Day 7: 700 words

Extract:

“They’re finally going, then,” Felman said with a heaving sigh. He was a big man; anything he did – talking, breathing, moving – had a sense of both great size and great effort to it. “And not soon enough. There’s bad blood between Icelvik and Angaborg. One side accuses the other of poaching sixty years ago, and before you know it…”

Hemming stopped paying attention because Earl Icel had appeared at the entrance to the square, mounted as usual and tailed by his wife, two more warriors, and Thistle, who was again on foot. She smiled at Hemming.

“Are you going to fight?” Felman asked.

“No. Broder forbade me.”

“He did?” Felman frowned. He had a heavy face and a bristly brow. “Surely someone should be going to represent the earl’s blood.”

“Why can’t that be Broder? He’s the earl’s brother,” Hemming said.

“Well, for one, he has his own colours and his own hall. For two, he’s going to be leading that band of archers instead, ain’t he?”

Hemming was quiet for a second. “But I couldn’t do it. If Broder found out…”

“Why not? I was practicing to use the axe by your age, and you’re big enough to carry a shield.”

Before they could continue, Thistle hurried across the square towards them. The bags under her eyes told Hemming that she hadn’t slept well. “Hello, husband,” she said, trying to be playful, but her smile looked distant.

“What’s happened to you?” Hemming asked.

Triss pulled him aside, out of earshot of anyone else. “We’ve got to go to that battle, Hem.”

So today I began writing the first battle of my novel. The change of pace that comes with writing an action scene meant I had to re-write a few times until I got the feel right, and even then it was only after re-reading the 'Battle by Deepwood Motte' from George R R Martin's A Dance With Dragons: Before the Feast (which is one of the best battle sequences I've ever read) that I got into the real swing of it.

Once I had started, though, it went really well, and I feel like I have a vivid fight scene developing, so yay!

Day 6: 1,000 words

Extract:

“Did the warriors cause much trouble?” Hemming asked him when he entered.

Kjalsi was looking at the statue of Honir in the centre of the room, on its wooden pedestal. “Oh no, they were quiet,” he said without turning around. “They were all Honir-worshippers, so they understood the need for silence. Are you ready to begin your lesson?”

“Yes,” Hemming said, but then continued. “So I’m to marry Thistle and go to Icelvik?”

“No, you’re not going to Icelvik. Broder managed to negotiate you out of that part of the deal while you were… in the woods.”

“Why did he do that?”

“He seems to want to keep you around, for some reason.” Kjalsi smiled to show that he was joking, then sighed. “If you’re fucking her anyway, why not just go through with it and get it done with?”

“I’ve already said that I’m going to go through with it, and I’m not fucking her, Kjalsi.”

“I know you, Hemming. You’ve probably already got three different ways you’re going to weasel out of this and you’re just deciding which one is best. And oh? So you just run off into the woods together for hours to hunt elk, is that it?”

“Actually, we just talked.”

Kjalsi shook his head. “You two are more mysterious than the gods, truly. Come on, take a seat, let’s get started.”

Feeling very much back on track after having a day off, but today was almost equally as busy, and I would have ideally written more, but oh well.

I've been reading about the monomyth recently, or the 'hero's journey' structure, and I was very surprised to see just how closely my story matched it!

I have the coming-of-age character who has to leave his comfort zone; I have the mentor; I have the 'catalyst' character.

I am debating whether or not I should measure up my plot against the rest of the monomyth structure so that I know my story can't stray too far from a traditional structure.

Either way, interesting coincidence!

Today's writing wasn't very exciting; a winding-down scene that came after a tension-building scene. I liked how it revealed more about the characters' relationships, though.

(Opt Out)

Today I am using my 'opt out' option, because I didn't get time to start writing until 7pm tonight, and then spent that time working on my CV instead of the novel.

I know, I know - excuses!

Back to the normal routine tomorrow, I promise.

Day 5: 2,900 words

Extract:

Icel was looking around, a scowl on his face. “Your rider said that you could defend yourselves. I brought forty warriors. You have six.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Broder replied.

“I myself will be going, as will my two sons. Our bondsmen, Halvard and Harri, who have yet to arrive, will make an extra fourteen, themselves included. My brother has four others who are keeping peace in the village, which makes twenty-six altogether.”

Icel cracked his knuckles. “Twenty-six altogether.”

“And I will lead a band of archers made up of local hunters. Fifteen in all.”

“So, forty-one men in total. Hmm.” A smile cracked his frigid face. “It seems you cannot fight this battle alone.”

Broder smiled, though it looked more like a grimace. “Which is why we sent a rider to you.”

Today has been a day of good writing.

I was alone in the house for two hours, which means time free from distractions and free to play whatever music I like!

I finished a good scene today and I like the quality of it; I re-read after writing it and it won't need much editing on the second draft, which is nice. It also works well and the tension is well-established.

Today's session also puts me back on schedule: to reach 12,000 words by the end of the week I needed to be on 8,400 today, and I'm now just under 9,000.

The card for today was called 'Borrow Mercilessly', and it advised that you should copy and take from writers whose styles you like. I've been reading Assassin's Apprentice recently, and while the voice is different (1st person as opposed to 3rd person) I really like the way Robin Hobb ties in multiple senses to bring settings to life and have been doing my best to do this in the settings I've created so far.

I definitely feel as though my story is back on track, which is a relief, and now I can get on with planning what happens next.

(Aside)

If any of you want to write/read short stories, I really recommend reading 'Smoke and Mirrors' by Neil Gaiman.

And annotate the hell out of it. Literally rip those stories apart. He is a master of form, of twist endings, imaginative writing and hiding information from the reader/manipulating the reader's understanding.

For writing longer novels I recommend 'Plot & Structure' by James Scott Bell, which gives you an overview of the structure of a novel and helps you to set out a plan if you haven't got any clue where to begin.

Back to writing!

Day 4: 500 words

Extract:

It was just before midday the next day when the rider returned, the party of Icel in tow – about thirty men in all, all mounted and armed. Hemming and Broder watched them snake up the road from the south, standing on the wooden walls around Anga’s Hall. Angaborg lay to their right, on the other side of Anga’s River. The village of six hundred was at its busiest; smoke rose from the hovels as women tanned animal hides, and the air was filled with the methodic crunching of many querns, as oats and grain were milled into flour and porridge. Stretching out down the riverbanks to the north and south, the yellow fields of oats and wheat were full of men with iron sickles. Children played games in the dirt of the market square, where farmer met crafter, and they exchanged food for tools. Idlers watched the work while they talked. Hemming could see two of his father’s warriors in the square, but he couldn’t tell which two. They had their hands on their sword hilts, but they mingled casually and talked with the merchants, and didn’t wear any armour.

So today I didn't do much writing of the actual story, but I have done writing of another sort.

I've written out a plan for the next few chapters, mainly so I know what direction I should be heading in whenever I start a new scene or section.

I did this because the writing I produced over the last few days, while helping me to discover the characters and the way they act and interact, has drifted vaguely from the aim I have in mind, and has become sort of lacking in direction.

So today I also went back through the last 2,000 words or so editing and refining (I know, I know, the golden rule!)

But the platinum rule is to complete a coherent novel... so that overrides it. :P

Tomorrow will (hopefully) be a day of many words, now that things are pointing in the right direction again.

Fingers crossed!

Day 3: 1,500 words

Extract:

“Your father is dying,” Broder said once they were outside the hall. “Kjalsi tells me he is past hope now.”

The news was something Hemming had expected for a long time. His father had been ill for two weeks, each day worse than the last. Now he would only speak to Kjalsi, and even then only in whispers. Hemming was not so much hurt by the news as he was concerned for his own future. His father had loved him little, preferring to dote all of his time on Hormund the Younger instead. “Just a little rat who scurries in shadows, too afraid of the firelight, that one,” his father would always say of him. He had tried to teach Hemming the way of the axe, which was the way of their family, he said, but Hemming could never get the hang of it.

“Will you be taking up the earlship, then, Broder?” Hemming asked.

Broder grimaced. “Me? No. No. I have no wish to be an earl. And these lot would never accept me anyway,” he thumbed back towards the hall.

“You are his eldest brother,” Hemming said. “You could always claim it. I’d back you, that would convince them.”

Broder chuckled. “So eager to shirk responsibility? I wonder how much of that comes down to your friendship with the girl of our friend Earl Icel.” He rubbed his chin. “It must be you, Hemming. You are his eldest son, ever since little Hormund died. Besides, they say that those who are eager for power are the very last ones who should have it.”

I should have mentioned this before, but Chris Baty's novel-writing kit comes with a card for every day of writing, which comes with little anecdotes, words of inspiration, and useful tidbits of advice.

The card for day 3 was simply titled: Aim Low. It makes the point that aiming for completion, rather than perfection, relieves you of pressure, which makes your writing more ambitious and, paradoxically, better.

This is what I aimed for today. I didn't read back once; I went with what came to mind, completing one thought and moving straight to another. The sentences are all probably awful, and there will be bits missing that I will fill in on my second draft (which will probably bring this section up to about 2,000 words), but I managed a scene change, the introduction of a new location, three new characters, and a lot of background information. Tomorrow I will get into the juicy dialogue between these characters - definitely the more fun part - but I am happy with the ambition of the scene that I produced today.

My progress feels even slower now that I have a good idea of how the first part of the story will pan out, especially as this part today - the introduction of a new POV character - was something I debated over. My story has now made the transition to a multi-cast novel, with all the book-lengthening complication that that brings. I just hope I can keep it as neat and tidy as it has been so far.

(Spoiler warning: I won't.)