NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Read the Whole Thing (NaNoWriMo 2017) 11 Dec 20173 Jun 2019 Should You Wish To Read It... I'm very grateful to everyone who read, commented and liked bits of my Nanowrimo story through November - it's the kind of support that…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 25 – The End (NaNoWriMo 2017) 5 Dec 2017 Part Twenty-Five It took the allforest hours to wind its way all the way inside the strangers’ last colony ship. The huge forested vessel squatted on top of the Menortha…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 24 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 4 Dec 20174 Dec 2017 Part Twenty-Four The mind interface with the allforest bleeds both ways. Unlike the interface in the underground forest, the intensity of their scrutiny pushed images and flickers of thought into…
Assorted Ramblings… MetaNaNoWriMo – a few thoughts on NaNo2017 2 Dec 20171 Dec 2017 Phew. It's over! I successfully completed my Nano novella After the Dark on Thursday night - I am a winner at 63,846 words. Pretty cool huh? By the end, I think the story even made…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 23 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 1 Dec 201730 Nov 2017 Part Twenty-Three The sharp blackness of space emerged from a sea of fire, and the pressure on our bodies and crash chairs lessened. I was intensely grateful for that, as…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 22 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 30 Nov 201729 Nov 2017 Part Twenty-Two We staggered back, as the rift in the ground widened, sending the remains of the archive crashing into the depths far below. The shuddering earth distracted Miqual, so…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 21 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 29 Nov 201728 Nov 2017 Part Twenty-One When we climbed out from under the mess of clothes we’d scattered across the abandoned living room, sun had reached what passed for midday brightness. It had not…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 20 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 28 Nov 201727 Nov 2017 Part Twenty The sparkling forest faded around us, and I felt the woodgrain sliding across my skin, releasing us from the interface pillar. We were no longer in the underground…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 19 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 27 Nov 201725 Nov 2017 Part Nineteen Hand in hand, we descended into the allforest. The slope was steep, and we had to stagger between tree trunks, catching each other as we slipped. The scent…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 18 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 24 Nov 201724 Nov 2017 Part Eighteen We maintained a vicious assault on the homeworld’s colony ships and frigates. Rumala and Eleran adapted our escape pods into biological weapons, filled with the monsters we’d bred…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 17 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 23 Nov 201722 Nov 2017 Part Seventeen I staggered on the brink of the allforest. The vast terrarium forest spun before me, a whirling vision of red and green foliage below and the glowing sky…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 16 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 22 Nov 201722 Nov 2017 Part Sixteen The world ground around me, nauseatingly loud, as my coffin of roots corkscrewed me away from the fire, away from the mine. Away from Miqual, the man I’d…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 15 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 21 Nov 201720 Nov 2017 Part Fifteen I hastily slapped at the burning paper sticking to my boots and legs for fear I’d go up with it. Since I clutched an extremely flammable paper folder…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 14 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 20 Nov 201719 Nov 2017 Part Fourteen The mineshaft I followed was taking me deeper underground. I felt that it might be roughly parallel to the entranceway, but I had no way to determine if…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 13 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 17 Nov 201717 Nov 2017 Part Thirteen Previous episodes here The darkness never ended. I’d tripped and fallen, pitching forwards into space. Still surrounded by the hallucinatory patina of roots and stars, I fell forever.…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 12 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 16 Nov 2017 Part Twelve Previous episodes here Calia’s lacklustre trail had shimmered away into nothing once Talens disappeared over the horizon. A few hours later the sun would return light to the…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 11 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 15 Nov 201714 Nov 2017 Part Eleven Previous episodes here We drove for the whole day. Away from the charring chassis of the two autos that had been blasted off the road, away from the…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 10 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 14 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Ten Previous episodes here As the auto in the lead cartwheeled across the road and into our path, fire splashing off it like water, Feryon yanked the wheel hard…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 9 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 13 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Nine I woke up, convinced that I was back in the chalet, wrapped up tight in a heavy blanket. I drew their folds even tighter around me, intent on…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 8 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 10 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Eight The transition from the void of unconsciousness to awareness was slow, a string of sensations that gradually accumulated, physical processes steadily kicking into action; my heartbeat intruded upon…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 7 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 9 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Seven I have a memory of catching fire. Sudden, unbearable heat all over my head and arms which instantly reaches a peak, and my skin ignites, flaring in the…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 6 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 7 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Six Miqual took our automotive off the main road, within moments we were hidden under the allforest canopy. Waves of dappled green light washed over us – the last…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 5 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 6 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Five A cool wind blew through the open window, keeping me focussed. I was running late for meeting the others, and it would take time to transfer my belongings…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 4 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 5 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Four The journey back to Brisingham took a couple of hours, a time filled with fidgeting and too little space. The back was filled to overflowing with boxes and…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 3 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 4 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Three The promised rain never came. Overnight, the clouds had fled, leaving our pale sun to carry the sky’s weight. It did the best it could, and was still…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 2 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 3 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part Two I followed my doubled shadow back to the chalet; Talens and Calia, bright in the sky behind me, lit my path. I wasn’t so much reluctant to return…
NaNoWriMo After the Dark – Part 1 (NaNoWriMo 2017) 2 Nov 201713 Nov 2017 Part One The sky brimmed with the promise of tears. The clouds had lingered all day, waiting for an opportunity to spoil the mood. They could have come sooner, for…
NaNoWriMo Nanowrimo 2017 – After the Dark 31 Oct 201713 Nov 2017 It's Scribbling Time It is on. I'm filled with the same feelings I had before: excitement, and a kind of numb panic because I really have little idea what the…
