Monkey Madness Monday: NaNo Quiet

Yes, I took last week off from blogging. I hadn't really intended to, but with NaNo and, well, life, I really had no choice.

Here's the deal: I don't think I'm going to complete NaNo this year. I'm about 7k words behind and really don't think I can catch up. But ya know, I don't feel too bad about it. Why you ask? Because I truly believe I'm writing a quality story.

The main reason I'm behind is that I'm doing too much research, and that's my bad for choosing a story set partially set in Medieval Germany. And yeah, I could have glossed over that stuff and gone back and put it in later, but I didn't want to. I wanted to know what kind of foliage grew in the Black Forest, and what exactly is and Imp? What did women wear under their dresses in 1250 and how arranged marriages worked. So, my bad.

I am very excited about this story and this series (this is the first of hopefully a three or four book series).  And a stray from the contemporary realism I've been writing for the last four years.

Here's an excerpt of the story for your reading pleasure (or displeasure if that's the case).

Happy reading, happy writing, happy Monday.

Wednesday Writing: My NaNo

Here is my NaNo work. Rough of course, but I'm exciting about it because 1) I'm writing something new and 2) because I'm planning on making a series of this idea. Tell me what you think.

You’ve been deceived. I know my reputation precedes me, but all that’s been told, and all that you’ve heard is nothing more than a superfluity of fabrications meant to destroy me. They wish to extinguish any remaining embers of the fire that burns within me so that I may give up my quest.  How? Through their words they’ve transformed me from a kind and caring, albeit sometimes mischievous creature, into a monster. But truly, I’m not so much different from you.

The stories you’ve heard about me leading weary travelers astray, switching babies at birth, or eating souls are simply untrue, though I admit I’m always up for a good prank. Harmless tricks are instinctive to my kind, but I don’t slink down alleyways and sewers, eavesdropping on the desperate and dejected to find a suitable victim for my next ruse. Alleyways frighten me and I will not slog through shit for even the funniest of pranks.

My skin is not red; I do not carry a pitchfork, have a tail dangling from my ass, nor possess horns— though my ears are a tad pointy.  I have no talons, claws, or any other animal like features including wings, though I’m able to render some for you if you wish to fly.

Those who’ve tarnished my character have much to gain, but I have everything to lose. And their motivations stem from nothing more than man’s need for possessions and power.  They turned me into a monstrosity to keep kith and kin chasing after me. When they began, they had no idea how long this hunt would last, how many fathers would pass the legend that is me down to their sons. Now centuries later, though the families of Strauss and Dietrich still know my origins, though not in its entirety and not in truth, the rest of the world does not. For the others deceived by the lies of those families, my name is now equated to a folklore tale of terror, a boogey man, a nightmare.

My goal now, is to end, once and for all, the avaricious pursuits of the Houses of Strauss and Dietrich, untether myself from the one thing that keeps me vulnerable to the greed of all man and subsequent captivity, and locate the girl from the prophecies.

But mostly my wish is to clear the name of Stilzchen, and to find my happily ever after.