look who’s back! // nano summary, monthly recap-style goals, and a whole lot more

Look who’s back!

Hello people and dolls of the earth! After 1 month of a hiatus, I am finally…back! NaNoWriMo was super awesome, and I got to gain some writing experience, make some awesome friends (ok, they were all moderators who I emailed about bug reports, but they still count.), and I may have actually….won?

This is a picture I took while I was outlining using this fabulous tutorial by Samantha.

Despite how much fun NaNoWriMo was, I missed you guys a lot! Its great to be back and I can’t wait for all that’s coming up in December.

DISCLAIMER: In NO WAY I am trying to brag about winning AT ALL!

From my second NaNoWriMo and my first win, I learned a ton of new things about writing. I learned how to keep on top of your goals, create awesome characters, script witty dialogue, and throw in an evil, good-for-nothing antagonist. I spent half of my time procrastinating by reading posts on Madi Grace (who just recently changed her tagline: no more identity crisis for MG!), comics on NaNoToons, (my personal favorite: https://nanotoons.net/2017/11/26/2017-november-26th/), and reading all of your fabulous NaNoWriMo self-help posts. It was really difficult at times, but I was able to push through! (after a lot of pizza and chocolate though. Note how sad it is that that doesn’t include marshmallows. *sobs*)

Me smack in the middle of writer’s block. ^

But december is going to be filled with some awesome things! A Christmas collab with Enni, for instance, (Enni, sorry I haven’t been e-mailing you about it! I have to get my dad to get me back in to my account…) and we have a fabulous new Christmas site design! Check out the site if you’re reading this in the reader to check it out!

Aaaaannnddd…the goals + events! (Since there was no November goals, I’m not going to be recapping those.)

• Post every other day on AGW, and the other days on TRW! (Felicity will be posting once a week)
• Memorize some Bible verses

That’s it!

Waiiiit….you didn’t think I’d let you leave without snippets, did you? XD I feel like I stole that line from Madi

Snippet No. 1

Aspen’s POV

{From chapter 1}

“I’ll be back next summer.”

Those are the words that Aaron would whisper in my ear, right before he left to go back to Huntrex Academy, where he was learning to become a Hunter and join the Hunt.

I cherished the summertime, as a child. I would spend my days playing with him, stargazing with him. It was the time that I could spend with my favorite person in the world: my big brother. 

But one year he couldn’t keep that promise.

I remember the day it happened. The day we got the news. Those memories I tried to forget, but they haunt me. I can’t dream without it turning in to that scene. It makes me shudder to think about. 

But I’ll tell you. Just this once.

I was nine. That’s the one cold-hard fact. The complete truth. The rest is a haze. I’m not really sure what happened, but my nightmares and visions remind me if it constantly. 

I was just in my bedroom. Minding my own business. I wasn’t going anything but lying on my bed and missing Aaron when I heard a cry.

Hopping off my bed, I ran down the hall, towards the cry. The sound is a ghost of the past coming back to haunt me every waking–and sleeping–moment. I saw Mother crouched on the floor. 

“I lost Jacob. I can’t lose you too.”

At the sound of my father’s name, I questioned, “Lost who?” My dad was long dead, but Mother always talked about him fondly. Sometimes I feel as if I actually knew him, she described him so clearly. I can’t really miss him, though. I didn’t really know him.

Silently sobbing, Mother handed me a letter. With a black seal. I shrieked. That could only mean one thing.

Death. 

Shaking, I cut the black wax with a knife I found lying on the kitchen table. I unfolded the parchment. 

Dear Mrs. Wither,

We are terribly sorry to inform you that last night, something terrible occurred. Aaron Maximus Wither, Third Year, Level Three, is–

I couldn’t bear to read any longer.  A wail, worse than Mother’s, erupted from my lips. I dropped the letter in shock. 

No. 

No.

He can’t be.

The funeral I hardly remember. All I remember is some official–looking person from Huntrex carrying a casket–carrying Aaron–in to the woods where Aaron and I had played often. I had suggested that spot. Those were the only two words I spoke between his death and the funeral. Then he said words, and now somehow I have a scar. It’s on my left cheek, a huge slash that I have no idea what was from. All I know is I’m a scarred girl–both on the inside and out.

I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

People say I’m crazy. People say I’m delusional. I’ve been taken to so may doctors who have labeled me as “a chord away from insane.” People look down upon me, me with my “mental problems”. They say I need to let go. I need to forget. He’s gone. Forever. And there’s no way to bring him back. 

Or was there?

Snippet No. 2

Marc’s POV

Where is that name from? The question makes my head hurt. The name seems so familiar, but I just can’t remember why. The first name is a ghost of a memory, a small trace of a forgotten event that occurred long ago that clung on to my memory, but the last name is so familiar it’s intimidating. Wither, Wither, Wither, I chant silently to myself, tuning out Twilight’s lecturing. Wither, Wither, Wither. One small word can cause a lot of trouble. 

“Marc? Marc? Hellllooooo?” 

“Oh, sorry,” I say, snapping to attention. “What were you saying?”

“I was saying,” Twilight emphasizes the word mockingly, “that I wanted to know some of your strategies for getting students to pay attention. Very ironic, huh, Marc?” I blush. 

“Well,” I struggle to come up with a good answer. I haven’t taught anything before. “I try to make sure the students know that there will be consequences if they don’t behave, and quiz them constantly so you know their progress and how much they have been paying attention to.”

“Very good,” Twilight nods approvingly. “I should imply those to the meetings, yes?” Everyone laughs. I stare down at the desk, embarrassed. I make a mental note to pay very close attention from now on. Soon, the “staff training session & meeting” is over. Everyone rushes out of the conference room, probably to begin setting up their classrooms before the term starts. 

But just as I am about to leave, I hear Twilight call, “Wait.”

I turn around, nervous. Was he going to fire me for not paying attention?

“Yes, sir?” I squeak nervously. I fiddle with the cuff of my sleeve, a habit I do when I’m nervous. 

“You have potential,” he says. I relax a bit. “I can tell you are going to be a very good teacher.”

“Thank you?” I reply, unsure why he would pull me over just to compliment me. 

“But,” I knew there was a catch. “I think that you aren’t aware of the dangers that lay ahead. You’re one of the few teachers who hasn’t served in the Huntrex, and the only one who hasn’t attended this school their self. The Order could bomb this place and wipe out hundreds of our soldiers-in-training, plus the entire future of the Huntrex. I repeat what I said earlier–you CANNOT let down your guard. Ever.”

“Yes, sir.” I nod. He was freaking me out. 

He sits back down in his chair, paying to attention to me anymore. Evidently, this little talk is over. 

And last but not least, snippet No. 3!

Aspen’s POV

I take my sword out, pointing it towards the shadow. No. It can’t be. He was dead long ago. 

“Who are you?” I ask the shadow. “Show yourself.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, dear,” the voice says in a haughty, mocking tone, a tone I know Aaron would never use, ever.  

Then, everything starts to swirl around me. Reality is a hazy infinity, with no designated beginning or end. I feel like a strong hand is pushing against my lungs and squeezing my throat tight. I gasp for air, begging for this moment to be over…

Then everything went dark. 

Thank you so much for reading, marshmallow! Merry Christmas! Wait is it too early to ssatrt saying that

Most Writerly,

P.S. Hopefully I’ll be posting a more in-depth NaNo recap on TRW tomorow!