Well, I’m not dead yet. It’s going really well, actually. Nano, that is. I just passed 30,000 words today and although I’m not entirely sure how everything is going to turn out at the end, the story shows promise, especially for a second draft.
First Lines
In the spirit of my Monday post on first lines in literature, here is a first line from my Nano novel. It’s not the first line of my novel, but instead it is the first line of a 19th century novel that the characters find that sheds some light on their particular situation. I’m not saying it is a particularly good first sentence, since it’s not necessarily supposed to be, but it is what it is.
“In that long forgotten corner of Byzantium, where once was known and forgotten much of the lore of elder days, stood the great pile of stone, grey and rough-hewn, and in front of it the man himself, the wizard, the sorcerer of living flesh who struck and molded that mind of slave imprisoned, keeping it alive for all his dire purpose.” Heinrich Finster, Travels by Darklight.
Nano Tradition
This is my seventh year doing Nano and over the years I’ve developed various traditions surrounding it. I usually work in coffee shops, since I work better there than at home, and since it’s the season for mandarin oranges in Korea, I usually eat a lot of those while I’m writing. Here is a picture of one of my favorite coffee shops near our house.
I like this coffee shop since it’s the only one I know of that lets you sit at low tables on the floor. It’s a very cozy place to work. I also now have an official Nanowrimo mug, if I want a lot of coffee, that is. It holds 500 ml of coffee. I made it myself (mostly). When I drink from it, it makes me feel like a Viking warrior and the word “quaff” comes to mind.
韓國 means “Korea”
Do you have any special things you do when you write? Do you always write in the same place? Let me know in the comments.
The Green-Walled Tower 
November 15th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Well done; you’re well on the way to completion!
J.K. Rowling came to mind when you spoke of writing in a coffee shop. However, your coffee shop is probably quite a bit different to the one in which she wrote..!
November 15th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Well, here’s hoping writing in coffee shops aren’t the only thing I have in common with her (I’d like to own a castle someday 🙂 ).
November 15th, 2012 at 8:54 pm
🙂
November 15th, 2012 at 9:11 pm
I would die without coffee. I find coffee shops too distracting to write in, not sure why.
November 15th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
I would find them distracting if it wasn’t for my headphones. They put me in my own little world.
November 17th, 2012 at 6:56 am
That would help. For a while, I was writing while observing students but lately I’ve been very distractable. I’m sitting down with a hot cup of coffee in hopes of being struck with inspiration cause I feel depleted.
November 15th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
I had a feeling you were a coffee shop headphone writer. Me as well.
November 15th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
We need to form a league. We’ll all go to a coffee shop together and ignore each other.
November 16th, 2012 at 3:43 am
I can write almost everywhere but I write best when I am full on inspiration and when it’s all quiet…
November 16th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Yeah, I love writing on that high of inspiration, when the words come easily.
November 23rd, 2012 at 3:02 pm
i usually write in the same place!