Friday Snippets: Fire

I have a slightly longer snippet than usual for all of you today, due to my recent absence! Expect posts to be irregular for a few more weeks, but after that, I’ll work on getting my schedule back on track.

Please keep in mind that this is a first draft and still needs to be edited.

Note: “Merde” means “shit” in French.

A sudden swell of power hit me. Dark, twisted, but most of all, the essence created a vicious heat. The magic coursed through the entire building. The overhead lights sparked, then went out. Darkness claimed the dining hall. Not entirely.

A flickering light near the open doorway drew my gaze towards it. Natural light, a mixture of orange and yellow.

Fire.

“Merde!” All emotions vanished from my mind except for one: Panic.

I ran towards the open double doors and glanced out into the hallway. Flames licked across the wooden floor in both directions, removing them as potential escape routes. A swift kick shut the doors and I fled into another hallway. The fire clung to the walls and the ceiling, devouring everything in its path.

No flames covered the floor.

Against my better judgment, I stormed into the hallway and followed the path. Staying as centered as I could, I avoided the flames and sought a way out. Come on, I’ve come too far to die now.

The hallway forked in four directions and I swore. Pulling out the rag I carried in my pouch, I pressed it against my mouth and coughed. Smoke rose as the house burned. Quickly, I determined only one path was safe and I took it.

My chest constricted the second I entered the lounge. Thick black smoke filled it and the flames that consumed the room combined with it, creating a horrible gray-orange glow.

The windows. I needed to get to one of the windows. Avoiding the flames while I crossed the room proved more difficult than I anticipated. They licked at my arms in an attempt to bring me down along with the house.

No. I wouldn’t burn alive the way Richard had.

A flame caught my left sleeve and began traveling. A cry slipped past my lips and I moved back, frantically using the cloth to extinguish the flames. The wall. I finally reached the wall.

A grimace flitted across my features. I’d only get one shot at this.

In one solid movement, I swung my arm and hit the window with my sword’s hilt. The glass shattered, flooding the room with oxygen, and I cried out as the flames seemed to roar and double in intensity. Quickly I used the hilt to clear away more shards of the broken window.

Escape. Now I’d escape.

Instead of climbing, I flung myself through the window. I hit the ground rolling. Pain stabbed into my arms and legs. Still, I forced myself to my feet and ran, away from the burning building, away from the place where Richard kept me captive for three long years.

Let me know what you think! I love hearing from all of you.

Have a fantastic weekend!

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• Friday Snippets: Magic (natashamcneely.wordpress.com)

 

33% – On my way to victory!

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel incredibly pleased with how my novel is progressing. I’m making amazing time by my standards and I’m happy with what I’m writing!

Normally I’d say that’s a combination that is never possible. My muse is proving me wrong. I’m at about the 30,000 words mark, as you can see in the progress bar, which means I’m a third of the way done with this novel.

So much done and yet there’s so much left to go!

Things are really getting interesting now and it will only get better and better as I get farther into the story.

My self-made deadline is April 30th.

Considering I wrote a third of the novel in only nine days of writing, I’m not too worried about somehow not finishing on time. But I won’t get cocky; I’ll just keep writing!

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic weekend. How’d you spend it?

Experimentation: A Different Way To Write

You know how some people do things one way, and others do it differently? There are various ways to do anything, really, and in the end it’s all about figuring out what works best for you.

Writing is no different.

As much as it’d be nice if books just wrote themselves (Spoiler: They don’t.), we have to figure out ways to go about it ourselves. This involves all kinds of intricate details. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you write by hand or type it up? Or do you maybe use voice recognition software?

Normally, I plot out the important aspects of the plot and let the characters guide me along the rest of the way. Plotting I do on paper, the writing I do on my laptop. Today, I decided to do things a bit differently.

I downloaded a recording app onto my phone and dictated the latest chapter. Basically, I just let the words flow. Dictating the new chapter, chapter 7, took about an hour. Apparently I can talk rather quickly if I want to. Go figure.

What I did next was, I emailed myself the audio file and played it on my laptop, slowed down a bit, so I could keep up while typing. Writing the chapter, going by what I dictated, took about two hours.

So, with three hours of work, I created chapter 7 which consists of 4,342 words! Not too shabby, all things considered. I did to a bit of editing as I listened/typed, just to make it a bit better. But overall, I think it went great!

Is this a method I’ll always use? No, but it’s something I’ll definitely consider using from time to time. There’s just something appealing about getting the chapter done in less than an hour, and then just needing to get it onto paper.

I’ll see how often I use this method.

The moral of this story is: Don’t be afraid to do things a bit differently! If you always do something the same way, you’ll never realize that maybe there’s a way to go about it that you like better, or that’s easier.

Give things a try. You might just be pleasantly surprised!

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic weekend!

Friday Snippets: Magic

Hi everyone!

Friday is finally here and that means that I have a new snippet for all of you. This snippet comes from chapter two of my current project, which is going extremely well, I might add!

Please keep in mind that this is a first draft and must still undergo editing.

Enjoy!

Magic emanates from the crowd. It grows more powerful, more potent. I take another step towards Ella just as a loud blast erupts from the center of the crowd. It flashes and I cringe as people start to scream. They run, spreading out in a sudden rush. Guards shout and bolt forward, trying to calm and guide the people.

The pregnant woman’s eyes widen and she flees, passing by my sister. The magic-user makes his way through the dispersing crowd. Quick on his feet, he dodges between the running citizens of Senna. I dash forward as he breaks his way through the crowd. Behind me, I hear Lord Serkan yell. In just a few seconds, he’ll reach me and pull me away from danger.

The man lunges towards Ella and she steps back, eyes wide. Quickly, I slip between the two of them and his hand brushes against my arm instead of hers. Magic crashes into me and I gasp. It slips into me, pushing around my magic, trapping it. Searing pain courses through my veins as my magic tries to resist.

The foreign essence overpowers my magic and I release a scream. It yanks on me, hard and unrelenting.

“NIKA!”

Everything around me vanishes.

Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you.

That aside, have a fantastic weekend!

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Day off + writing progress!

If you read my previous post, then you’ll know that I created a new writing schedule that I feel very strongly about. I think it’s a schedule I can stick to, and so far I it hasn’t proven me wrong.

Halfway through the first week of this schedule and my writing is going absolutely swimmingly. As you can see from that lovely progress bar at the top of the sidebar, I’ve already passed the 10,000 words mark in my current project!

Three days of writing and I’ve written that much. I can hardly believe it, but it’s true and I’m absolutely ecstatic about it!

After two days of getting a lot of writing done, today was a welcome day off and I’m glad I chose to take Wednesdays off. It will help keep me energized, so to speak. But it’s only for one day!

Tomorrow, I will get back to work! Many words are waiting for me. I must write them. All of us need to do the things that call to us! I wish all of you luck in accomplishing your goals.

Let’s do this together.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to play some more Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword to finish my day off.

Have a great day, everyone!

How has this week treated you so far? Let me know!

New Writing Schedule: Let’s do this!

A big part of my issue with getting words onto paper regularly is that I don’t have a schedule – a schedule that works. I keep trying various schedules, but in the end, I stray from them. This time, I’ve finally found one that I intend to make work.

Technically I started it Friday, but this will be my first full week of trying out this schedule. My schedule is as follows:

Let’s cheer each other on!
Courtesy of Nakaya de Jong.

• Monday: Write one chapter.
• Tuesday: Write one chapter.
• Wednesday: Off.
• Thursday: Write one chapter.
• Friday: Write one chapter.
• Saturday: Off.
• Sunday: Off.

Four chapters a week. I gave myself Wednesdays off so that I have a short break between chapter-writing, that way, I won’t feel overwhelmed. With this schedule, I expect to have the first draft of my current, untitled project done in two months – by the end of April.

Let’s see if I can do this, shall we?

What am I saying? I can do this! Of course I can!

We can all do whatever we set our minds to. The thing that matters is perseverance. We just need to keep going. Never give up, never stop. Keep fighting, keep working. No matter what it is you want to do, just keep working towards it and you’ll reach your goal.

Let’s do this together!

What goals do you have at the moment? School-related? Work-related? Something else? Share in the comments!

Friday Snippets: Siblings

Welcome to this week’s Friday Snippets everyone!

This week, I’ll be sharing a snippet from the first chapter of my current, untitled novel. I just started it today, so please keep in mind that it will need to undergo some heavy editing sometime in the future!

This is also my first time writing a novel in present tense. It’s an interesting challenge, so keep in mind that there might be small inconsistencies that I missed.

That aside, I hope you enjoy it!

I glance back at the city. Childish giggles rise with the wind and I spot half a dozen children. They run, jump over obstacles, and dodge as a seventh child tries to tag them. My lips curl into a smile, remembering the days when my sister and I played such games. So long ago and yet the memory remains bright and detailed.

Oblivious to me watching, the children continue their game. I watch for several more moments, basking in the reminiscence, then turn and enter the building. A guard slides the door shut behind me and I flash him a small smile. My feet lead me through the hallway and down two winding staircases. Now on the first floor, I head down the hall until I reach a large, spacious room.

Two sofas stand in the center of the room, joined by two plush chairs. They surround a fireplace where a large flame flickers and devours the wood. I pay the sudden warmth little mind as I walk forward until a velvet carpet caresses my feet, and I sit down next to a young woman.

She looks up from the book she’s reading and shows me a smile that reaches her gray eyes – eyes so like my own. “Nika,” she says, placing a bookmark between the pages. “What can I do for you?”

“Are you ready for tomorrow?”

That’s it for this week! Let me know what you think in a comment; I love hearing from you!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

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