Camp NaNoWriMo 31 days later...

Earlier this summer, I shared with you my plans to join Camp NaNoWriMo for another month of writing.  Well, the month of July has come to a close and my results are...

I did it! I completed my goal of writing 30k words towards my new novel.

source

Okay, so I may have shifted my numbers around early on, but once I started writing I found a realistic goal for myself.  I'm still proud of the result.  Even though the story may not have an ending yet, I know where I plan to go with it.  The fun thing about writing is allowing your characters to tell their own stories.  I realized while working on this novel that plot lines can shift, change, or even disappear.  As my characters develop, so do their stories.

Below is a sneak peek at something I wrote.  It's terrifying, yet exciting, to share my words with you.  Maybe one day I'll be sharing more :)  Hope you enjoy!

"Sam!"

In the thick humid air I hear someone calling my name. Spinning in circles I look around, trying to find the source, a familiar voice that will anchor me.

“Sam! Wait up!”

That recognizable sound causes me to stop in my tracks.

“Sam! Jesus, what’s going on? Where are you going?”

I feel a warm hand clasp my bare upper arm, firm but not threatening. As my thoughts begin to slow, I take another deep breath and look back at the figure coming into focus, still holding on to me so I don’t float away.  It’s Will.  He’s the familiar sound, the comforting touch, the one to pull me back before the next wave carries me out.

“I can't be here anymore.” The words tumble from my lips.

“Okay, then let’s go. My jeep is over there.”

I take comfort in Will not asking why I suddenly ran from the bar and why I’m insisting to leave immediately. He just takes my hand, soft and safe, guiding me toward his jeep.

As Will drives down the two lane highway, the warm salty air whips my hair around and I let go of the words Victoria threw in my face like a sharp slap, stinging to the core.  My mother and her cold icy stare slips free from my mind, along with the unforgivable choices she's made. I mentally exhaust myself from the weight of these memories that I've carried around for far too long. It all tumbles behind the jeep, to be washed away by the incoming tide, carried out far to sea.

I lean my head back on the seat and peer up at the blanket of stars cascading down through the open roof jeep. There must be a million of them, full of wishes and hopes and dreams. I used to be the girl who wished on that star, or maybe it was that star over there. My eyes dart back and forth, realizing they all look the same. Maybe that’s how my wishes got lost and never came true. Nothing stays extraordinary in such an ordinary world. When you put your faith in something, there’s always that chance it will let you down.

Will leans forward and turns the volume up, as if he knew I needed the sound to quiet my forever thinking mind. It’s not lost on me that he’s playing a Bon Iver song, rather than something from his usual country playlist. A smile threatens to release itself across my face, but I bite my lip in an attempt to tamper it down.

I realize in this moment you never truly hear a song until you're driving with the windows down on a warm summer night. The sounds of this one melody, one point in time, is all that filters through the speakers reinvigorating an emotion that only music can. It allows me to shut everything else off.

My eyes drift over to Will, who is focused on the road, seeing miles and miles ahead. I wonder what that must be like, to be able to look out and know exactly what comes next. I envy that, really. Will looks away from the highway, turning those all-seeing eyes on me, as if he's found the path that leads to who I am suppose to be.