Red Sandstorms Chapter 22

           The truck below us shuddered to a stop, thick smoke coughing out the tail pipe. Our driver didn’t seem at all pleased as he swore under his breath, forcing himself from the cab of the vehicle and to the hood. Steam came from between the cracks, making it very hard to open. Climbing down from the back, Jade, I and Max approached the front to give him a hand. My sister strayed some distance behind us, looking around at the sand. The landscape was very barren and flat, with the occasional dune rising above the rest.

            “I can’t get it fixed out here. The filter is too clogged to work now. We’ll have to clean it out manually or get a replacement,” he said, setting the screen down. Taking a large swig from his canteen, the driver sat back on the step of the truck.

Red Sandstorms Chapter 21

            Max wiped the sweat off her brow as some of the items she requested were brought over. I could tell she was very uneasy about this. Her eyes kept scanning the ground as if for some kind of help while she tracked the woman’s pulse. She spoke to several of the refugees before they went about searching for more things. Speaking to the woman slow, it seemed Max was explaining what needed to happen in order to help her birth the baby. One man started to panic, who I assumed was the father. Each time his wife cried out he knelt down and carefully rubbed her lower back before getting up once more and pace.

Red Sandstorms Chapter 17

            The atmosphere seemed very different as Max packed her messenger bag. She was replacing any medic supplies and adding some new ones. A helmet lay on the table, carefully chosen and fitted. Her jacket lay strewn across a chair, freshly cleaned and crisp. Zipping up the bag, I watched her precise procedure as she straightened the coat before finally putting it on. Securing it on, Max then took the helmet and bag, heading in the direction of the main doors. Stopping at one office, she peeked in, knocking on the door.

            “Jade?” Just stopping near Max my ears seemed to pop—returning my hearing. The turning of an office chair made me perk up and peer in to see her look to my sister. Jade’s eyes glanced at the bag and helmet in my sister’s hands.

Red Sandstorms Chapter 16

            I sat on the train, my fingers drumming in anticipation. My eyes kept looking out the window at the landscape flying by us. Somewhere in the back of my mind I recognized it from before. Footsteps sounded from some place behind me, making me sit up straighter in hope it was the one I had not seen in so many months—fourteen to be exact. Over a year in waiting to come home. It had been forever since I had seen my sister and the one I loved. The person passed me by and took another seat somewhere else in the cabin—not seeing her yet caused my hopes to dwindle.

            Slumping in my seat, I must have dozed off at some point. A loud screeching noise woke me as the train lurched—my head banging against the window from the sudden stop. Several people almost slid from their seats, all of us surprised from the abrupt movement. I looked out the window, searching the landscape. Yelling caught my attention—although it was more like a scream—and it must have caught the rest of the train’s too. People all pushed to look out the windows, trying to see exactly what it was that had stopped our train.

What to Expect Next

So yes, I did miss posting yesterday, the 5th. I was really busy with the Super Bowl. Congratulations New  York Giants, by the way. I was rooting for you! And some of that has to do with my crush on Eli Manning.

But anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Writers vs Ritters. I had a blast writing it, and really it all just seemed to come about via stream of conscious. Some scenes were slightly planned. And my sense of planning is I jot down the idea for a scene in one sentence, or jumbled words many months before I wrote this and then somehow it all comes to fruition when NaNo arrives.

The novel that I'm going to start posting next is super long. I'm serious. I think it's like, double the number of chapters Writers vs. Ritters has. It's a war story - I know another one. But this was from my first year participating in NaNoWriMo. In a lot of ways, it's far more serious than I ever intended a WriMo to be. Honestly I rarely plan these things and this one just came about out of boredom, or dumb luck, or something.

So up next you'll be able to read my first ever WriMo, Red Sandstorms.

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 8

Dropping Dom and D00m off so early was not in her plans at all. Right now, Sola wanted to be sleeping; but no. She got roped into taking them to the airport. Grumbling about how late or… early it was, she helped them get out of the car before she hugged D00m briefly and then stood awkwardly with Dom.

            “So, I guess this is good-bye,” she said, wishing D00m were back over here and not just off somewhere probably checking in the baggage.

            “Well, we’ll be back. So it’s not… definite,” Dom said, hands in his pockets. He didn’t know whether it would be appropriate to hug her, or show some amount of affection. After all, he did ask her out—not in the most romantic way, but he was trying.

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 6

            Sola glared at the current box she was unpacking. With the help of D00m and Dom she had moved all of her items into this room he had given her. It was slightly larger than her apartment, which in this city was rather tiny. D00m had even brought Sola’s kitchen supplies. But one thing Sola hated more than the present government, was moving. All her life she had been moved from place to place so her dad could fulfill his job. Now that she was out on her own, she didn’t want that kind of lifestyle… And yet here she was, suddenly moved from her old apartment to this underground Bat Cave that definitely had the words “Bachelor Pad” scribbled all over it.

            Just two days ago she was applying for a job when she nearly got arrested and then kidnapped by this odd guy that hired her to work in his poster tube making factory. And here she was living with him under the warehouse, having now joined the rebellion against the government. To Sola, there was just something incredibly messed up about this situation. But maybe that was because her sleeping schedule was off… Dom had her “working” the night shift, which did not sit well with her body. Granted, she kept the same usual schedule, it was just that he had her up late the past few nights to have her sign paperwork.

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 5

            It was mid-day and the sidewalks were incredibly packed. Roving through the throng of people as they moved from work to lunch and then back to their desk jobs, Dom made his way to the supermarket. He needed some food for downstairs—specific items D00m had requested he get so she could bake some more. While he could easily order all their supplies in bulk, some items he really knew they wouldn’t need to last them eternally.

            Ducking into the store, he wandered the aisles for sometime before he finally got the products he needed—or rather, D00m needed. Double checking to make sure he wasn’t sent for anything else, he meandered back to the cashier where he paid for the items and tucked them away safely in his backpack. Thanking the clerk, he bid her good-bye before he stepped back out onto the teeming sidewalk. Across the street, Dom could see that people were continuing to be rounded up. It had become a daily occurrence to see such a sight. People were just gathered and loaded up, never to return the same. Just as he was turning to return home, the young man stopped dead in his tracks.

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 3

           Gatherings were always quite a lame endeavor. People stood around and watched as the officials went by; announcements were made and then people dispersed to their daily lives. That was virtually every day. With all the trivial work they were being forced to do in order to show their support for the government, Dom was getting incredibly sick of wasting his time.

            Shifting his backpack, he stood with the rest of the crowd, watching the leaders pass and wave. Mephanie Styer was currently standing on one of the floats while her cronies, Crispy Panini and Haurell L. Kamilton followed in another float. Keeping his poker face on, he slid his backpack to the ground. Kneeling to tie his shoe, Dom used the cover of the crowd to unload his bag. Setting out a remote control car he started to drive it through the crowd and onto the streets. Pressing a button on the control box, he watched as the weapon popped out the top and aimed itself at the tire. Currently the crowd was too focused on the parade to realize what was happening on the ground.

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 2

The boy glared at the line he currently stood in. These gatherings were getting incredibly frustrating. An entire waste of time if anyone bothered to ask him. But no, their government continued to waste the money on things they deemed more “Worthy of their time.” Rolling his eyes as an officer passed him, he waited to be checked before he passed through a metal detector and down the steps of the City Hall. Some distance ahead, people were getting pulled and separated. Although it wasn’t the people themselves, they were being divided into groups. Test subjects, he thought, assuming that what he was currently observing was more towards the experiment stages.

            Lately though, many of his friends had disappeared… They were activists; a large aggressive and sometimes of a lemming-esque mindset. It worried him that he had no heard from them since they left for their most recent excursion. From what he heard, it was something along the lines of a protest against the government. Dom always out spoke against the government, but never at a public protest. He wanted to do something, but it seemed to him that getting arrested was not the best way. As of late, he had been working on other ways one could strike down the government and attract very little attention to one self.

            His eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a familiar face. So far, no sign of any of his friends. It was as if they were wiped off the face of the planet. Just as he thought that once more he was on his own, he caught sight of a mentor and close pal that had taught him many things about protesting. 

Writers vs. Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 1

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle has a bit of a back story. It started out as a huge list of pet peeves you typically find in fanfiction. But slowly it morphed into the things I hated that authors did - and eventually a combination of the writers I hate most with a ridiculous plot. Overall, it's a parody of a lot of literary things. Originally when I wrote this, my goal was 75,000 words. I got there, and finished the whole story up. So please enjoy how crazy this entire plot is and where it winds up.

Chapter 1  

            The group assembled nervously, glancing at each other as the thunder of their voices quieted. Above them on the platform, their leader, Ane, had moved to the center to peer down at all those prepared for their cause. Some shifted anxiously as they awaited the signal for the battle to begin. Others adjusted their armor and began to woop and holler as their leader stood before them. Clearing her throat, the throng of people fell eerily silent.

            “It is incredible to see that we’re all assembled here tonight in this early morning light before the sun rises and we begin this journey. We’re all scared. Some of you won’t return, and some of you will return with your sanity clearly thrown out your brains. Either way… we cannot give up. Giving up will show the enemy that they have won. All of us know this is wrong. The government is trying to keep us silent, but they cannot keep us silent forever. No more attending ridiculous gatherings about some brainless loons running our country. No more parades to show off the mindless gluttons that continue to enrapture the brains of our fellows. This ends today,” she said, looking across the large group. Glancing to her left, Ane could see her two friends, Princess Minari and Dom. Both stood proudly, listening to their fearless leader energizing the soldiers. 

Welcome!

So for those of you that read my other blogs, I know, it is utterly ridiculous that I've taken on another project. Most especially because it's in the early days of NaNoWriMo.

But after talking to a few coworkers, who were interested in reading the things I've written the last four years, I decided to relent and give them what they want.

This blog is entirely dedicated to my past NaNoWriMos and the chapters within those novels.

Read, comment, laugh and I hope you enjoy the craziness that November brings.