7000+ words and still working

Finally reached 7000+ words, and I'm only 16,000 words behind schedule. But somehow, I will persevere and I will reach that wonderful goal of 50k words. So below, find an excerpt. No, it's not perfect. Yes, it needs work. Hey, perfect is not the purpose behind Nanowrimo. Getting words on paper is the purpose.

Tal watched the waitress while she placed the plate on the table in front of him. She glanced at him, almost as if she felt his gaze upon her and smiled. He held her gaze too long and she looked down again as she straightened her back and smoothed down her apron.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked, a slight tremor in her voice.

"No, not right now. Thank you." He returned his attention to the food. He felt more than saw her leave the table.

Tal had lived for almost five hundred years, waiting for the reincarnation of the woman he loved and lost. During that time, despite the many countries he had visited, food had lost its pull. He ate because he had to, not because he wanted it.

Almost five hundred years ago, Tal had planned on marrying Natani, the daughter of his clan’s leader. Two weeks before the wedding, a stranger had arrived in their village. He practiced the dark arts of magic and took Natani’s father captive. The two, along with some of their friends, tried to free her father, but Natani had lost her life in the attempt.

Tal did not think he would be able to live without her. Until he realized he was not aging and he could not die. The stranger had cursed him, a parting gift. He found that out years later, after watching two generations grow old and die in their village. The stranger returned and laughed at Tal as he explained what he had done. And he had done it just to torture Tal.

Tal had gone to a witch who lived outside of the village. She had not been able to remove the curse, but with the help of white magic, she had been able to change it. The villagers believed in reincarnation and the witch had assured Tal that Natani would eventually be reborn to her family’s descendants. When she returned, she and Tal would have the power to destroy the stranger who had killed her and cursed him. The witch had also made it possible for him to feel when Natani returned. Almost five hundred years had passed and he had waited, sometimes impatiently, for the feeling to alert him to her rebirth. Finally, twenty five years ago, he felt it.

Tal rested his fork on the empty plate and turned his gaze out the window next to him. The karate studio across the street was emptying of the people who had been inside for a lesson and he smiled sadly when the last person left. She had not exited the building, again. He knew she would still be inside, extending the lesson she had just finished with a private lesson. She practiced at the studio three times a week for two hours; one hour with the other students in a style called Shoto Kan, the second hour spent either on Tai Chi or weapons. He had attended one of her tests to advance in rank at the studio. She was good and had recently earned her first black belt rank.

"Who are you looking for, Tal?"

He recognized the voice. He had had almost five hundred years to memorize every intonation, every inflection, every damn syllable. He gestured to the chair across from him, then looked at the man in a sidelong glance.

"Is it time, once again, Zenor, for you to buy me lunch? I thought it was my turn." Tal’s voice was nonchalant, casual and he finally gave the other man his full attention.

"I’m not here to buy lunch for you, Tal. I want information." He glanced out the window. "Has Natani returned to us?"

"What would make you think that?" Tal was able to hide the surprise in his voice, something he had also learned over the years, among many other things.

"I have been watching you. You know something. You have changed recently." Zenor almost sounded desperate in his explanation.

"Recently? What is your definition of recently?"

"Thirty years approximately." The two men grinned at each other, almost as if they were friends instead of enemies.

"Funny how thirty years can be considered ‘recent’, when you have seen as many years as we have." Tal stopped the grin abruptly.

"Not as many as I have." Zenor sat back, crossing his arms. Tal nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "Now tell me. What is happening? Has she returned?"

Tal smiled slightly. It gave him a certain sense of pleasure to know that only he knew Natani had been reborn. Zenor had not ever been able to figure out what Tal knew or how his curse had been changed. But the man was frustrated that he could not gain the knowledge Tal had. He was forced to follow Tal and spy on him in the hopes of gaining information.

"Zenor, why would I tell you if Natani has returned to us?" He finally asked. He pulled out his wallet, laid a twenty dollar bill on the table, then pushed his chair back. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have my art gallery opening tonight. I have things to finish." Without a backward glance, he left the restaurant.

NaNoWriMo 2007

So, it's that time again. Time to spend the next 30 days writing a 50k or more novel.

My plan this year is to write a paranormal romance. I am going to actually Tal and Natani from our previous D&D campaign, in present day. More information on that later.

In terms of my writing class, I am on the final lesson. I am supposed to be picking out potential publishers and agents. I hate this part.

I have written three chapters and absolutely love my characters again. If it wasn't for the house and work and home schooling and just basically LIFE, I would have more written. It will come.