I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo this year. If you haven't heard of it, what is involved is that you have to write 50,000 words within the November month toward your novel. The novel I'm working on, I have planned for many years now, dating back to a time when I was a wee lass at Secondary School. In that time I have made many changes, but hopefully this year my mind is set on the plot. I don't know if any other author out there has had the same type of thing when writing a book, but this seems to work for me.
I know I've been away from blogging for some time, but hopefully my writing for NaNoWriMo will help me write more, as well as vlog more, which is something I have been doing more of recent.
If you would like to check out my NaNoWriMo progress, you may do by clicking the following words: My NaNoWriMo Page.
When I write this, I have only just hit over 6,000 words, and as it's day 10, I am supposed to be way over this word count. Fingers crossed I can catch up!
Anyway, I need to go now, if you are interested in what I am writing, you can read below the synopsis as well as an extract from my novel, feel free to comment with your opinion and critique, I love to know what other people think and what I could do to improve, but please be gentle, this is the only first draft, so it isn't going to be perfect :)
Synopsis: Grace Miller: Otter Odyssey
Grace Miller is your typical inbetweener. Not popular nor un-popular at school. Nothing special. Lives at home with an ordinary mother. Visits her ordinary Grandmother. Her father not in the picture, because he died before she was born. Not that ordinary, but nothing that made her peculiar.
Until her Grandmother, Suzie, is suddenly diagnosed with a fatal illness. An inoperable tumour nested right in the middle of her brain, leaving her just months, if not weeks to live.
Grace prepares herself within these months to say goodbye to her Gram-Gram, and when she leaves her life forever, a new chapter in her life starts, particularly when she opens a letter left for her from her Gram-Gram telling her the truth about her father... her real father.
Now Grace embarks on a journey of self discovery for the missing answers of her life, helped along when after a thunderstorm in the middle of a meadow strikes her with a lightening bolt, trigging something inside her that she never knew existed...
Excerpt: Grace Miller: Otter Odyssey
Dear Grace,
If you are reading this, then it means I am no longer with you. Just know, I love you and your mother with all my heart, and I’ll be watching over you. It was the right time for me to leave. I’d had many chapters of adventure in my life, and while it is sad that I say goodbye to you and your mum now, we will see each other again. I know I’ve never been much of a religious person, but I do believe death isn’t the end.
Even though I’m gone you still have a life to live, and your own life chapters to write. I have left you some money. I’ve known since you were little you’ve always talked about how you would like to travel the world. The money I have left you, I would like you to use that for that purpose.
Now, there is something I need to tell you. Please make sure your mother isn’t reading this part. It’s very important and I don’t think she is going to like what I am about to tell you, so much so, I was a coward and decided to leave it until I was gone.
There’s something you need to know about your father. Your father isn’t dead. In fact, he is very much alive. He was arrested for murder, and has been in prison since before you were born – well, he was supposed to have been, expect he escaped. No-one knows what happened to him. I happen to believe he was innocent, despite what your mum thought. Now don’t get too mad at her, she told you what she told you because she loves you and thought she was protecting you.
Your actual father’s name is Oliver. He escaped from prison. The police contacted me, and told me to let your mother know what had happened in case he came to find her – and you. Even though your mother had told him she had had a miscarriage, he didn’t believe her, he knew her too well to know when she was lying. So he knows you exist. I can’t say where in case this letter gets into the wrong hands, but since he escaped, he has been sending you letters, pictures, birthday and Christmas cards, all of which I have saved for you.
I believe Oliver has a brother who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. His name is Jeremy and I have his address logged down in my address book.
I’m sorry this information has been kept from you for so long, but your mum believed him to be dangerous, and was only looking out for you, not many people believed your father, I was one of very few, and he didn’t deserve to stay in prison. I told him I’ll make sure you are aware of his existence when the time was right, and if you wanted to contact him, it would be easy for you to do so.
Love you forever and always,
Gram-Gram.
