NaNo2016: Word of the Day 25-30

[meltintall3]

Nov. 25  wordcount: 40,121
Merriam Webster word of the day: genteel

The door to the wagon opened and the soldier's companion stepped out. Still wrapped in the cloak, they were only about as tall as Klara.

"How are things?" asked the girl. She worried that the ride had jostled Uncle Alaric. There'd been no way to keep the wagon steady while the horses careened down the road.

"They're all fine." The soldier's companion had a thin, reed-like voice. It sounded genteel—and familiar—but Klara couldn't place where she'd heard it before. Slender hands stroked the opposite side of Dinnerplate's head. If it was possible for a dog to die of bliss, Dinnerplate was in danger of expiring immediately. "I thought I ought to thank you myself for what you did last night."

"I was glad to help," said Klara, promptly.

Nov. 26  wordcount: 41,504
Merriam Webster word of the day: wistful

"...So I sweet-talked my way into the palace library."

"Is it big?" asked Myra. She hugged her knees, the firelight playing over her face and leaving it wistful in the shadows. "I miss being able to read new books when we're out on the river, and I can't even imagine how nice it must be in the palace..."

"It spans an entire floor," said the princess, picking up the story. "That's where we met. The soldier was reading the title and description of every book on the shelf-and he wasn't even in the right section."

"I was too," said the soldier. "Old maps are important..."

Nov. 27  wordcount: 43,826
Merriam Webster word of the day: dynasty

"My father noticed," said the princess. "He is not a particularly observant man, but having his future son-in-law be a poor soldier was not the start to a glorious dynasty he envisioned. So he forbade us to see each other again."

"It would have been better not to mention it at all," said the soldier, cheerfully. "Telling me not to do something just makes me consider it all the more carefully, and in a positive light. It goes from, 'that is a thing one could do if one thought it worthwhile' to 'how would I do the thing and when should I start?' in moments."

Nov. 28  wordcount: 45,012
Merriam Webster word of the day: vicissitude


Klara wrapped her arms around her knees. She'd become accustomed to being the master herself for a while, relying on her own judgment and taking responsibility. She still wasn't sure if she'd handled the vicissitudes in an appropriate fashion, but there was a heady feeling of power when you said, "Do this" and it happened. It was the same feeling she got while soaring above ground. Loosing that autonomy would be as terrifying as going into a freefall.

Nov. 29  wordcount: 48,117
Merriam Webster word of the day: cabbage

Myra turned [the box] over, looking for an opening or latch.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's a spring catch!" Opening her hands, she displayed that she'd convinced the lid to pop open. But there was nothing inside except a single copper coin.

The soldier laughed, and pulled it out. "I'm rich," he said. "I'll have to look out that no one cabbages my newly discovered wealth."

Nov. 30  wordcount: 50,026
Merriam Webster word of the day: soporific


After that, Klara saw that the little girls made an effort to seek out her uncle. He was gentle with them, not as stern as she was accustomed to seeing him. Sisi would climb into Alaric's lap, finding the residual scent of hay and warm horse on his jacket soporific. Then the master of the house would sit much longer than he'd intended while Sisi curled up and slept. Klara offered to move the little girl once, but Alaric waved her off. "Let the child be," he said. "It's not like I've anything better to do at the moment."


Aaaaaaaand done! *tosses manuscript in the drawer* It can come out when its closer to what I was imagining when I started.

Comments

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

Sorry...forgot to check past couple of days. :">

Nov 25: IS THAT THE PRINCESS? :D

Nov 26: IT IS THE PRINCESS! :D Who's Myra? Ahhh, I read titles a lot too. ;))

And congrats on passing 40K! :D

(On another note, I'm listening to the audiobook of The Drowned Vault. I'm not sold on the reader. :/ But it's something to listen to while knitting, which was the goal to get somewhere with that :P, so we'll see. ;)) )

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Well, the excerpts aren't going anywhere, so... ;))

If one doesn't read titles, how else will one find the cool new books??? (Myra is the daughter of the captain of the river-barge. She was supposed to be a bit Pippi Longstocking, but did not turn out as planned. o_O )

*pushes manuscript toward finishline* Just...a...few...more...words...

(Yeah, I'd be pretty picky about the reader for Drowned Vault too. But yay for knitting and good stories to listen to while knitting!)

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

True. But I feel bad when I drop off for days on end. :">

EXACTLY! And you never know what you'll find when you peruse the shelves. :D (Ah, gotcha! Ooh, Pippi Longstocking. How did she turn out instead? ;)) )

You can do it! *waves pom-poms enthusiastically* :D

(...I may or may not have backed myself into a corner with plans for gifts and deadlines being closer than they appear... o_O)

Nov 27: ;)) This soldier sounds familiar...oh. You know, that's kind of something David would say, I think. ;))

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

(...kinda bland? Not as spunky and quirky as Pippi, anyway. :"> )

*imitates the Little Engine That Could* It'd be awful to quit now when I'm soooo close.

(...I KNOW EXACTLY HOW THAT FEELS. Am I working on them as much as I should? Noooooo. XD )

;)) I have 'arrived'! I have now written enough that character types can be observed across my work a la Lloyd Alexander or Brian Jacques... :p I mean, uh, yeah, I see what you mean... WHAT A COINCIDENCE XD

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

(Sorry. :( )

You're almost there! :D You can do it! :D

(ARGH. ME EITHER. *sighs*)

;)) What a coincidence indeed. ;)

Nov 29: ;)) ...this also sounds a bit like David. ;))

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! :D YOU MADE IT!!!! WAY TO GO! *throws pom-poms in the air*

Awww. ;)) Who's Sisi, though?

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Another year, another manuscript. ;)) Interestingly, the most difficult one yet even though I had a solid outline. On the other hand, I didn't do warm-up getting-to-know-the-character exercises this year, so...

Sisi is the Adorable Child character. ;))

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

:D Huh. Interesting that it was a tough one, though. Hmmm.... I wonder if the lack of warm-ups actually did cause problems? Or if it's a coincidence?

;)) Is that TM? ;)

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

I'm leaning toward it actually being more of a problem than I expected. I have evidence that I'd a grasp on who my characters were supposed to be for the past, oh, six years anyway... Ah, well. Lesson noted. ;))

Well, I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that the Adorable Child is a stock character in my works, but it certainly is a Type. ;))

[valiantarcher.livejournal.com]

So, you've known who the characters are for years, and you thought you had a good grasp on them and so skipped the warmups? But when you went to write, all sorts of characteristics popped up that you hadn't accounted for? Is that about the measure of it? I guess you know for next time now. ;))

;)) Okay, Type but not TM yet makes sense.