NaNo2015: Word of the Day 7-12

[meltintall3]

Nov. 7  wordcount: 7,915
Merriam Webster word of the day: absolve

"I absolve you of all responsibility for my welfare."
Candace hooked her thumbs in her back pockets. "What are you planning now, Saul?"
"I'm going into the city again."
"Uh-huh. That's what I thought."
Saul pulled himself to his full height, very stiff and ill at ease. She met his gaze squarely, holding herself loose, confident as a lioness on the prowl.

Nov. 8  wordcount: 9,599
Merriam Webster word of the day: gadfly

Saul went around seeking out the debate, a heavyweight gadfly preferring to pulverize anyone foolish enough to challenge him.

Nov. 9  wordcount: 11,506
Merriam Webster word of the day: umami

"...So when I got a call, offering me a job lecturing... it's a perfect fit. I can have an audience and there doesn't even have to be someone arguing the other position. Everyone knows it anyway and can fill in the blanks for themselves."
"You took it."
"It was great. The hall was packed every night. They ate it up. I was asked to do the same at Lutherburg, Wesley, and Augustine."
"Ah," said Barnabas.
Saul clenched a fist. His skin was red against the white sheets, and he didn't seem to notice the pain. "I could taste success—it was on my tongue, like sweetness or umami, almost thick enough to take in my teeth and tear off a piece for myself. "

Nov. 10  wordcount: 13,506
Merriam Webster word of the day: kangaroo court

Barnabas took in the scene with a quick glance around the room. Saul sat at the table, hands tied together, strands of hair stuck to his forehead with dried blood. His captors were talking all at once.
"Silence!" shouted Barnabas. "What kind of a kangaroo court is this?"
Eyes turned to look at him. He stepped inside the room, looming over most of the occupants. He'd demanded obedience and he got it. There were only a few murmurs as he grabbed Saul by the scruff of the neck and hauled the other man to his feet. Barnabas scowled.
"You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Nov. 11  wordcount: 16,017
Merriam Webster word of the day: dewy

Esther went out early in the morning and stopped at the garden on her way to work. She found that she wasn't the only one up. The opinionated girl, Dorothy by name, was already there, crouched on her heels staring in wonder at the tiny green tendrils that had appeared in the dirt. Dirt was smudged with her freckles and she turned wide gray eyes with their flecks of emerald and gold upwards.
"It's true—it's growing!"
Esther nodded, balancing on her heels, careful not to overbalance and land on the dewy ground, but wanting a closer view of the tiny squash plants. "Isn't it marvelous?" she asked. Something fresh and new reaching for the dawn after lying dormant.
"And over here," said Dorothy, eager to share. "There's more!"
The entire garden was bursting with life. Esther thought it had never looked more beautiful.

Nov. 12  wordcount: 18,050
Merriam Webster word of the day: sinecure

"I think the Institute is not the be-all and end-all—"
"And yet you have a cozy sinecure there."
"It's not all tea and cakes," said Barnabas.
"Oh, there's paperwork too?"
"There's dealing with you."
Saul acknowledged the hit and allowed Barnabas time to gather his thoughts for a proper defense of his idea.

Comments

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

Nov 7 & 8: Aahaha, Saul*. ;)) I presume Candace let him go, but possibly is keeping an eye on him?

*...also it seems a little odd to be laughing at a character inspired/based on Paul. o_O ;))

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

More like, "That's very sweet but I have a better plan. Come on."

*...he means well. (Also, have you ever run across Walter Wangerin Jr.'s Paul? It's very lachrymose-I remember everyone shedding oceans of tears-but I suspect it's got some sort of influence here.)

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. ;)) And good for Candace helping.

*I'm sure! (No, I haven't. Huh...that might be interesting to track down sometime just to see the influence. ;)) )

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

(I wouldn't recommend it as a light and fluffy read... it requires some cross-referencing to see what the author is leaving out to tell his story. But it's pretty unusual.)

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

(Interesting... I'll keep that in mind, thanks. :) )

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

Nov 9: So Saul is suffering from pride? Interesting!

Nov 10: And a kangaroo court! Even more interesting. ;))

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

... he didn't suffer from arrogance and pride. He enjoyed every minute! :p

I work with what I'm given here. ;))

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, :P but pride comes before a fall...and humility should be learned.

;)) Very nice.

Nov 11: AWWW!! Green growing things are good. :D

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

;)) Ahhh, Barnabas. Is the idea to do with the Institute or something else?

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

The idea has to do with the Institute, yes, and I totally fail at any kind of deep exchange of ideas so hopefully it comes out better in revision. XD (Seriously. Soooo many 'meaningful conversations' occur off page at this point. Boo. :( )

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

Ah! :) Aww, it's okay. *hugs* Revisions are good. :) (I'm sorry. :( Do you at least have synopses for all the meaningful conversations?)

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Revisions are good, revisions are wonderful, revisions should be noted but not acted on until December because the story isn't over yet and I can't get to the end if I keep 'fixing' the beginning (although I would if I had a clearer idea of how to introduce Esther's attitude in the opening scene). XD (Mostly, no... but that is a really good idea.)

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

VERY TRUE! *hugs* Aww, hope you can get through and write the ending, regardless of how you feel about the beginning (hmmmmm...that sounds like a challenge...what's the opening scene? Is it the one with her and Julie?). (I find it helpful sometimes to outline what the important part of conversations are?)

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

;)) As long as there's only one SHINEYDISTRACTION in the picture (haha, I can tell it's NaNo because the extra ideas have started appearing) finishing should be okay. I've got an outline and the pacing feels about right. (Yeah, the opening is the scene with Julie. I'm actually pretty pleased with how that part came out; it's the part a little later, after she's seen Julie off and walked back to her office and is running through the 'why does nothing ever happen to me, I follow all the rules and do the right thing' blahs right before Barnabas shows up that doesn't quite work for me.) (Worth a try!)

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

*waves pom-poms at SHINEYDISTRACTION* Shhh, go play somewhere else for a few weeks! (Awww, sorry! Maybe---any of them to do with HN et co? :D ;) ) But I'm glad finishing looks promising right now. :) Hurrah for the outline and good pacing! (Aww, good! :D Oooh, so it's the internal dialogue that's got you stumped? That is tricky. Hmmm...) (I hope it helps! :) )

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

It didn't work as well as one would hope. I'm trying to write out the very, very basic outline and I'm only... half done... <_< (A quiet one suggests I rewrite Elephant and Dragon from Corwin's POV. :p )

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. :( *hugs* Keep at it, though! *waves pom-poms* (...Corwin is one of Harold's friends, right? Who went through the time jump? ...that sounds like an interesting idea, but I don't know who's POV it currently is in---Brandon's?)

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Eh, I don't mind too much. ;)) (That's him. It's currently from the POV of one of the other time jumpers, Ian--who is much more laid back. And there is some stuff from Brandon's POV, and some from Ian's wife.)

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

Well, okay then. ;)) (AH. I do remember the name of Ian. I didn't know he was married, though! IS HIS WIFE STUCK IN THE FUTURE??? ...I guess not if it's from her POV too?? DID SHE MAKE THE JUMP AS WELL??)

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

(...so, if I say Ian is married to Tibbs you'll go "AH-HA I RECOGNIZE THAT NAME TOO" ??? *cackles* I have a reputation. :p But yes, she made the jump as well. ;)) )

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

(YES. I REMEMBER TIBBS! YOU DIDN'T SAY THEY WERE MARRIED. ;)) I suppose that makes sense though it's not very clear in HNatBB. ;)) ...you do have a bit of a reputation, yeah. :P Yay for her making the jump too! :D )

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

(...oops? ;)) Anyway, Ian and Tibbs are married and their rings are interchangeable puzzle rings passed down through her family and they're nifty though not necessarily important to the plot. Now you know. ;)) )

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

(...yeah, oops. :P ;)) D'AWW!!! That is so sweet about their rings! Now I know indeed. ;)) And I went back and looked at the end of HNatBB, and sure Ian and Tibbs tease a little and Ian said he was borrowing Tibbs' share of the money, but Tibbs and Corwin interact far more, including Corwin helping Tibbs up a time or two, so!)

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

(...Yeah, but Corwin tends to overpower the conversations anyway? I didn't think he paid particular attention to Tibbs as opposed to Winnie, but I could just be looking at it in a larger context... ;)) )

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

(...good to know. I think larger context would help. Or something else to indicate what was going on. ;)) )