Day 26
Word count:51,225 words
Word count goal: 52,000 words
Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Encore
Save The Cat: Finale
Today is an exciting day! I became a NaNoWriMo 2017 Winner yesterday, surpassing the 50,000 word mark in my novel. That makes today the first time I have continued NaNoWriMo after reaching my goal. I still have many scenes to go before this story comes to an end.
Please don’t feel discouraged if you have not finished. There is still plenty of time! Pick a prompt, a warm-up or a challenge and get those words on the page.
Today is also very exciting because-drum roll please-it is the cover reveal for Gator McBumpypants in Shelley Comes Out Of Her Shell. And here it is!
To celebrate, the kindle editions of the last two adventures, Gator McBumpypants Doesn’t Say Goodbye and Gator McBumpypants in Dee Dee Makes Three, are only 99 cents through the end of November!
#vss very short story
Cathy hunted everywhere for the last piece. She dug through the carpet, searched under the bureau and was about to write a complaint to the manufacturer when her cat spit-up the half-chewed, missing piece. Instead of a complaint, she begged the manufacturer for a replacement, if at all possible. This was the third letter like this Petra had received this week.
Plotting with Tarot
Yesterday, we took our first look at the entire hero’s journey.
Using the method of adding up the card values, we came up with a theme of Justice. However, novels have many themes, so today, I used the other method suggested in Mapping the Hero’s Journey. I removed all of my Hero’s Journey cards from the deck and Justice, I shuffled and drew : 
The Seven of Cups- This is an interesting theme card for my novel. It represents that what you desire has no relationship to your ability to actually get it and that temptation offers temporary pleasures that can bring permanent damage. This is an important theme seen through my antagonists, but also something to make clear to my protagonist. It sometimes takes the rug to be pulled out from under our feet in order to wake up and take stock of our lives before it is too late.
Ask Your Character
- What is the main thing you and your partner or spouse argue about?
- Why is s/he wrong?
- Why do your opinions on this issue differ so much?
Word Of The Day
plenary: adj. n. 1. full in all respects; complete; absolute 2. fully attended by all qualified members
8 Action Verbs:
assembled completed designed expressed
investigated outlined retained translated
Poem prompt
Write a poem about assembling a puzzle or playing a game from your childhood. Focus on the imagery, the pieces, intention and focus. from litbridge.com
I recognize the design as I pull the box from the shelf
The familiar outline of the challenging uneven edge
As the pieces we assemble create an image of the past
The moments here resemble a joy that didn’t last
Hours of cooperation this puzzle to complete
Due to years of lost, discarded pieces only lead to defeat
Awesome Sentence Challenge
Verb collecting: Pick one concrete noun. Perhaps the closest object to you. Now list all of the things it can do; all of its verbs.
Example: pen: write, scribble, draw, ink, snap, point, letter, word, press, scratch, flourish . . . twirl, swish, click, break, dry, fly,
Get creative. When you think you’re done, come up with five more.
Today’s Simple Task
MC conquers antagonist. Self-revelation.
Warm-up Exercise
Choose three different emotions. Pair each emotion with a different animal. Write three scenes. In each scene, use only attributes of the chosen animal to show your MC expressing the paired emotion.
Recommended Word Crawl
Since I wander beyond 50k for my first time during NaNoWriMo, I thought I would attempt the Beyond 50k Word Crawl.
Experience Writing 