Camp NaNoWriMo!

Good evening everyone! I hope we are all staying safe during this time of craziness. I know it seems never ending, but it will end. So just keep washing your hands. Also, happy April Fool’s!

But this month, for writers, can be about something other than pranks. It’s Camp NaNoWriMo! Some of you may remember I wrote this post abouNaNoWriMo. But wile NaNoWriMo is a program to write a 50,000 word first draft of your novel, in Camp NaNo you can set whatever word count goal you want, for whatever project you want–be it poetry, a script, etc.

Remember last year’s project? Well, this year, my project is to rewrite it. After researching my source material (the book of Revelation in the Bible), I realized my story was very off-track from where it needed to be, and that some parts were unrealistic. For example, when my main characters travelled to the other world, there was no language border. Everybody spoke English. But this changes in my novel.

Other changes:

My protagonist: In my first-ever draft of my book, which I currently call DAR, the protagonist, Andrea, is a smart, strong, pretty perfect protagonist. But in my new rewrite, she is far from it, and even actually has a pretty sad past. View the excerpts:

I have always been out of place. Not sticking out like a sore thumb, but a subtle, persistent peculiarity.

There are my sleep disorders…I have night terrors, where I scream and flail, even though I’m not awake. I walk and talk in my sleep, as well.

My language: As mentioned, I believe it’s unrealistic that you travel into a whole new world and there’s no language border. So, I created New Tongue by using Google Translate, looking up words and phrases in Latin and Galician, and mixing them together. 

Wings: Alasa (from Latin ‘alis’ and Galician ‘Ás’

Preparatory: Propardo (from Galician ‘preparatorio’)

Cornerstone: Ingular (from Latin ‘in caput anguli’)

Chapter names: In my original story, the chapters had no names except ‘one,’ ‘two,’ ‘three,’ etc. But now, I have come up with a way to name them! My protagonist is a logophile, which means ‘lover of words,’ and the chapters reflect that. The chapters are named ‘Peculiar Logophile,’ ‘Siren Song,’ ‘Departure,’ etc. Each word/phrase corresponds to the events in the chapter, and there is a definition following the name, because who knows what ‘eleutheromania’ means?

Character names: Andrea and Penelope Mitchells become Stella and April Bennet, Senator Midori becomes Decan Joyannah, and Ms. Nola becomes Selenna.

What brings Stella to the other world: In the original story, Stella and April are kidnapped by the dragon-riding students of the Academy. In my rewrite, Stella begins hearing a voice calling her, which leads her to an old cave that has a stone with repeatedly changing symbols on it. When she touches it, April grabs her arm, and they’re both transported to the other world.

World lore: In my old story, there was a war in our world which sent an Alaschar (winged being) into another world, and from there, they discovered others. In my new story, the worlds were created at the same time and joined by Cornerstones, magical stones with the powers to transport beings to the worlds they correspond to.

And now, an excerpt:

The next day, Selenna knocked on my door. “Come on,” she beckoned. “The Decan wants to see you!”

I jumped up and ran after her. She led me to a room she talked about constantly but where I had never been; the Lotheca.

Awe was too small an adjective to describe what was going on in my head. The room was huge! Books lined the walls, reaching up to the lofty ceiling. A stairway spiraled up and up, providing a way to get to the books. A huge tree grew in the center, studded with warmly glowing buds. Light streamed in through the windows, tinted every color of the stained glass. I stood in a panel of amethyst light and grinned.

Selenna smiled at me. “Here’s the Decan’s office,” she said, opening a door hidden in a space between shafts of turquoise and emerald light. Inside was a small, but inviting room. A wood desk was positioned at the back of the room, behind which sat the first woman I had ever met, Joyannah. She was the Decan?

“Good morning, Decan,” said Selenna pleasantly. She nudged me with my shoulder, and I bobbed my head while murmuring a good morning.

“Good morning, Selenna,” said the woman. “I take it you’re here to talk about enrolling Stella in the school?”

“Yes, ma’am. She believes she’s ready. She’s quite fluent in New Tongue, and knows many of our customs. I’ve even been giving her some schooling. She picks up on things quite quickly.”

I beamed under her praise. The Decan looked at me, then launched into a lengthy explanation of what would be expected of me. She spoke rapidly, and my mind raced to keep up. Some words I didn’t know yet, or she said way too fast, but I could infer their meaning from the context. When she was done, I recalled the manners training I had gotten from Selenna. “Thank you, Decan,” I said, dipping my head forward. “I understand what will be expected of me here.” I felt Selenna touch my arm in approval.

Would you like to hear more about my book? Did you find it interesting? Questions? Leave a comment! I hope you enjoyed it. I’ll be skipping my status updates this month because I just don’t feel like doing them.

God bless!

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