CAMP NANO WEEK THREE | JULY ’18

Well, week three was really relaxed, as far as writing goes. I didn’t do over and beyond — but I’m not bummed. At the beginning of the year, I decided I’d cut myself some slack for July’s Camp, because of so much going on and it being summer. It’s a good thing I did! This week contained a lot of chores and preparing the house (for selling). Also, Mom and Dad left for a few days, so we held down the farm. And I cleaned. A lot. And blew the shofar hourly because God said to.

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DAY FIFTEEN | 1,000

DAY SIXTEEN | 350

DAY SEVENTEEN | 400

DAY EIGHTEEN | 2,280

DAY NINETEEN | 570

DAY TWENTY | 2,000

DAY TWENTY ONE | 1,600

Overall Word Count: 30,000

I won Camp NaNo on the 21st at 30,000 — and counting! Seek’s final draft isn’t done but it’s moving along! Like I’ve said, I wanted this month to be less stressful, so while I haven’t been pushing myself insanely hard, I’ve been writing steadily. I’ll continue to work on Seek, because I plan on publishing it toward the end of this year. 🙂

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SEEK SNIPPET #1 | ELI POV

I got to my feet and stretched, turning away from the window. I went to wake Asher in the other bedroom, footsteps silent, pushing the door open.

Asher’s snoring made me scoff: “Asher. Your turn.”

Asher groaned. “Five more minutes.”

“Asher, the house is on fire.”

Snoring.

“Asher, there’s a snake in the closet!”

Snoring. Sniffing.

“Asher.” I nudged him hard, sighing. It’d been more fun to tease like that as kids. “Wake up.”

“What?” Asher lifted his head like a confused chicken and looked around. “What?”

“Your turn to watch.” I headed to the door and went back to the window, sighing. A few moments later, Asher staggered over, sitting down in the chair. His grumpy scowl made me bite back a chuckle — he wouldn’t like it if I laughed at him.

SEEK SNIPPET #2 | ANGEL POV

I almost drifted back to sleep when I heard a small thud from the hallway. A part of me opted to ignore it and stay in my warm bed, but then I remembered we were on the run and thuds in the night should be investigated. Even if I was a zombie doing so. Crawling off the bed and stepping across the wood floors on tiptoe, I eased the door open a bit wider.

Nothing.

What had been that sound? No one was in the hall.

I crept towards the kitchen slowly, trying to blend into the shadows.

Shuffling came from the kitchen. I tensed, praying it wasn’t some intruder, but stopped at the end of the hall. In the kitchen, opening the fridge, stood… Todd?

Well, Todd’s better than an intruder, right? Or… No, he’s not running away. He’s making… a sandwich?

 

HOLLOW BONES SNIPPET | HERMAN POV

“You’re right.” I’d said it! But I gulped hard, looking away. “I’m sorry for ditching you like that.”
“Again.” She bit.

“Yeah, again.”

She just snickered bitterly: “So?! A lot of people ditch. My own brother does. And he’s supposed to be some huge Army hero. He leaves his family behind with no second thoughts. Why should I expect anything different from you?!” She stared straight ahead but her eyes burned. Once again, I saw more in her than I wanted to see, and I couldn’t push it away.

Her words clawed at my chest. I could throw everyone else’s words away. Why was that getting harder to do now?

“I’m not Bryson.” I said calmly. “And I’m not leaving again.”

“I don’t want to handle the secret. Let someone else do it.” She stopped sharply and looked up at me, fists shaking. “I’m constantly trying to face the battles God gives me — but not this one!”

Fear. Fear glinted in her eyes. I couldn’t take that away.

But I could fight with her, instead of against.

 

~~~

 

Also, I earned my purple belt at the karate belt exam, and got a top score in my age group. I can’t thank my family and second family at the dojo enough… they all are supportive, encouraging, and just overall amazing. And Kody got his (third degree) brown belt! I am SO proud of him!

That’s all for now, folks! God bless.

– Ang

 

ARE YOU CLOSE TO WINNING CAMP NANO? HOW IS YOUR SUMMER GOING?