near the distance to consider stopping. Not by a long shot.

And in the meantime there are my fellow FlashDog writer buddies to draw inspiration from.

A massive congratulations to Tamara Shoemaker, Margaret Locke, and Carin Marais, all who have in the last week, crossed the 50,000 word finish line. To do that this early is amazing, and I am in complete awe of each of them.

Meanwhile, still in the race, and running alongside me, are Tamara Rogers, Emily June Street, Steph Ellis, Liz Hedgecock, Rebekah Postupak, and Casey Rose Frank. All still pouring out the words and keeping me honest.

And that’s it for another week. Looking forward to see where tomorrow leads me. Good luck to all those still charging through their stories.

See you in seven.

(vol 2) Chapter 44: “NaNoWriMo – Day 11”

2015 WORD COUNT=                        71507

2015 NaNo WORD COUNT=               17995

2015 TOTAL WORD COUNT =           89502

This week has been a lot more of a roller-coaster than the smooth sailing of last week’s post. Recurring illness gave me my first non-writing day of this year’s contest (losing me the chance to obtain one of this year’s new NaNo’ badges), and a struggle with the plot has caused me to go from racing downhill on roller-skates to trudging waist deep through golden syrup.

But there is a solution to hand, a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ button to press. And I’m close to hitting it.

But first, a look back.

DAY FIVE – 1441 words

When I originally wrote the flash stories, and even while planning this expanded version, the characters of Chris and Mike had their adventure while hiking through the woods. Just the two of them, walking through random woods.

So I was surprised as I got to work on the trip to find myself creating a sort of Centre Parks style camp site that had more modern amenities and a lot of civilians.

But I went with it and had some fun, a particular highlight being the creation of random character Pete Sugar; that guy you meet when you go away who forces himself into your holiday, who knows more about the place your staying than the staff, and who just annoys you but doesn’t seem to ever realise it. I don’t know where he came from, but it sure was fun writing him. He could end up being the series Sheriff Pepper.

DAY SIX – 1670 words

Once again I experienced a Friday calamity with my laptop after an error with yesterday’s PC update caused the device to loop. I used a bit of IT know-how and rolled the update back but had to redownload programs. With no Wi-Fi at work and 11% battery, getting a Flash! Friday entry and my NaNo word target done became a challenge. So, instead of writing in my lunch break, I got a good chunk done at home instead.

I began the main plot, the hike through the forest. After a discussion over breakfast, and the addition of two girls from the tent next door, the guy’s head off on a planned activity hike.

Originally I wanted Chris to be aware of the supernatural goings on from the prologue, but at this point I changed things so that he wasn’t lying to his friend. I didn’t want their trip to have ulterior motives.

Hence the creation of the two girls who join them on the trip. I wanted another victim and, more importantly, I wanted the disappearance to happen directly to Chris and Mike. So one of the girls goes missing as the heroes fight about being lost.

And the mystery continues.

DAY SEVEN – 1779 words

This weekend saw a relapse in my recent illness and I cursed whatever force clearly didn’t want me to participate in NaNo. I struggled to focus most of the day but suddenly found a drug aided window of inspiration late after dinner and managed to get some writing done.

Continuing the theme of not writing what I planned to write, I scrapped the heroes starting to search, and instead brought the surviving girl and our heroes back to the camp site. Where the police had been called in.

I liked how this turned out, the tension of the police keeping an eye on Chris and Mike, and it emphasised that what he does isn’t public knowledge. Dialogue between Chris and Mike shines light on what can and can’t be said in front of the general population. Obviously Chris was released from an institution at the beginning of the previous story, so he knows where the truth can lead you if you’re not careful.

DAY EIGHT – 0 words

This is the day a lot of NaNo writers fear. That first day where you can’t find the time, or that motivation has left you, or your brain just goes ‘stuck!’. After two days of punching threw a relapse in the flu that I thought I was over, I just didn’t have anything left in the tank.

It hurt to see my word count spreadsheet get its first ‘red’ as I went negative for word count, but these things happen and are easily fixed.

DAY NINE – 3178 words

Today was a glorious day. I had word count to make up and I was feeling feisty.

After getting into work a little earlier than normal, I took advantage of an extra half an hour writing time and somehow managed to get down 1050 words before starting my shift. Add another 1600 for lunch, and rounding out the day with 500 more after dinner, and I hit an awesomely high word count. Hope I can match it or beat it a couple more times before the month is out.

So what did I do with those words? Well, a lot of it was dialogue, as Mike fought to stay out of the supernatural world that Chris was part of. But his friend talks him round, and lets him know that fighting evil and their friendship are important together.

After that it was all about getting the pair from out under the police at the camp site and off into the woods so that they could begin tracking whatever was haunting the forest. I could have kept it simple and had them keep to the shadows and take the main path. But I remembered that I mentioned the camp site having a lake in an earlier session. I pictured all the different boats these activity centre places let people use and thought they could cross the lake and sneak into the woods that way. Of course things are never that simple for Chris and Mike, so I couldn’t let them just get any old boat. Swan peddle boats seemed in keeping with the spirit of the stories.

DAY TEN – 1417 words

The search of the forest begins with Chris showing a little bit more of his magical knowledge, as well as making Mike feel comfortable with a hand axe for company.

I got them back to the site of the disappearance before hitting a slight wall that I had feared since I’d started; walking in the woods can get boring and repetitive.

So I did the only thing I could think of as I struggled to hit the days word count; I dropped a mysterious haunted cottage right into their path.

DAY ELEVEN – 1342 words

Another struggle today as I played around with the purpose behind the cottage. Just throwing it down at the end of the previous day meant it didn’t come in with any history, so I spent the start of today’s session building it as the characters moved through it (thank you google for some spooky images). However, I hit that thick treacle. My fingers began to itch towards the emergency plan I’d set up for just such an occasion.

Still, I got home and gave it another stab; bringing in a mysterious creature and trapping Chris and Mike in the basement. The output slowed again and I cursed myself for writing my characters into a damned corner. How could they escape? Secret passage. What else could I do?

I moved my hand away from the big red emergency button, giving myself another day to see if I can write myself out of this rut.

I am hoping to lay down some high word counts this week end. Wish me luck.

And that’s it. I got close to that dreaded wall, close to coming to a full stop, though I still have that safety net of just moving onto the next Chris and Mike story. But I’m hoping I don’t use it. I managed to plan out a nice 2000 word scene which should not only see me through tomorrow, but get me back out of the red.

And while I’m struggling a little (it’s nowhere near disaster yet), it’s great to see my FlashDog writing buddies all speeding off, full steam ahead. There are some fantastic milestones being hit by my fellow short form experts.

One last thing; yesterday saw the release of Fallout 4. If you play video games, if you enjoy RPG’s, and if you’ve had any experience with the previous Fallout games, then you’ll know that there’s no other time sink like it. And while I lift myself out of several holes this week (illness, lack of time, writers block,) the biggest challenge I face now between here and December 1^st, is balancing the work/reward system of writing and then gaming. Because as any addict will tell you; it’s one thing to say you don’t need something, but something else entirely to turn away from it.

And this blog post is almost the length of my daily word count target.

See you in seven.

(vol 2) Chapter 43: “NaNoWriMo – Day 4”

2015 WORD COUNT=                        71349

2015 NaNo WORD COUNT=               6968

2015 TOTAL WORD COUNT =           78317

And they’re off.

NaNoWriMo 2015 has started and words are being typed across the world at a truly exponential rate. Can you smell that burning? I can’t tell if that’s millions of imagination’s in overdrive, or millions of computer keyboards being put through their paces.

With five November wins, plus two CampNaNo victories under my belt, I don’t start these events with the same level of fear that I used to. It’s all excitement and awe now. I can’t wait to see what happens to my story before that first advent calendar door is prised open on December 1^st.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What’s happened so far?

DAY ONE – 1897 words

I didn’t waste much time getting started. With the family up, breakfast devoured, and everyone dressed, I opened up the laptop middle of the morning and set to work on the second Chris and Mike story; CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE FOREST OF DEATH.

My entire word count today didn’t even stray near our main characters as I set about with a classic precredit scene involving a poor guy who’s night gets a lot worse. In a really creepy way. There are noises in the woods, a strange creature, a missing girlfriend and then . . . well that’s where the credits would roll. It was a nice TV style set up just to hook the ready and set the scene for things to come.

DAY TWO – 1728 words

The majority of my writing this year will be done inside of my one hour lunch breaks. I purchased a second laptop, a nice cheap little HP, so that I could take it out and about with me and not worry about it being our home computer. The little blue CreationStation is solely for writing. And Solitaire.

So on day two, as one o’clock rolled around, I set up shop in the canteen, a glass of water and some sandwiches to hand, and began work on chapter two.

This scene was all about bringing Chris and Mike together after the events of the last story. There’s fallout from the events of the undead uprising and things aren’t exactly cosy between the two. There be tension there; snappy dialogue and subtext. Some of the info dropped in the scene is also planted for people who may not have, for whatever reason, read the first story. It’s one of those ‘previously on . . .’ moments. I plan to tweak it carefully in editing so that it’s not too heavy handed.

DAY THREE – 1671 words

Another lunch break, another word target met. I really enjoyed the scenes today. A little round off from the previous days works, followed by a dark dream sequence, one that shows Mike may have been affected by recent events much worse than first thought. In fact he might be really f**ked up.

As the clock ticked away my precious writing time I suddenly did something that caught me by surprise. The chapter ends with a slightly scared Mike picking up the phone and dialing a number. We don’t know who he’s called but he wants to meet up. I finished typing that last line, a real TV episode cliff-hanger, and realised that I had absolutely no idea who the hell was on the other end of the line.

Figure I’d work it out before day four.

DAY FOUR – 1672 words

So day four rolled around and I still had no idea who Mike had phoned. So I went ahead and did the only thing I could; I wrote. I tried an obvious character, but it didn’t worked, so I deleted it. Then I tried someone else but that undid a subplot. Next I looked at some of the obscure characters that turn up in later stories and tried to see if their backstories could be amended to cross Mike’s path earlier in the saga. Short answer? No.

And then I tried a character out of left field . . . and things got weird. I think it’s a good idea. I certainly helps to bulk out a subplot in an unexpected way. At the time I was 50/50 on its inclusion. But NaNoWriMo is all about pushing forward and I just got on with it. Editing was later; right now I had to get 50,000 words down.

And that’s it so far. I’m confident, and I haven’t fallen behind at all. 1667 crossed every day so far; I aim to keep it like that.

Something I’m happy about this year is that I have a few more FlashDogs as writing buddies. I think last year I had two; this time around it’s nine. It’s nice to be heading into this marathon surrounded by a great group of friends. And I can’t help but smile at the irony that we all met writing 100 word stories, and now we’re aiming for 500x that.

And that is all. I got a nice little Honourable Mention for my Flash Fiction story KILL.EXE, the tale of a military designed robot who just wants to sit with the birds and watch the sunset, much to his designers chagrin.

I’m still planning to keep up with the Flash Fiction (I have an unbroken streak to think about) but this month it’s the big story. This month it’s all about CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE WORLD.

See you in seven.

(vol 2) Chapter 42: “What’s On The NANOWRIMO Menu”

2015 TOTAL WORD COUNT =           70626

A deadly hush falls over the crowd as the final days of writing calmly come to a close. It’s just four more sleeps before the adventure begins, a time when every word written is a step towards the legendary 50,000.

Nested nicely between Halloween and that first chocolatey day of advent, sits a writing event that I stumbled across back in 2007. National Novel Writing Month; the challenge to write 50,000 words in just 30 days.

Now, while I’m (still) not a published author, I do have a few projects sat on the back burner that only exist because of NaNaWriMo. Whether these projects will ever be completed, or if they’re destined to remain trunk novels that I just needed to get out of my system, is irrelevant. I am just glad that I found a way to sit myself down and write them.

NaNoWriMo is born from that drive to switch off your internal editor, to get words on the page no matter what, and to grow a story, some characters, and a brand new world, as you go along.

In 2007 I started with just a basic premise; what if I was friends with the Grim Reaper? Over the course of the following 30 days I added new characters, devised an alternate system for how death works, chucked in angels and zombies, and planted the seeds for two sequels. All this from a single idea and two characters. It was so much fun exploring as I went. Sometimes I’d get stuck and ‘skip’ a chapter, maybe coming back to it later. Halfway through a main character became a bad guy, something I didn’t notice was happening until the reveal itself. It’s all so loose, so fluid. It’s all about discovery.

It was a tough year, that first one. No writing buddies back then, it was just me. And that was the year I bought an Xbox, nearly derailing the whole thing. I can see now, looking back, that I made a bad decision not waiting until November was over to make that purchase. Yet a little part of me is glad I did. Because, falling behind allowed me to do some epic late minute writing (with two days left I somehow managed to write 7941 words in one day, nay one session, that ended at 3am on the 30^th). While I try to avoid putting myself in that situation again, it’s empowering knowing that if I need to write that much, I can.

A year later I returned to challenge myself again, to prove it wasn’t a one off. This time round I took the first two chapters of a superhero story I’d started earlier that summer and went with it again. As before, characters appeared, plots twisted around each other, but it all turned out pretty damn good.

It was a bit easier that second year. I had hindsight and experience. I also had something a little closer to planning because I was working from an idea that had been sat in my head for years.

I could be forgiven for bringing a little confidence to the table when November 2009 rolled around. I had a 100% strike rate so far and I was getting ready to work on an idea that was very well planned out. The story of an agoraphobic boy who finds himself trapped in the world of his favourite fantasy books, MAXWELL COOPER should have been my easiest NaNoWriMo yet. The book was divided into seven mini stories, allowing me to move around as and when necessary. I had the whole plot planned out. I had a large cast of characters for our hero to meet. And I also had writers block. I guess I could have done without that last one. That was my first fail.

But I didn’t let it put me off. A year later and I was gifted with something all writers crave; free time. I was made redundant and put on garden leave. This meant that I couldn’t start a new job, that I didn’t need to go into my old job, and that I was still getting paid. It was effectively a three month holiday . . . and November sat right in the middle.

It was no surprise that I crossed the finished line that year. In fact I crossed it early, and managed an extra 8000 words on top of the target. And the kicker is, the story still isn’t finished. It was my most epic idea, something that I know I’m not ready to go back to just yet, but one I can’t wait to work on it in the future.

In 2011 I failed after trying to start 2009’s project again. I can take a hint and have avoided that story ever since (even though the wife really wants me to finish it). 2012 saw my zombie western brought to a sudden halt by a house move and the early arrival of my son.

After becoming a dad, I assumed that all my writing time would fade away. I didn’t think I would find the time to type anything, let alone 50,000 words, and it was made more difficult by the cramped living conditions I was experiencing at the time.

And yet somehow I did it. In 2013 I avoided writing a whole novel, and instead began my ode to the TV shows I used to watch growing up. I began work on my most successful NaNaWriMo to date; a supernatural TV-show-style episodic project. Ten novella’s with individual adventures that carry a series long arc through the middle.

It was fun, planned, and once again nowhere near finished when December rolled around. But it was somehow easy. I got into work early and wrote. I blocked out the world with soundtracks at lunch time and wrote. I got home in the evening and wrote. My wife supported me, my friends supported me, and my work colleagues supported me too.

I liked writing episodic. I’d discovered Flash Fiction last year and I like working shorter. So for NaNo 2014, I planned an epic Fantasy story broken down into bite sized pieces. I have never planned a NaNo as much as I did last year. Maps, plots, character histories, species, Gods, cities. It went on and on. I started planning it from the March of that year, took a break with an unrelated novella during CampNaNo that July, and then carried on planning and replanning right up to the starter pistol firing.

And again it all worked. I was hitting writing targets with more ease than I did in the early days. I crossed the line with a couple of days to spare. And I had a couple of writing buddies for the first time ever, people that were new, and others who I’d met from the Flash Fiction community.

Which brings me to this year.

As it stands, 2015 is the year that birthed CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE WORLD, and in July I expanded the first of their Flash Fiction stories into a novella. While I’m still working on the second draft of that project (which a recent illness lost me two weeks of working on) I’m going to use this year’s NaNoWriMo to carry on expanding a couple more. I don’t know how many, though I’m planning two at the moment. So hopefully, by the time I open day one on my advent calendar, I should have complete first drafts for CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE FOREST OF DEATH and CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE TEMPLE OF GLOOM.

Despite the lack of planning I feel pretty confident going in because I’ve spent a long time with the characters and the world. I’ve got a new laptop I’ll be taking into work which means I don’t have to hand write and retype when I get home. This will mean less wasted writing hours.

It’s all building up now. I’m trying to finish the novel I’m currently reading so that reading time becomes writing time. I’ve got my Scrivener set up ready to go. I’ve got my word count excel spreadsheet all ready too.

So that’s it. Four more sleeps and then we’re off.

If you’re taking part then drop me a writing buddy request over at NaNoWriMo; the more the merrier. There’s nothing better than being lifted through the month by the word counts of fellow writers. It helped me last year to chase down a couple of my writing buddies. Although I didn’t beat all of them, being in their ‘slipstreams’ helped get me over that finish line comfortably.

As with previous years, my next few posts will track my progress, and I’ll be offering tips and advice as and when it occurs to me.

So that’s all, really. Good luck to all of you participating. If you’re not, but you know someone who is, then cheer them along.

Four more sleeps to go.

See you in seven.

(vol 2) Chapter 41: “Write when you can”

2015 TOTAL WORD COUNT =           70368

I’ll be honest and say that what I really wanted to do was write about the new Star Wars trailer. That thing blew up yesterday and, I have to say, it was amazing.

You see, while I spend this blog writing about what I’m writing (or more often the case NOT writing about) I thought it would be nice to occasionally dip into the things that make me Geek.

Like Star Wars. And comic books. And Xbox. And Big Bang Theory.

But this week has just thrown me a curve ball and I thought I’d highlight something that, in hindsight, is a rule I wish I followed more.

For the last five days I’ve been ill. So bad that I’m not at work this whole week. Now I’ve had days off before and I can usually take advantage of some of that ‘free time’ to get stuff done; finish that book, catch up on movies, and most importantly, get some writing done.

But, more often than not the day drags on and I don’t use it wisely.

This week has been different though. I’ve had no appetite, I haven’t read a single page of the latest book I’m reading (which is annoying because I’m close to the end – sorry Sean and Dave) mainly because I can’t concentrate for very long, and this blog post is the only thing I’ve written since last Friday.

So, what’s my point?

Well I guess I look back over the last month, even the last year, and realise that, while I am writing more than I have before, am I doing enough? Instead of setting aside four or five hours a week to work on my project, if I look at my ‘free time’ could I not find more?

I know that, even if someone just writes 100 words a day, it will end up a nice novella by the end of the year. But if I really want to get something done then why not push myself to write 1000 words a day.

Now I’m not saying we should all go big. What I mean is, I could write a 100 words a day and be happy about it, if that was indeed all I could manage. But if I’ve got time for more, instead of misspending that time, I should focus it on better things.

Because these last five days have been so frustrating not being able to write. It’s taking a lot of effort to produce this post and it’s not using the imagination. And I’ll be lucky if it breaks 500 words.

I guess what I’m saying is; write when you can, and make sure you don’t regret not writing when you can’t.

NaNo in eleven days.

Hopefully I’ll feel better in seven.

(vol 2) Chapter 40: “NaNo is coming!”

2015 TOTAL WORD COUNT =           69693

It is now the middle of October which, for a lot of writers, means only one thing . . .

NaNo is coming!

I can’t believe how fast 2015 is going. It feels like just a couple of months ago that I was getting stuck into last November’s project, the ill-fated FALLEN SWORDS. I had big plans for that sucker which, after a name change to FRACTURED DAWN and only eleven episodes written, just stalled. I wish I could go into more detail about what happened to it, and more importantly what is going to happen next, but for now my episodic fantasy has been put on the back burner. Perhaps in another blog post.

This year I’m writing something else.

Although 2015 has seen me write various things, more than anything else it has been the year of Chris And Mike. What started back in January as a fun mix of Scott Pilgrim and Buffy soon rolled into an ongoing weekly challenge, one that I’ve been producing ever since.

July’s CampNaNo saw the world of Chris And Mike expand as I stepped back and took their first adventure (CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE WORLD) and turned it into the novella CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE RISING DEAD.

I’m still working on the second draft of this (coming along nicely) and didn’t want to be derailed from these characters even for just one month. So the only logical step really is to keep going with them.

So, this November, I will be expanding on the next Chris And Mike adventures. My hope is to round out the first trilogy (CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE FOREST OF DEATH and CHRIS AND MIKE vs THE TEMPLE OF GLOOM). This will complete the origin story and finally get them . . .

Wait. That would be spoiler territory. Let’s not go there.

Suffice to say that I will be spending the next few weeks going between drafting the first story while juggling the planning stages of the next two. This is good, I think, as it will allow me to mix in details here and there between all three pieces; adding little Easter eggs and small hints, planning for the future.

Where I go after that is anyone’s guess. The rest of this year will be taken up with NaNoWriMo and editing, so it looks like 2016 will be the year of Chris And Mike vs. Whether it’s one story, a collection, or an ongoing series, it all depends on the reception and my attention span. I’m hoping I’ve conquered that second

Its 18 days until NaNo.

But I’ll see you in seven.

(vol 2) Chapter 39: “Where a prompt can lead”

2015 TOTAL WORD COUNT =           69365

This week has been busy, and in all the wrong ways.

It’s because of this that today’s post is nothing short of a stop gap until next week.

But, not one to waste an opportunity, I thought I’d use last week’s explosion of ideas over at Micro Bookends to demonstrate one very simple point; it’s amazing were the authors mind can go from a simple prompt.

At Micro Bookends last week, the prompt words were PERFECT for the start, and PITCH for the end. A beautiful picture of a young woman (below) was also required to somehow be tied into out pieces.

What follows are four entries I wrote over the course of October 1^st, four stories that are very different from each other, despite all starting and ending with those same words.

Enjoy.

MY WHOLE WORLD

Perfect body. Perfect smile. Perfect eyes.

That first band practice, I was uncontrollably drawn to her; following in her scented wake for the rest of the day, the week, the year.

She was my inspiration, my rock, a goddess, sent down to dance around us mortals, to give us a taste of something beyond our fragile mortality.

Yet she was much more than something to just idolise and crave. While her body and mind were temples, ones she’d graciously gifted to me, she took such pleasure in leading me on adventures, expanding my mind, and showing me the world.

We love and laugh, while our hearts beat in fever pitch.

---

THAT MOMENT

Perfect silence; the crowd sits with bated breath.

It’s the final ball of the game; two strikes down, one more for glory.

I smell the grass, feel the tingle of the chilly evening air. I tug the peak down to shield against the spotlights.

This is what it all comes down to; the innings, the game, the whole damned season. We make it to the big leagues and I might just make enough to get me and Beth outta that crappy one bedroom.

I rub my fingers across the cowhide, get a final feel for the ball, let it sit perfect.

Here’s the wind up, and there’s the pitch!

---

JUST TELL ME YOU DID IT

“Perfect way to spend the evening,” I said to the piece of scum sat opposite. I threw the first picture across the table. “Know her?”

He didn’t answer, didn’t look at the photo.

“Karen Newton. 29. Ran her own ad firm. Loved playing that guitar,” I said, tapping the picture.

He just shrugged. Heartless bastard.

I showed him another, and another, ones from the murder scene now. Flesh, blood, death. This time he looked, face twitching with each image, something pent up inside him, wanting out.

“Fine!” he yelled. “I did it! I killed her!” He took a breath. Two. Three.

“Why?”

“That snobby bitch turned down my sales pitch!”

---

JUST THE TWO OF US?

Perfect weather is no silver lining when you’re stranded on a desert island.

I wish I was anywhere but here right now.  I swear to God, if she plays Kumbaya one more time, I’m going to wrap that fucking guitar around her neck.

I mean of all the people from the cruise ship to survive besides me, why did it have to be the crazy bitch from the ‘Entertainment Squad’?

She’s smiling. I hate it when she smiles.

I’m about to tell her exactly that, when the island growls, as if it was waking from a deep, deep slumber.

And then I feel the island pitch.

---

That’s all folks.

See you in seven.