NaNoWriMo

Sooo... I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been thinking that maybe I'd like to start back up again. And so, I figured I would attempt to post at least once a week, probably every Friday, and share how NaNo is going for me. Since I started college this year, I'm not going to have as much time to write, but we'll see how everything turns out later.

Currently, I'm working on the sixth book in my WoP (World of Panin) series. I've been working on it for awhile, and probably won't be done with it anytime soon, but I'd still like to start a new project for NaNo that I'm referring to as More Than Survival. I don't have too much planned for it, but I have a loose plot, and lots of ideas. If anyone has any questions about it, I'd love to answer them, but other than what I just typed up, I don't really have anything else to say on that subject.

Really, though, I'd love to get back to blogging more regularly, so expect more blog posts in the future, and bug me about them if you want. It might help to remind my scatterbrained self to write something up more than just a few times a year.

(Also, in an attempt to motivate myself, I'm going to try and start posting a weekly poll question. This week's question is Who do you feel sorry for the most? If you have any suggestions for questions, or other weekly things you might like to see here, let me know! :D)

Annnnd, here's a small part of the fifth book from WoP.
-------

Pushing past all the strangers, Bryin wandered around looking confused. He didn’t exactly know what to do, and Sage was nowhere in sight. As the minutes ticked by, and Bryin accidentally walked across the dance floor, bumping into the waltzing couples, he made his way to the farthest wall and stood back watching all the people. Most everyone was interacting with everyone else, engaging in conversations or dancing, and Bryin felt out of place. Normally he loved socializing with people, but today he was feeling off. In fact, he was beginning to forget what the party was even for.

            But when he noticed Darvel against the same wall he was leaning on, he quickly remembered. Bryin scooted closer to Darvel, a frown slowly creasing his face.

            “Please don’t tell me I look like that.” Bryin said, noting that Darvel’s clothes were exactly like his, only different colors. Even their hair was styled the same.

            “You know,” Darvel muttered, casting a side-glance at Bryin, “I’m getting the sudden urge to insult you, but there’s nothing I can say without insulting myself as well.”

            Bryin rolled his eyes, a smile threatening to show. He realized Darvel had said something mean like always, but it was also pretty amusing.

            “Ha, ha.” Bryin said, satisfied with achieving a sarcastic tone. “You’re really funny Darvel. But I think you’ve taken this whole joke way to far.” He gestured to the party going on around them. “Maybe it’s time to break the news to everyone that you’re not really getting married.”

            “Pfft. What? You worried I’m not gonna pay attention to you after I get married?” Darvel gave Bryin’s cheek a gentle pat. “It’ll be okay. If you ever need me, I’ll always have time to give you a punch in the face if you need it.”

            Bryin scowled lightly. “That’s not what I’m talking about, Darvel. I doubt anyone who really knows you will believe that you’re actually getting married. It’s not like you to do something like that.”  Bryin tapped his chin, then held up a finger before Darvel could say anything. “Oh, wait! I know! Adela totally asked you to marry her. That’s the only explanation for this whole thing!”

            Darvel glared hard at Bryin. “Just shut up. I’m not joking about getting married. And I’m the one who asked her. Just because I don’t like you doesn’t mean I’m not capable of liking other people.”

            “Okay, okay.” Bryin held up he hands as a sign of defeat. “Gosh, all I meant by that was it’s weird to think you’re getting married. I mean, you’re only eighteen…”

            “And your point is?” Darvel raised an eyebrow at Bryin. “I was only seventeen when I moved out of the castle and got a job and started taking care of Katrina.”

            “Yeah, and most seventeen year olds on Earth wouldn’t want to do that sort of thing at that age.” Bryin crossed his arms. “At least I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want to. And they certainly wouldn’t want to get married a year later.”

            “I don’t know where you’ve been for the last three years, but this isn’t Earth.” Darvel crossed his arms, unconsciously copying Bryin. “Besides,” Darvel said, his eyes wandering to watch Adela across the room as she talked to a few other people, “I really do care about her, so it shouldn’t be that hard to believe that I would want to marry her…”

            “Ew, Darvel…” Bryin made a face and put a hand over Darvel’s eyes. “Stop looking at her like that, seriously… It’s gross.”

            Darvel slapped Bryin’s hand away, scowling. “What’s gross? I was just looking at her.”

            “It’s not gross that you were looking at her, it’s gross the way you were looking at her.” Bryin shook his head. “Sort of like the way I would look at a bag of gummy bears.”

            Darvel gave Bryin a look that said he was less than amused. “I… I don’t even know how to respond to that…”

            “Well, I guess I do have that sort of effect on people.” Bryin flashed Darvel a grin, and an awkward silence fell between them.

            As they stared at each other, Darvel cleared his throat and looked away. “You… Um… You seem to be doing okay even after everything that happened…”

            “Oh, don’t worry. I know how much you would hate it if I was okay, so…” Bryin rolled up the left sleeve of his dress shirt and revealed his sliced up arm. “Sorry, though. Sage says the cuts are healing very well so far.”

            Darvel winced, knowing that a few days ago he was very close to the point of doing that to himself. “I don’t think I realized you were at that point. Are… Are you okay now?”

            Bryin shoved Darvel lightly. “Hey, don’t ask me that. We both know it’s not like you to care about me. You shouldn’t even be the slightest bit sympathetic. You hate me, and… I’m okay with that now. Besides, I won’t even think about how much you hate me when I’m off sailing the seas as a pirate.”

            “What are you going on about now?” Darvel sighed, wondering if maybe he shouldn’t have asked Bryin that question.

            “Nothing really. I… I just got in to contact with Calix, and he said he would meet me so I could join the pirate crew.”

            “So… You’re going to find a ship…” Darvel bit his lip slightly. “When are you running off to do that?”

            “I dunno…” Bryin shrugged and turned to watch all the couples dancing. “Soon, I think. Probably in like, three days or something like that. I just need time to get everything together without Sage or the rest of the family noticing what I’m up to.”

            Darvel nodded slowly, obviously thinking something through. “Well, then… Would you mind if… If I came along with you? P-please?”

            “You can come, but are you sure you’re not an alien?” Bryin started walking towards a long table filled with different foods. Pausing, he turned to glance back at Darvel. “I mean, ever since we rescued everyone from those wizards, you’ve been being a little nicer, and it’s not really like you, if you know what I mean.”

            “Whatever.” Darvel huffed at Bryin and watched him walk off, all the while knowing Bryin was right. Since then, he and Bryin had held at least two civil conversations, and he was beginning to notice that he didn’t really hate Bryin like he used to. What’s more, he was having a hard time validating his reasons for hating Bryin, and he also didn’t see why becoming king had been such a big deal to him.

            Adela walked over to him, and introduced him to a few of her friends, and a few people she had just met, and he began to guess that she was the reason he was different. It was because she and Katrina loved him, and had wanted to be his friend. They gave him the kind of attention he never believed his family gave to him, and it wasn’t until that moment that Darvel had become aware of that.