Nano Update #1
Nov. 9th, 2014 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dracoqueen22For the curious, I'll do this on my road to victory.
Right now, I stand at 16, 227 words of 50,000. That means I'm just a teensy bit ahead of where I need to be. No thanks to RL.
The story, East of Eden, is as I said, a true romance. The first I've ever written. And now, I've taken to calling it The Tale of Two Geeks, because really, that's it is. And at it's core, it's a coming of age story for a man who's in his thirties, and finally learning what it means to live. The theme song, so far is "Heads Tails" by Hotspur.
Here's a little snippet for anyone interested!
Right now, I stand at 16, 227 words of 50,000. That means I'm just a teensy bit ahead of where I need to be. No thanks to RL.
The story, East of Eden, is as I said, a true romance. The first I've ever written. And now, I've taken to calling it The Tale of Two Geeks, because really, that's it is. And at it's core, it's a coming of age story for a man who's in his thirties, and finally learning what it means to live. The theme song, so far is "Heads Tails" by Hotspur.
Here's a little snippet for anyone interested!
“Life's too short,” Marcus said, “To try and be like everyone else. I just want to be me, to like what I like and take advantage of the time I do have.”
His words were punctuated by flashes of the camera. Today, he'd chosen to set up shop in the amphitheater, using the stairs and greenery as props. He'd brought robots today, small, articulated ones. Avery recognized them from his childhood, though they'd recently seen a resurgence in popularity. He might have gotten dragged to one of the movies a couple of years ago.
“It's safer, I think,” Avery replied from where he sat on a bench. In deference to the humidity, he'd taken off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. “Or easier maybe. People stare and you get self-conscious and I don't know why it matters what strangers think but it does.”
“But it shouldn't. What right does any person have to judge someone else for what makes them happy? Especially if you're not hurting anyone.”
“They don't,” Avery agreed. “That's not really the way it works though. I don't like to be stared at. It makes me twitchy. I'd rather just not draw any attention.”
Blend into the background actually. It had served him well in high school and college and even now at work. Background people tend not to get bullied or noticed or the object of ridicule. He'd been lucky in that regard.
Marcus paused and turned to look at him, lips curved in a smile that made Avery's heart skip a beat. He really did have a nice smile. “Sounds boring.”
“Boring is safe.”
“Safe is a waste of time.”
“And yet, safe.”
Marcus tilted his head as though considering Avery before gesturing at him with the camera. “Come on.”
Avery blinked, unsure what he meant. “What?”
“Why don't you give it a try?” He wriggled his camera pointedly.
Avery sunk a little lower on the bench, looking over his shoulders. There weren't a lot of people on this side of the park, mostly a few students with their textbooks and a couple of joggers. Most of the families were on the other side, where the playground was.
“I'm not a photographer,” Avery said.
“Neither am I.” Marcus pulled the strap over his head, holding the camera out in one hand toward Avery. “It's not about skill.”
“But--” Avery looked around helplessly.
Why did it feel like the distance between himself and reaching for that camera might as well be a yawning chasm? He fidgeted on the bench, the back of his shoulders twitching.
“It's a camera and a couple of pictures. What's it going to hurt?”
I'll update word counts and bring some more snippets as the month moves along. Good luck to everyone else participating!
His words were punctuated by flashes of the camera. Today, he'd chosen to set up shop in the amphitheater, using the stairs and greenery as props. He'd brought robots today, small, articulated ones. Avery recognized them from his childhood, though they'd recently seen a resurgence in popularity. He might have gotten dragged to one of the movies a couple of years ago.
“It's safer, I think,” Avery replied from where he sat on a bench. In deference to the humidity, he'd taken off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. “Or easier maybe. People stare and you get self-conscious and I don't know why it matters what strangers think but it does.”
“But it shouldn't. What right does any person have to judge someone else for what makes them happy? Especially if you're not hurting anyone.”
“They don't,” Avery agreed. “That's not really the way it works though. I don't like to be stared at. It makes me twitchy. I'd rather just not draw any attention.”
Blend into the background actually. It had served him well in high school and college and even now at work. Background people tend not to get bullied or noticed or the object of ridicule. He'd been lucky in that regard.
Marcus paused and turned to look at him, lips curved in a smile that made Avery's heart skip a beat. He really did have a nice smile. “Sounds boring.”
“Boring is safe.”
“Safe is a waste of time.”
“And yet, safe.”
Marcus tilted his head as though considering Avery before gesturing at him with the camera. “Come on.”
Avery blinked, unsure what he meant. “What?”
“Why don't you give it a try?” He wriggled his camera pointedly.
Avery sunk a little lower on the bench, looking over his shoulders. There weren't a lot of people on this side of the park, mostly a few students with their textbooks and a couple of joggers. Most of the families were on the other side, where the playground was.
“I'm not a photographer,” Avery said.
“Neither am I.” Marcus pulled the strap over his head, holding the camera out in one hand toward Avery. “It's not about skill.”
“But--” Avery looked around helplessly.
Why did it feel like the distance between himself and reaching for that camera might as well be a yawning chasm? He fidgeted on the bench, the back of his shoulders twitching.
“It's a camera and a couple of pictures. What's it going to hurt?”
I'll update word counts and bring some more snippets as the month moves along. Good luck to everyone else participating!
