19,500 and climbing!

I ended up pulling past my original goal of 18,500! I'm really impressed with how well and how easy it's been for me to write my quota. King was right. When you set yourself a consistent time, it really helps you prepare yourself. I love writing in these late, silent hours and I feel as if I'm finally getting to know Guy and Travis. I've got lots of ideas for changes, but for now I'm noting them and plotting forward. Logan's a total bastard now, but he feels more real than my first try at him. I think he'll develop over the course of it too. I'm really letting him have his way. I think before I was caging him up too much, now I'm letting him loose on Guy and Travis and it feels really natural to do so.

Novel Progress:
Words: 19,500
Pages: 79
Chapters: 6


Books of the Week!
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Protector of the Small, Book One: First Test - by Tamora Pierce

So I kept hearing her name bounced around in the Juvenile Fiction section of things, and I finally picked up one of her books. This one's rather new, but it was the first one I found on the shelf and I liked the idea of a girl training to be a knight. This first book is Keladry of Mindelan trying desperately to outlast the torments and hardships of being a "probationary" page. She has to prove she can run with the boys, some who support her and others who do everything they can to make her want to go running home. Kel is such a great female lead because she's strong of will and mind instead of just with her fists as you would think a girl training to be a knight might be. It doesn't gloss over knighthood and make it look pretty, it shows the gritty, dangerous, day to day life and the endless training and sacrafice one must make. I highly recommend it.


Murder on the Orient Express - by Agatha Christie

Yes, it's good old Aggie at it again! The Grand Mistress of murder, mystery and mayhem as my professor once put it. This is a popular case staring one of her detectives, the amiable Belgian, M. Hercule Poirot. I love his subtle humor and that little twinkle he gets in his eye when you know he's already got things all figured out. Even if I can't solve it as easily as he can, I love hanging on for the ride and again she proves why she's still at the top. Her puzzles are deeply layered in human relationships and you believe when the solution is placed in front of you, wondering how you could miss it. I can't tell much about this one, but I will say you'll be turning pages and making tons of notes trying to keep track of pipe cleaners, handkerchiefs and a certain, elusive, scarlet kimono covered in dragons. If you haven't read any of her mysteries, this is a good one to start with.

Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys - by Candace Savage

So I promised Lambent I would educate myself on the habits of natural crows, and I was quite surprised at the sheer volume of books I found on Crows and the rest of their relatives in the Corvus genus at the library. This one is a short book covering all the basics from mythology to mating habits, intelligence (did you know they use tools?) to inter-species relationships (one type of crow has been known to work with a wolf pack to hunt for food). It also included amusing anecdotes from fellow crow lovers and offered more indepth titles of books covering specific scientific studies on crows. A great read for anyone who wants to learn about these curious and often misunderstood neighbors who so frequently share our skies.

It's over 9,000!!!

Couldn't help that joke, I really couldn't. :)

More than double word count from last weekend. I'm really happy with how my novel is progressing. This time I'm really letting Guy take the reins and tell the story, and I feel like I'm really getting to know him as a character now. King's book has helped me so much and my goal is working out so well that I want to bump it up to 1,000 a day for this week. I think I'm more than ready for it, since I've been writing about that much when I sit down for a good session.

Progress:
Words: 11,750
Pages: 48
chapters: 4

In reading news, I finished two books:

I Heard the Owl Call My Name - Margaret Craven

A story about a young vicar who lives amongst a Native-American tribe in the Pacific Northwest. It's a classic in these parts, so I just had to check it out. I'm so glad that I did, it was short, but poignant and made me reflect about my own life and the journey that I'm currently on as well.

Elsewhere - Gabrielle Zevin

This one is awesome because it was on the floor of the libary, so I'm like, well, why not? So I added it to my stack, having no clue what it was, but thinking I would have an adventure. I got what I wanted and more. A super existential tale of a girl who is thrust early into an afterlife where everyone ages in reverse. It's a world populated with talking dogs, dead celebrities and all sorts of odds and ends that - well you just have to read for yourself. This one also was moving in a different sort of way and I feel like I've grown after reading it. Miraculously I read it all the way through this morning, which I've never done before. That was pretty awesome. I highly recommend it.