Hello readers! I know I haven't published anything here for months, but I'm back at least for now. The fact is, November is coming up, and November is NaNoWriMo.
People who have been following my blog know that last year, I participated in NaNoWriMo. I'm going to do the same this year. But, the thing is, I'm still finishing the third draft of last year's book. I thought I would give a brief progress update.
For starters, here's a comparison of each draft's quality in excerpt form. The excerpt itself is quite absurd, but so is the book. Here goes:
Draft 1:
“Siddown,
siddown.” Said the woman, Mrs. Grunk. She was chairwoman of Tazonea, and her
mannerisms were legendary amongst the rangers. Her voice sounded somewhat like
a screeching violin, only scratchier, like it was being ground out from some voice
factory. Ranger no.1 sat down at Mrs. Grunk's desk. Various knick knacks were
scattered about. Models of the zoo's various oddities. Souvenirs, bobble heads,
and other various trinkets. There were also books stacked like high rise
apartments, and pages scatter every which way.
Mrs.
Grunk swept it all away, and it fell crashing to floor. She put down a pot and
cup in front of Ranger no.1. The stench of cactus grew even stronger. It was
sour and repungent. Mrs. Grunk leaned forward to pour him a cup, her piles of
short and curly red hair bobbed about like the folds of fat which covered every
inch of her short, stout body.
Draft 2:
“Siddown, siddown.” said Mrs. Grunk. She was the
chairwoman of Tazonea, and her mannerisms were legendary amongst the rangers.
Her voice sounded somewhat like a screeching violin, only more abrasive, as if
it were being pulled through an antique coffee grinder. Ranger no.1 pulled out
a chair, and sat down at her desk. Various knick knacks were scattered all over
its surface. There were models of the various oddities from Tazonea. Souvenirs
bobble heads, and other kinds of trinkets. Obscuring Ranger no.1’s view of Mrs.
Grunk’s face were stacks of books and pages and maps stacked chaotically
together in lopsided fashion.
Mrs. Grunk reached her arms through the mess, and
swept it all sideways. The city of books fell with a terrific crash to the
ground, and pages flew everywhere. Not seeming to think a thing of it, Mrs.
Grunk put down a teapot in front of Ranger no.1, and quickly followed it up
with a little teacup. The stench of cactus grew even stronger. It was sour and
repugnant. Mrs. Grunk leaned forward to pour the teapot. Her piles of short and
curly red hair bobbed about like the folds of fat which covered every inch of
her short, stout body.
Draft 3:
“Siddown,
siddown.” said Mrs. Grunk, gesturing to a chair in front of her desk. She was
the chairwoman of Tazonea, and her mannerisms were legendary amongst the
rangers. Her voice sounded somewhat like a screeching violin, only more
abrasive, as if it were being pulled through an antique coffee grinder.
Ranger number-one sat down. Various knick knacks were
scattered all over the desk’s surface. There were models of the various
oddities from Tazonea, souvenirs, bobble heads, and other kinds of trinkets.
Obscuring his view of Mrs. Grunk’s face were stacks of books, pages and
maps stacked chaotically together with lopsided carelessness.
Mrs.
Grunk reached her arms through the clutter, and swept it all sideways. The skyline
of books toppled to the ground with a terrific crash, and pages flew
everywhere. With unconcealed indifference to all this, Mrs. Grunk set down a
teapot in front of number-one, and quickly followed it up with a chipped little
teacup. The stench of cactus grew even stronger. It was sour and repugnant.
Mrs. Grunk leaned forward to pour the teapot, her piles of short and curly red
hair bobbing about like the folds of fat which covered every inch of her short,
stout body.
Anyways, as you may or may not notice, draft number 1 is absolutely horrendous in its quality. It's full of spelling errors, repetition, bad prose, and I keep referring to ranger number-one as "ranger no.1".
Draft number 2 is mildly better, improving some of the flaws, and adding some more sensible lines.
Draft number 3 still isn't "well-written", but it's quite polished in comparison to the first, relatively perfect as far as technical structure goes (I give all the credit to Microsoft Word, of course!) I'm quite excited about how its coming along so far.
I have a very difficult time 'doing' things. It's quite a struggle of mine. I have inclinations, goals, and - more importantly - duties and responsibilities. I struggle to get any of them done, and keep going at them. I'm in prayer about it a lot.
But Tazonea, for once, seems it will be an exception. I set out to write 50,000 words last year, and I did. Furthermore, God-willing, it looks like I'm going to finish it.
So yay! I'm excited. And even though its just a fun kids book, and doesn't carry a Gospel message, Colossians 3:23-24 says,
"
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."
God is the chiefest worker of all, for He made creation. Thus, I believe, those who work imitate God in how well they do it, and artists imitate God in their craft. And so, I hope that at the end of even this little project, I can sign my book as the great Bach signed even some of his secular pieces of music:
S.D.G
Which stands for 'Soli Deo Gloria', which means, in the Latin - for the glory of God alone.
