That Special Announcement You Were Promised // Featuring Snippets and many LotR gifs!!!
So... here it is. That special announcement post I've been teasing for the last month or so.
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[a lighthouse near me so that you don't see the real picture for this post just yet]
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I FINISHED IT by Faith Thompson
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| Me writing |
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| Me applauding my good job |
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| Me trying to fix my mistakes later |
Editing will do these last things to me.
But at the moment I'm just happy because I made it. I finished a workable draft of a book, and that's a first for me. I've written so many books/stories/etc., but this is the first time I've finished revising the book when it needed a full overhaul and rewrite. I finished it, y'all. So do I care about the editing?
I have a few more weeks before I need to worry about that.
But you want to know about the actual statistics and story part of the book, right?
Here's a screenshot of my NaNoWriMo goal tracker:
As you can see, I started August with 60,000+ words, but I really buckled down in that month and got serious. At 10 PM on the first of September, I actually finished the book, which my family rewarded with lunch at Firehouse Subs (delicious).
Word count on this draft: 98, 370
*sits here amazed*
because word count on previous draft: 61, 868
So.... this is kind of a lot longer, and I can only foresee it getting longer in the future.
Have a picture of my mock cover just because I love it:
And here's an (updated) synopsis of the story:
It's 2032. Melinza Alltote and her family hide their illegal Christian faith from the government as well as they can, going through the motions of daily life in the dangerous city of Washington, D.C. School, church, friendships, evading bullies... all of these they do, and with God on their side, who can be against them?
But even believing in the true God can't save them from everything.
Friends can turn on you. The government can betray you. Families can splinter.
Faith can disappear.
So, what do you think of it? *grins nervously* It's a really bad synopsis, I know, but I have to give you some summary of the story.
{Find previous posts about Watched here, here, and snippets in the following posts: here (April's wrapup post), here (May's wrapup post), and here (June's wrapup post}
But you want more snippets, don't you?
She patted the side of the van. "How's the magic carpet?"
“It’s
good, except for that screw. It won’t be going anywhere unless I can fix up
that converter, so get to work. You’ll see it as soon as you get under there.”
Plunking
his hat down on her head, she lay down on the little rolling cart and took the
screwdriver he put in her hand. “Roll under there and just look at the big
screw underneath. You’ll be able to tell which one right away – it’s impossible
to miss.”
“Okay. Give me a push.”
He shoved the cart under the car. She fumbled in the dark for the headlamp and
clicked it on.
Yes, the screw was impossible to miss. She bared her teeth at it and snarled,
and it screamed in intimidated terror. Raising the screwdriver, she imagined
she was a knight of old, bearing a noble sword and preparing to skewer evil
knights who tried to kidnap her love. The screwdriver was a sword. With a
stifled battle yell, she drove the sword into the screw’s metallic heart.
Twisting and twisting to make sure she got every drop of blood out, she reached
up and wrenched the enemy’s heart out of its chest.
The screw slid out easily in her hand. She pushed herself back out into the
suddenly sharp, bright sunlight and blinked a few times to calibrate herself.
Brandishing her fallen foe’s heart in her oily left hand, she smiled up at
William. “Got it for you!”
[Melinza the drama queen]
He shrugged. "Everyone else expects me
to become an engineer when I graduate college.”
Melinza studied his face carefully in the limited light from the disco ball. “But that's not what you want
to do.”
“No,”
he agreed. “I want to become a politician.”
Melinza
couldn't keep herself from snorting. “I'm sorry. A politician? One of those
slimy, weaselly snakes? You’ve got to be joking.”
“Why?
Do I not look like a slimy, weaselly snake to you?” He smirked in the burst of
pink light that flashed across his face. “Yes, one of them. I plan to make
something of myself, and I think that’s the way to do it. If nothing else I’ll
move to the state of Nebraska and start a career in the state legislature.”
“Why
Nebraska?"
“I
don’t know. First state that popped into my head.”
[They're at a soda party. In case you were wondering.]
“I’m going to have to
get off at this next stop.”
“You
do that,” Bryce said cheerfully. “Have your pepper spray?”
“I
don’t have any pepper spray, dude!” Despite the fact that he was entirely in AP
classes, his brain hardly functioned in terms of social life.
“Oh.
I was talking about your hair.” Bryce got back to work on his math.
Melinza ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair, uncertain as to what
in the world this meant. “What are you…” she began, then
decided it was pointless. “I’m getting off. Call me when you get home.”
“How
about I just text?” Bryce held his earbuds poised next to his ears, prepared to
stick them back in as soon as she stopped talking.
“Sure. Fine.” Not really in the mood to talk any more, Melinza got up and
shouldered her backpack. In their car of the train, there were only five other
people, and no one ever got off at this platform. “Bye.”
Bryce
didn’t hear her, his earbuds in and his head moving to jam with the music.
Whatever he was listening to, it wasn’t good. He listened to trashy music back
from the ‘10’s, from dated people like Bastille and Imagine Dragons.
[Note: I really like both Bastille and Imagine Dragons. This opinion belongs to Melinza and is solely her own and does not reflect the views or opinions of any author of this book. Also: later in the story, Melinza listens to Imagine Dragons. So go figure.]
“I am fine, and I’d
appreciate it if you left me alone.” William glared at her.
“Why, buster?” Lucas stepped forward, thrusting out his skinny chest.
William jumped. “Whoa. You’re not Bryce.”
“No,
I’m not. That’s a good thing, hello. There can’t be two Bryces, now can
there?”
“I -
guess not?” William stared at him, obviously bemused.
I would give you more at this point, but I think I've exhausted everything that's snappy and semi-intelligent and non-spoilery.
The plan from here:
Turning into Gollum while editing.
Just kidding. Maybe.
At the moment I'm experimenting with the Snowflake Plotting Method (google it, it's really super cool) on a new idea I've had for an alternate history book while I take a month off from working on Watched. In October the plan is to make a list of the things that need fixing in Watched (and believe me, there's a lot of them) and then plot for my November NaNoWriMo project, about which I'm really excited. I'll have more on that for you in October, most likely.
A major thank you to Legolas for his concern. I look way worse than I feel. :)
And now, peace out! *vanishes in a puff of smoke with evil cackles*
Did you enjoy this post that was very-not-well-arranged? I feel like it was just kind of a jumble of gifs, but... they're Lord of the Rings so that's okay. If you're my alpha reader (you know who you are), congratulations to you, and here's some cookies. You will need them. XD
Celebrate with me in the comments!!!!!
~Faith
54 comments
First! Ehahaha! Yas Faith! This is totally awesome! *does a high five*
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ry! I'm so happy! :D
DeleteWOW YOU DID IT! CONGRATS *throws confetti and runs around cheering* And I love all the LOTR gifs *smiles at all the gifs of gollum and editting put together* TRUE STORY XD
ReplyDeleteThey're so great, aren't they? AND ACCURATE MUCH XP
DeleteThanks!!!!!
OHMYWORD, CONGRATULATIONS!!! THAT'S SUPER EXCITING!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy for you, Faith! I hope editing treats you well. Just remember to take a break for a few weeks or you might get rid of everything. (Speaking from experience)
Those snippets were great. I'm just so excited for you!! <3
~Ivie
iviewrites.blogspot.com
THANK YOU!!!! It better, otherwise I will KILL it, precious! *looking around evilly*
DeleteTHANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ASGLAHGHJGLAS OHMYGOODGRACIOUS, YOU DID IT, OHMYWORD!!! *bombs everything with glitter and confetti* GOOD FOR YOU, FAITH! Doesn't it feel so epic to finish something like this?? And Watched is HUGE, I've NEVER finished a novel that big! xD So YOU ARE EPIC AND SUPERHUMAN AND EEP, I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU! <3 <3 <3 (also YOUR SNIPPETS. Seriously, I want this book soooo bad. It definitly looks like something right up my alley! Your writing style is the best)
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS AGAIN, MY FRIEND!
~ Savannah | Scattered Scribblings
ASKFJDKFGHFJKDJLSAJFKDJFKJDJ THANK YOU!!!!!!! I'm so excited that I did it! It's so amazing. I actually feel like it's too SHORT for something in my genre, but then again, it varies, right? I'm not superhuman by any means. (For superhuman, see: Christine's blog) but I'M STILL SO HAPPY!! (and ahhhh, you like the snippets. Argh. I must finish this book!!!! So you can read it!)
DeleteOH MY GOSH ALL THE RAINBOWS AND CUPCAKES AND CONFETTI. THAT IS SO EXCITING!!!!!
ReplyDeletefrom 60, to 90! That's quite the jump. :D
IT IS. I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW THAT HAPPENED.
DeleteCongrats Faith!!! You've made it!!!!
ReplyDeleteCatherine
catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com
Thank you!!!!
Deletewow! congrats! I'm so proud of you - you've done really well - that's a lot of words :D those gifs are just priceless xD and I love how you put in Bastille and Imagine Dragons there! I have wanted to do something like that (putting a current thing as history) for agessss but I'm not writing dystopian right now haha :P I LOVE THOSE SNIPPETS AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR ... for you to finish it? For more snippets? For the publication? To beta read it maybe? and that cover is really good!
ReplyDeletelisa
thisinkwell.blogspot.com
Thank you, Lisa! I actually love them both, and making those references was really fun. :D I would love it if you were to beta read for me when I've got it to a place where it's ready for that!!!! So glad you like it!!!
DeleteCongrats! That's so awesome! And I'm loving the LotR gifs. It makes is even more awesome! Again, congrats!
ReplyDeleteI know, don't they? I <3 them. Thank you so much, Sarah!
DeleteYesss, Gollum gifs!! What I been secretly wanting to see forever! Oh, and also, Nebraska is the only state in the USA without a two part legislature - so they don't have a House and Senate, just one governing body. Just in case you wanted to know . . . *wonders why I know this* Love those snippets, girl! Your characters are my new best friends! Congrats, don't die editing, and enjoy life!
ReplyDeleteBrianna Adara
Lol, the Gollum gifs are my favorite thing about this post. I remember that, thanks! (That'll never amount to anything... just to throw that out there XD) I'll try not to die, thank you!!!
Delete>> A major thank you to Legolas for his concern. I look way worse than I feel. :)
ReplyDeleteIf that is true, you must be feeling *so* great, because your smile has been beautiful today. Congratulations, sweetie.
Thanks :) Love you.
DeleteCONGRATS!!! That's so, so very exciting!!!! *drools over the snippets* Watched sounds fantastic! XDDD
ReplyDeleteI'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
DeleteHey, congratulations!! That's a huge accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteOMIGOSH, YAY!!!!!!!!!! I read this wayyy earlier today, but I was at a party so I figured I should be more social.... that's why the late comment! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!! *jumps up and down* I LOVE the snippets. CONGRATS. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *flails*
ReplyDeleteThat's 100% okay!!! I'm so happy too! Thanks, Gray!!! *flails like an octopus*
DeleteCongratulations, and I wish you all the best with the editing!
ReplyDeleteLove those Merry and Pippin gifs. They summarize the writing process nicely.
Thank you so much! They're perfect, aren't they? I thought that they would sum it up very well.
DeleteCONGRATS!! That's so awesome!! <3
ReplyDeleteLove the snippets, too :) Can't wait to read your book one day!
Thanks, Amy :) I hope you will get to read it someday!
DeleteCongrats on finishing, that's always an amazing feeling.
ReplyDeleteYour snippets are great, good luck with the edits!
Thank you, Skye!!!
Delete*flails and dances around* EXCUSE ME WHILE I FREAK OUT AGH.
ReplyDeleteSO HAPPY FOR YOU!! :D And those SNIPPETS. I LOVE IT!
*ahem*
Anyway, super excited. It's a super awesome feeling, finishing a first draft. <3
THANK YOU MADELINE! It is an amazing feeling, and I'm so happy. I will be working more on it soon. I can't wait to dive back into it :)
DeleteOH MY GOODNESS CONGRATULATIONS!!! This is such an awesome accomplishment; don't you just love the feeling?
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with further editing! Those gifs are on-point, lol
Alexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
verbosityreviews.com
Ahhh, it really is. And the gifs are my favorite thing about this post XD
DeleteCongratulations!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited for you! I can't wait until I finish this first draft and get back to writing. I've been so inspired. Once I'm done researching, I can get back to actually writing the story. I pray that that's soon. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks for the snippets! I'm so happy for you. <333
God Bless!
I'm so glad, LHE! You're going to do great. The actual drafting is the best part.
DeleteThank you so much. :)
DeleteI'm so, so, so happy for you! You must be so happy with yourself. Now you can see the full story and work with that. I'm sure editing, and writing more drafts will be fun. :)
WOW CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your 'workable draft'! Your story sounds really interesting - is it of the same sort of genre as 'Counted Worthy'? because I think that sub-genre is getting more and more relevant. (Unfortunately.) *shakes off gloomy thoughts* Anyway, best wished for editing!!
ReplyDelete(And the LotR gifs = perfect. Especially the Gollum ones. ;)
- Jem Jones
IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME GENRE!!!!! I'M SO GLAD YOU GOT THAT!!! *cheers happily* I love that book. And yes, it is really sad that it's getting so relevant. This book isn't even that far in the future :(
DeleteThanks! They're so great!
*throws confetti* CONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING YOUR NOVEL. That's so cool and I can't wait to buy it when it's a published masterpiece that's shelved at Barnes and Nobles! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! Oh, my, let's not count the chickens before they're hatched! (Although that would be super fun, and I'm glad to hear it!!)
DeleteI have faith in you. (*smirks* See what I did there?)
DeleteLol, I totally do... *rolls eyes* *laughs*
Delete*laughs with you**virtual hugs*
DeleteYAY FAITH FANTASTIC job! Especially adding a good 30K to the draft O.o . Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteSide note: I replied to your comment on my blog, but those are hard to keep up with... you should totally sign up for alpha reading R+B if you want to - you are SO qualified :)
Thanks, Madison :) It was crazy! That's one of the longest drafts I've ever finished!
DeleteAnd I did sign up, so I'm looking forward to that! :)
Bahahaha, those snippets are golden. xD Congrats, girl!! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Faith :)
DeleteCongratulations! That is SO EXCITING!!! Your book sounds awesome. XD
ReplyDeleteI LOVED THIS POST!!! You can never have too many LOTR gifs. These were priceless. XD
Thanks, glad to hear it XD
DeleteAnd yes, the gifs are so amazing.
I know I'm a week late but AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! YOU FINISHED. CONGRATULATIONS. I AM SO RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED FOR YOU. The second draft can be the most grueling, trying to revise the first draft, and I know you've been working SO hard on this thing and it wasn't easy. Just...EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! *throws all the confetti*
ReplyDeleteThe snippets were golden. I loved reading them! This story just looks amazing!
Also A+ on the LotR gif-usage. You can NEVER go wrong with LotR gifs! ;D
Congrats again, girl! I'm just ecstatic for you!!! *throws some more confetti for good measure*
I DON'T CARE THAT YOU'RE LATE! I'M JUST GLAD YOU'RE BACK!!!
DeleteAhh, I'm so glad you think it sounds good. It still needs so much work, but I'm ridiculously proud of it. <3
Thank you so much Christine! *gets confetti in mouth and chokes* *pats self on back*
Hello, friends! Do make yourselves comfortable and stay for a while--I'd love to chat with you! I simply ask that you keep it clean. :)