I meant to do this yesterday, but it turns out yesterday and day were sick days. (I was sick with some unknown aliment yesterday, and I am having a chronic pain episode involving a very old knee injury, which is bad enough it has disrupted my ability to do anything.)
I got the right type of knee brace/sleeve, so hopefully that will be tolerable by tomorrow… or tolerable in the sense that I’ve adapted to the pain and can function through it.
Anyway, today is all about starting to write your story. I had wanted to throw a completed opener your way to give you an example, but due to sickness and pain, I was only able to write a little bit. That’s fine, I’ll share the little bit I have with you anyway:
Rise of the Rift King – Chapter One, Scene One
Kalen
The first night Kalen had been unable to sleep, he had assumed some illness had come for him. The expected fatigue failed to hamper him, and his head remained clear. The last time he had become ill, coherency had abandoned him first.
Whatever plagued him, it wasn’t a sickness, not in the usual sense.
The second night, a suspicion grew, one unsettling in its treachery.
His father had, the morning before that first night, changed the usual morning cup of tea to something a little stronger with a bitter-sour bite. As Kalen liked stronger brews, he had thought nothing of the change.
But then the restlessness had settled in, working its way deep into his bones and refusing to ease its hold on him.
Normal tea didn’t do such things, not to him.
On the sixth morning, Kalen made a point of getting out of bed a little early, planning his emergence from his chamber after his father had already gone down the hall to prepare the morning tea. While the family’s servants prepared the morning meal, his father always handled the tea, a tradition for as long Kalen could remember.
It has been a hot minute since I’ve written anything in third person, so it’s been a bit of a struggle to remember HOW to write in third person. That’s okay. Right now, I’m getting used to the character’s adjusted voice and seeing how I want to handle the scene.
This is, roughly, where/when I want to start; Kalen is smart, he’s wise (especially for his age), and he’s been involved with Kelsh court long enough to recognize treachery when he sees it.
Which is, frankly, a terrible thing for a thirteen year old to face. So, I want the book to open with Kalen being forced to use his wits to survive, which is a major theme of this series.
Your goal is to write either the complete opening scene or a thousand words. (A thousand words at a minimum will get you to where you want to be, pacing wise, for finishing in the 150 Day window we’re trying to finish our stories in.)
I will be aiming for the entire opening scene, which should be around 2,500 words when I’m done with it, as I’m expecting my novel to be longer.
I will be back next week with your next assignment, so if you’re a slow writer, that’s okay! You will have the entire weekend to get your thousand words written.
Right now, worry about getting words onto the page. Making them good words is an assignment for another day.
Happy writing, folks! Remember: a bad word written is far more valuable than a good idea that is never pursued.
Write. You can transform bad words into good ones later.
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