That Was A Awkward Distraction From Writing Political Fiction
First things first. Congratulations to rosemilk for being the first Chicago NaNoWriMoer over 50,000 words (and congratulation to my blog reader busy91 for being the first finisher in New York City)!
This is the second year in a row that someone who I know has been the first Chicago writer to finish with squirrelgirl22 being last years Chicago marathon winner. I didn't know squirrelgirl22 at the time but it's good to keep the title in "the family" (the group of us that was sitting at the same table at last year's TGIO party).
In this year's NaNoWriMo, squirrelgirl22 and I are on almost the exact same pace. She has 24,219 words and I have 24,263. Perhaps it should be we who challenged each other since it seems pretty even and since we're both on Team Chicago 2005 it could only help the region. I think, but I'm not sure, that tomorrow is cut day for the Chicago/St. Louis Word War or maybe it's a week from tomorrow.
I maybe lied to squirrelgirl22 a little bit today but not intentionally when I told her tomorrow was the day she (or I, but definitely not rosemilk) won't be on the team anymore.
Looking at St. Louis, it's seriously looking like our ML is going to have to cut quite a few Chicagoans since the Loo had a few of their contestants not even leave the starting gates.
Chicago in general is writing up a storm. Currently the region of Illinois::Chicago is 7th overall with 1,595,335 words written (this in not Team Chicago but the overall count of everyone affiliated). Sure we're nowhere near Minnesota::Twin Cities and their 2,999,224 or second place Maryland with their 2,806,176 or even third place California::East Bay with 2,031,998 but we are pushing 6th place Germany and Austria who has 1,609,273 (I swear rosemilk made up the difference herself today).
We already took Manhattan (New York::New York City is 20th with just over a million words written), and next we take Berlin!
That seriously could be our theme song. Someone actually sung it at the kickoff party thinking the original was R.E.M.'s version when of course it was Leonard Cohen! :)
The crazy thing is Illinois::Naperville (their own region) is one ranking behind New York City in 21st with 908,651. Combine the suburb the size of the biggest cities in many states with those of us in the city and near ring suburbs and we shoot up all the way into the top five (then again, there are very few split regions that couldn't make similar claims i.e. Michigan::Detroit and Michigan::Ann Arbor).
Maybe next year it will be my turn to be the Chicago speed writer extraordinaire, but I highly doubt it since I swear I stretch this thing out to hit 50,000 right around Thanksgiving each year so as not to prematurely celebrate and fall asleep.
Speaking of innuendo, tonight's chapter was pretty interesting to write as it involved the first bit of sexual tension I've put into this year's novel. Last year, I tried to prove I wasn't writing some kind of novel for the kids by putting in a lap dance and an attempted rape (both went along with the story, I swear, I wasn't just writing them for their own sake).
This year's novel is devoid of sex but I swear the lesbian overtones this year in the chapter I just wrote is stronger than anything between Emily and Sandra in Paris last year. Come on, all the guys who read that had to be thinking, "any two women who are fighting that much are just about to make out" (even if it's totally untrue and just what guys want to happen, that's seriously how guys think sometimes).
Emmie, who is the carry-over to this new novel (she was Emily in my 2004 NaNoWriMo novel) just like Sandra was Cassandra from "Innocence Of Bliss" carried into "Why Sleep When I'll Only Dream?", is actually the one responsible for the tension (whereas she was kind of prudish last year). Well, alright, Liam is responsible since he dated Emily before he dated and is now engaged to Mia but that's besides the point.
To set up the premise of the scene I'm about to excerpt, the Cane and Candle, a anti-British bar on the Detroit University campus has just been harassed by the police yet again. Liam and his group used to meet there but were driven out and then disbanded (or at least Liam thought) the last time the bobbies (you know what word I almost accidentally write when I type that out) came snooping but they left Emmie (who goes by Emily in formal situations) behind to be eyes and ears. Callum, Liam's right hand man, has decided to reconvene there (without Liam) and Emily is there as they hightail it out. She called Liam the night before to let him know what was going down but right as he's running to the bar (he was MCing the Starwood campaign debate party) the police pull up. He and Mia decide to call Emily into a fancy restaurant (which is sworn to secrecy due to mafia, political backroom dealing, and other things that go on there) and...
"Liam and Mia had been finishing their salads when Emmie strolled through the door, looking as though she had been running late. This was usually the case for Emily but Liam's mind raced as to what Emmie had been doing during the time she was supposed to be at the Boars Head. Before she could even fully adjust her purse on the chair, Liam turned to Mia and said, 'I think you and Emily have some business to discuss in the ladies room.'
Mia looked aghast and said, 'you want me to search her or something?'
Liam was again humorless when he said, 'Mia, we can't be too sure under the circumstances, don’t you think?'
'This is ridiculous,' Mia said, still angry at Liam for the very suggestion that Emily could be involved, 'this is Emily we're talking about, we've known her for years and you’ve never had any reason to suspect her of anything before. Besides, where is she supposed to hide anything in that?'
Mia eyed the dress that Emily was wearing, a sequined number straight off the runways of London (though a few years old) in which her chest was only supported by two pieces of fabric in a v-pattern merging just north of her navel. 'It must be cold in that,' Mia said sarcastically as she continued, 'being late September and all.'
'It's alright Mia,' Emily said, 'let's go use the little girl's room.'
'You can take the girl out of the southwest side, but not the southwest side out of the girl,' Emily said trying to be more catty than joking. 'Liam' she said leaning over to him, 'why don't you just search her next time, it's not like there are any surprises for you underneath that dress, what there is of it.'
Liam watched as Mia and her dress with him neckline and backline walked away with her arm around Emily shoulder pretending to be old friends. In a way, Emily and Mia were old friends despite their very different backgrounds. The three associates had been in a sophomore level psychology undergraduate class together. At the time Liam and Emily were the item and Mia just a dark haired, dark-eyed girl who had been impressed with the raw power of Liam standing up to professors on points which he could not have been more of an expert than the lecturer. Mia had not meant to seduce Liam away from Emily but it had happened gradually. As could be expected, Liam and Emily hadn’t spoken for about six month and then gradually they became friends again. Mia always worried in the back of her mind that Emily was always trying to win Liam back, despite the fact of who now wore the ring. On the surface, the two women worked together well, but sometimes Liam would wonder when the tension would bubble to the surface and he would be stuck in the middle.
The two women walked back to the table a few minutes both wearing a new layer of lipstick, a brown skin tone on Mia and red that matched Emily’s hair. 'She's clean,' Mia said, 'and if she wasn’t at least I now know what you saw in our friend Emily here.'
Liam tried to maintain a straight-faced demeanor but he couldn’t help but crack a smile at Mia's innuendo. 'Down to serious business,' Liam said trying to keep his giggling companions in order, 'we're drawing attention where attention doesn’t need to be drawn.' He flashed a look at a set of businessmen at the next table sure they weren’t trying to listen in for any secrets that might be spilled but more to stare at Emily. 'Tell me exactly what happened yesterday night.'
...
The three made small talk for the rest of the afternoon until Emily announced that she had a class before her shift at the bar and she wasn't about to show up in this dress. Emily took this opportunity to get one more jab in saying, 'won't it help you pick up some of those bespeckled future therapists? They know Freud very well, so I’ve been told, as well as Kinsey.'
Emily leaned in and Liam was momentarily afraid she was going to punch Mia in the gut right in the middle of the Boars Head. Instead Mia planted a kiss on Emily right cheek and Emily reciprocated on the left side of Mia's face. Grabbing her purse, Emily left out the door to continued stares from the businessmen, this time at her behind.
...
'Do you think she's telling the truth?' he asked Mia who had been quiet through the entire meal to enable herself to fully observe.
'I don't think she was lying,' Mia said, 'she was too comfortable during lunch and not in a hurry at all to leave. But I do think that she might know a little more about Callum's plan than what she's letting on. There seemed to be some pauses where she could have given more information than what she did.'
'Well,' Liam said, 'that's slightly understandable because if she's still at the bar and Callum's now in charge, she's got to be as loyal to Callum as she was to us. So maybe we should clarify to her just who she's getting information for.'
'Great," Mia said laughing and rolling her eyes, "next time you’ll have me stick a fifty pound note in her thong, right?'
'She was wearing a thong?' Liam thought but didn’t say it out loud."
And breathe. Alright maybe I'm just being a guy who would never write in the erotic genre but I swear that's a threesome waiting to happen. It won't because I'm writing Historical Fiction (or something similar) so there will be no hot sex scene (written by some other Chicago writer who actually deals in erotica, involving Emily, Liam, and Mia).
But, damn it was hard to not have Liam say something inappropriate and entirely out of character (though he does make a crack about Mia falling for his charms in bed in the first chapter).
Since the scene went on a while after that, I forgot what innunendo-lined jokes I wanted Liam to crack. I'm sure they were similar to what Mia ended up saying in the end (because she's much more open about sexuality that the upper crusty Liam). It's a pity I didn't want to take the story up to a R from a PG-13 this year because it could have been a very fun 4,000 words or so to write (in addition to a few more words this chapter).
2004 NaNoWriMo: 30,827 words (and oddly enough I had just finished a "R" rated scene)
2005 NaNoWriMo: 24,263 words
reliantfc3: 25,028 words (I swear that can't be correct anymore)
incendiarymind: 24,263 words
This is the second year in a row that someone who I know has been the first Chicago writer to finish with squirrelgirl22 being last years Chicago marathon winner. I didn't know squirrelgirl22 at the time but it's good to keep the title in "the family" (the group of us that was sitting at the same table at last year's TGIO party).
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In this year's NaNoWriMo, squirrelgirl22 and I are on almost the exact same pace. She has 24,219 words and I have 24,263. Perhaps it should be we who challenged each other since it seems pretty even and since we're both on Team Chicago 2005 it could only help the region. I think, but I'm not sure, that tomorrow is cut day for the Chicago/St. Louis Word War or maybe it's a week from tomorrow.
I maybe lied to squirrelgirl22 a little bit today but not intentionally when I told her tomorrow was the day she (or I, but definitely not rosemilk) won't be on the team anymore.
Looking at St. Louis, it's seriously looking like our ML is going to have to cut quite a few Chicagoans since the Loo had a few of their contestants not even leave the starting gates.
Chicago in general is writing up a storm. Currently the region of Illinois::Chicago is 7th overall with 1,595,335 words written (this in not Team Chicago but the overall count of everyone affiliated). Sure we're nowhere near Minnesota::Twin Cities and their 2,999,224 or second place Maryland with their 2,806,176 or even third place California::East Bay with 2,031,998 but we are pushing 6th place Germany and Austria who has 1,609,273 (I swear rosemilk made up the difference herself today).
We already took Manhattan (New York::New York City is 20th with just over a million words written), and next we take Berlin!
That seriously could be our theme song. Someone actually sung it at the kickoff party thinking the original was R.E.M.'s version when of course it was Leonard Cohen! :)
The crazy thing is Illinois::Naperville (their own region) is one ranking behind New York City in 21st with 908,651. Combine the suburb the size of the biggest cities in many states with those of us in the city and near ring suburbs and we shoot up all the way into the top five (then again, there are very few split regions that couldn't make similar claims i.e. Michigan::Detroit and Michigan::Ann Arbor).
Maybe next year it will be my turn to be the Chicago speed writer extraordinaire, but I highly doubt it since I swear I stretch this thing out to hit 50,000 right around Thanksgiving each year so as not to prematurely celebrate and fall asleep.
Speaking of innuendo, tonight's chapter was pretty interesting to write as it involved the first bit of sexual tension I've put into this year's novel. Last year, I tried to prove I wasn't writing some kind of novel for the kids by putting in a lap dance and an attempted rape (both went along with the story, I swear, I wasn't just writing them for their own sake).
This year's novel is devoid of sex but I swear the lesbian overtones this year in the chapter I just wrote is stronger than anything between Emily and Sandra in Paris last year. Come on, all the guys who read that had to be thinking, "any two women who are fighting that much are just about to make out" (even if it's totally untrue and just what guys want to happen, that's seriously how guys think sometimes).
Emmie, who is the carry-over to this new novel (she was Emily in my 2004 NaNoWriMo novel) just like Sandra was Cassandra from "Innocence Of Bliss" carried into "Why Sleep When I'll Only Dream?", is actually the one responsible for the tension (whereas she was kind of prudish last year). Well, alright, Liam is responsible since he dated Emily before he dated and is now engaged to Mia but that's besides the point.
To set up the premise of the scene I'm about to excerpt, the Cane and Candle, a anti-British bar on the Detroit University campus has just been harassed by the police yet again. Liam and his group used to meet there but were driven out and then disbanded (or at least Liam thought) the last time the bobbies (you know what word I almost accidentally write when I type that out) came snooping but they left Emmie (who goes by Emily in formal situations) behind to be eyes and ears. Callum, Liam's right hand man, has decided to reconvene there (without Liam) and Emily is there as they hightail it out. She called Liam the night before to let him know what was going down but right as he's running to the bar (he was MCing the Starwood campaign debate party) the police pull up. He and Mia decide to call Emily into a fancy restaurant (which is sworn to secrecy due to mafia, political backroom dealing, and other things that go on there) and...
"Liam and Mia had been finishing their salads when Emmie strolled through the door, looking as though she had been running late. This was usually the case for Emily but Liam's mind raced as to what Emmie had been doing during the time she was supposed to be at the Boars Head. Before she could even fully adjust her purse on the chair, Liam turned to Mia and said, 'I think you and Emily have some business to discuss in the ladies room.'
Mia looked aghast and said, 'you want me to search her or something?'
Liam was again humorless when he said, 'Mia, we can't be too sure under the circumstances, don’t you think?'
'This is ridiculous,' Mia said, still angry at Liam for the very suggestion that Emily could be involved, 'this is Emily we're talking about, we've known her for years and you’ve never had any reason to suspect her of anything before. Besides, where is she supposed to hide anything in that?'
Mia eyed the dress that Emily was wearing, a sequined number straight off the runways of London (though a few years old) in which her chest was only supported by two pieces of fabric in a v-pattern merging just north of her navel. 'It must be cold in that,' Mia said sarcastically as she continued, 'being late September and all.'
'It's alright Mia,' Emily said, 'let's go use the little girl's room.'
'You can take the girl out of the southwest side, but not the southwest side out of the girl,' Emily said trying to be more catty than joking. 'Liam' she said leaning over to him, 'why don't you just search her next time, it's not like there are any surprises for you underneath that dress, what there is of it.'
Liam watched as Mia and her dress with him neckline and backline walked away with her arm around Emily shoulder pretending to be old friends. In a way, Emily and Mia were old friends despite their very different backgrounds. The three associates had been in a sophomore level psychology undergraduate class together. At the time Liam and Emily were the item and Mia just a dark haired, dark-eyed girl who had been impressed with the raw power of Liam standing up to professors on points which he could not have been more of an expert than the lecturer. Mia had not meant to seduce Liam away from Emily but it had happened gradually. As could be expected, Liam and Emily hadn’t spoken for about six month and then gradually they became friends again. Mia always worried in the back of her mind that Emily was always trying to win Liam back, despite the fact of who now wore the ring. On the surface, the two women worked together well, but sometimes Liam would wonder when the tension would bubble to the surface and he would be stuck in the middle.
The two women walked back to the table a few minutes both wearing a new layer of lipstick, a brown skin tone on Mia and red that matched Emily’s hair. 'She's clean,' Mia said, 'and if she wasn’t at least I now know what you saw in our friend Emily here.'
Liam tried to maintain a straight-faced demeanor but he couldn’t help but crack a smile at Mia's innuendo. 'Down to serious business,' Liam said trying to keep his giggling companions in order, 'we're drawing attention where attention doesn’t need to be drawn.' He flashed a look at a set of businessmen at the next table sure they weren’t trying to listen in for any secrets that might be spilled but more to stare at Emily. 'Tell me exactly what happened yesterday night.'
...
The three made small talk for the rest of the afternoon until Emily announced that she had a class before her shift at the bar and she wasn't about to show up in this dress. Emily took this opportunity to get one more jab in saying, 'won't it help you pick up some of those bespeckled future therapists? They know Freud very well, so I’ve been told, as well as Kinsey.'
Emily leaned in and Liam was momentarily afraid she was going to punch Mia in the gut right in the middle of the Boars Head. Instead Mia planted a kiss on Emily right cheek and Emily reciprocated on the left side of Mia's face. Grabbing her purse, Emily left out the door to continued stares from the businessmen, this time at her behind.
...
'Do you think she's telling the truth?' he asked Mia who had been quiet through the entire meal to enable herself to fully observe.
'I don't think she was lying,' Mia said, 'she was too comfortable during lunch and not in a hurry at all to leave. But I do think that she might know a little more about Callum's plan than what she's letting on. There seemed to be some pauses where she could have given more information than what she did.'
'Well,' Liam said, 'that's slightly understandable because if she's still at the bar and Callum's now in charge, she's got to be as loyal to Callum as she was to us. So maybe we should clarify to her just who she's getting information for.'
'Great," Mia said laughing and rolling her eyes, "next time you’ll have me stick a fifty pound note in her thong, right?'
'She was wearing a thong?' Liam thought but didn’t say it out loud."
And breathe. Alright maybe I'm just being a guy who would never write in the erotic genre but I swear that's a threesome waiting to happen. It won't because I'm writing Historical Fiction (or something similar) so there will be no hot sex scene (written by some other Chicago writer who actually deals in erotica, involving Emily, Liam, and Mia).
But, damn it was hard to not have Liam say something inappropriate and entirely out of character (though he does make a crack about Mia falling for his charms in bed in the first chapter).
Since the scene went on a while after that, I forgot what innunendo-lined jokes I wanted Liam to crack. I'm sure they were similar to what Mia ended up saying in the end (because she's much more open about sexuality that the upper crusty Liam). It's a pity I didn't want to take the story up to a R from a PG-13 this year because it could have been a very fun 4,000 words or so to write (in addition to a few more words this chapter).
2004 NaNoWriMo: 30,827 words (and oddly enough I had just finished a "R" rated scene)
2005 NaNoWriMo: 24,263 words
reliantfc3: 25,028 words (I swear that can't be correct anymore)
incendiarymind: 24,263 words
posted by incendiarymind at 9:17 PM
1 Comments:
Hey thanks for the shout out! I didn't realize I was first in NYC. Now I feel real special. :)
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