Monday, November 1, 2010

NaNoWriMo

November is here and November means NaNoWriMo. Or at least it does this year. As the website calls it "Thirty days and nights of literary abandon!" I am so very excited!! What? You don't know what NaNoWriMo is? I'm sure I mentioned it before. Oh yes I did. Read about it here.

Anyways, I reached my 1667 word limit for the day, surpassing it by by 47 words (w00t!!). So I decided to share what I've written so far with you.

Now, before you read it there is something you should know. It is impossible to write 1667 words a day, much less 50,000 words a month and get everything perfect. For that reason, NaNoWriMo supports quantity over quality. The stuff I write everyday and the excerpts that I post here are unedited and non-polished. Call it writing in its raw form. If something seems out of whack or the spelling or grammar is wrong somewhere, it's probably because it is. Hopefully, one day after all this is over, I sit down and clean it all up. Hopefully. So here is the beginning of my novel "A Cross and a Pink Triangle" in all its unedited glory.

(Note: I have never written a lesbian character before, much less a lesbian main character. Feel free to point out anywhere you think I may have went wrong. I'm really swimming in new waters with this one.)

A blast of cold air whipped Cassie’s hair around her face and into her eyes. August was still coming to an end, but the air had already begun to cool down, almost as if it were preparing itself for fall. The sky was gray, the clouds pregnant with rain that had threaten to fall all day. It gave the city a sort of gloomy look, but she didn’t care. She loved this kind of weather. It made her feel happy for some reason, as if she were standing on the edge of something big, preparing to embark on some epic adventure. She smiled again as another blast of wind rushed past her. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled slightly. “You’re doing it again you know.” said a voice next to her. She turned to face the owner.
“Doing what exactly Megan?” she asked.
“Staring at this depressing weather and smiling, that’s what. I’d have you know that that’s really creepy.”
She gave Megan a look. “Is there a law that says that only sunny weather is supposed to make you happy?”
“No, but I know tons of normal people would support my theory.” Cassie gave a short laugh.
“Normal? Really Megan? You’ve known me for as long as I could remember. You should know that I’m anything but normal. Normal is for noobs. ”Megan laughed along with her.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She took another bite of her sandwich and stared at the sky. “How does it feel to be far away from home?” Cassie giggled again.
“Geez, you make it sound like I’m living in a foreign country or something. I’m still in the same state.”
“Yeah, but this is New York, New York. As in the city. As in not the farm town where you came from. “
“I’ve always like the city better. It’s progressive, moving forward into the future. Not like the back home where Wi-Fi is like the most amazing thing ever. And the city has way more people. Doe you have any idea how boring it could get out there? I remember being so bored that I talked to some of the cows!”
Megan laughed out loud at the idea. “You talked to cows? Did they ever talk back?”
“No, but they were pretty good listeners.” At the word ‘listeners’ Megan noticed a slight change it Cassie’s expression. “Everything ok with your parents?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Cassie replied, dropping he eyes downward. “Now that I’m gone they aren’t that anxious the burn them at the stake.” Megan reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand. “‘s ok. One day, it’ll all change. You’ll be able to go back as if nothing as if nothing had ever happened.” Cassie shook her head.
“No Megan,” she replied. I don’t think those people are ever going to change.” She looked up at Megan. “Besides, who needs them when I have friends like you?” Cassie’s phone rang, interrupting the moment. “Is that Becca again?” Cassie looked at her caller id and shrugged.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Aren’t you going to answer it?”
“Nah. She’s probably just wants to know where I am, for the fourth time. I swear, she can be so over-protective sometimes.” Cassie answered with a grin.
“Well, we better get to the school before she starts thinking that I’m stealing you.” Cassie laughed.
“Nah. Becky’s not the jealous type. Besides, we still have some shopping to do. Have you seen my wardrobe? I can’t go to school looking like a bargain store. I need some real clothes!”

A couple hours later, Megan and Cassie drove through the gate of the St. Augustine College on to the sprawling campus. A fusion of greenery and modern architecture, St. Augustine was a min I version of all that was right with the world. Moving forward, but maintaining the simpler things in life. She stared out the window of Megan’s car feeling the breeze that blew past her face. “What is it you’re planning to study again?” Megan asked, breaking her out of her peaceful reprieve.
“Mechanical Engineering.”
“Ew, science!!” Megan said, pretending to be disgusted.
“Hey, if it wasn’t for mechanical engineers, you wouldn’t be driving this car!”
“I never said that I wasn’t happy for Mechanical engineers. I’m just happy that I don’t have to do it. All does numbers and calculations and all that Einstein crazy math? Uggh!!” Megan shuddered.
“I’d have you know that I like that Einstein crazy math.” Cassie laughed. As they drove deeper in to the campus, the number of people present increased. So they came upon a field full of booths and tents, welcoming all the new freshmen and the other return students. “Are you late for the orientation lecture?” Megan asked. Cassie looked a the her watch>
“No, I have an hour or so free. Enough time to spend with Becky.” She said, a smile sneaking across her face. “Wow,” Megan replied, “Even saying her name makes you smile.”
“When you find someone as special as that Megan, you’ll understand.”
“Speak of the devil.” Megan quipped looking up. Cassie turned to see a tall brunette girl walking towards the car. She didn’t need to see her face. Just from the way her she stepped and her body moved, she could tell who it was. Her heart skipped a beat and her breathing became shallow. She opened the car door and half walked, half ran into the other girl’s waiting arms. “I missed you.” the girl whispered into here ear, hugging her tightly. “I missed you too Becky.” She whispered back. She tightened her grip, loosing herself in the warmth of the loving embrace. The sound of Megan clearing her throat brought her back to reality. “Ahh, sorry to break up the happy moment,” she said, “but what do you want me to do with all the stuff in car.”
“Can you take it back to your place for now?” Becky asked, before Cassie could answer, “I’d pass by later and pick them up.” Megan nodded.
“Sure, I could do that. I see you later then.” She looked a Cassie. “You guys have fun ok?”
“We will.” Cassie replied, waving at Megan. She waved back as she got into her car and drove off. “Hmmm,” Becky said, as she watched Megan drive off.
“’Hmmm,’ what?”
“Hanging out with other girls, and not answering me when I call. Should I be worried?” she said in a mock serious tone. Cassie nudged her playfully. “Haha. Stop it you. I know very well that you’re not the jealous type.”
“And that why you love me.” Becky added, grasping Cassie’s hand tightly.
“And that’s why I love you.” Cassie replied, squeezing her girlfriend’s hand back.

They walked hand in hand through the orientation village, advertising all the clubs and extra-curricular activates that the school had to offer. A host of outsiders advertisers had also come to the university, advertising every thing from different varieties of tea to cheap laptop computers. They went to every booth that was giving away free stuff and soon had collected a bag full of weird odds and ends that were given away as samples. “Are you sure you want to stay at a sorority, Cass?” Becky asked as they made their way to a empty table to sit down a little ways off form the festivities.
“Yeah, I think I prefer to stay there that stay in some lonely apartment. My mind tends to go wild and play tricks on me when I’m alone.”
“Well,” Becky said coyly. “You know that isn’t the only other alternative.”
“Huh?”
“You could always stay with me.”
Cassie smiled and sighed. “Come on Becky, we’ve been through this. I’m really glad that my parents have finally come to accept that their daughter is openly gay. I don’t want to give them a heart attack by telling them that I’d be living with another girl. And besides,” Cassie stopped and hesitated. “I don’t think I ready for that. It’s a really big step, moving in. I don’t think that we need to rush it.” She leaned forward and put her hand on Becky’s. “Let’s just enjoy the moment for now. We could make all those plans later.”
Becky breathed out a heavy sigh. “I know what you mean. I don’t want to rush it either. But I just can’t stand the thought of having you stay with those…those…lipstick Barbies!”
“Lipstick Barbies!?” Cassie laughed out loud.
“You know what I mean. Those prissy types that only care about boys and clothes and how much of daddy’s money they could manage to siphon off this month.”
“ Oh, come on, Becky, I’m sure that they’re not all that bad.”
“That’s what you think. They’re probably worse.” She stopped and thought for a second. “Are you going to tell them about everything? I mean about us and being gay and all?”
Cassie pointed to the pink triangle that was stitched on to the sleeve of her shirt. “Gay and proud, right? I’ve been hiding this for the majority of my life. I’m not in some upstate farm town anymore. This is the real world. People are far more accepting here. I’m done hiding.”
“Just because you’re off the farm doesn’t mean that everything is going to be awesome here.” Becky cautioned. “I’ve been here for two years now. I’ve seen the way people still act around people like us. Didn’t you notice how many off glances we got while we were walking through the village holding hands?”
“Not really. I wasn’t paying that much attention.”
“Well, I was. People aren’t as accepting as you think. What if the girls in the sorority don’t like you?”
“Becky, you worry too much. I’ve lived in a town that would have burned me at the stake if they’d been given the chance. I’m sure that I could handle a couple of temper tantrums from some lipstick Barbies.”
“They’re not the only ones that you’re going to have to look out for.” Becky said looking off to the side. Cassie followed her line of sight to a group of girls who were handing out flyers to some people. They all had crosses embazzoled on the front of their T-shirts. “Uggh!” Becky groaned. “Jesus Freaks!!”

No comments:

Post a Comment