I have been reading through the nanowrimo that I did back in June and have started the editing process. It's interesting reading something after leaving it for a period of time as it has highlighted the areas which, although crystal clear in my mind, don't actually either make sense or confuse the reader.
So, I am trying to put some sense and order into it.
I'm really not sure what I will do with it once I have tweaked it; a couple of my work colleagues have asked to read it as have my Mum and sisters; at the moment it's a long long way from ready.
So, dear blog followers, I am going to throw myself wide at your valued opinions and put some extracts on here.
I don't want to give the story away so will be posting parts from various points in the story. I would very much appreciate feedback- pan it if that's what you think!
Thanks in advance.
This is a part of the backstory; set in the late 1960's
“And I’ve got... ‘til
forever! Come on let’s go!” and taking her hand he pulled her towards the wood,
“I’ve something to show you!”
Kit went to pick up
the spilled lunch. “Leave that, for now, you’ll see why!” She let him take
the lead along the familiar paths;
they’d been meeting here for picnics regularly and had spent many an
afternoon in the woods exploring. Henry’s parents had taken over the village
pub, the Cat and Fiddle, two years ago. Kit’s
father, Albert, had been a frequent
patron there. Too frequent for his own good .
Since his untimely death the
previous summer, Kit had spent more and
more time with Henry and his family. Kit’s mother had taken her husband’s death
badly and had thrown herself into her cleaning jobs. Most evenings she was so exhausted
she fell asleep in her arm chair not to wake until long after Kit had gone to bed. The weekends
were spent making half-hearted efforts at conversation to enquire of
school and friends. She hadn’t noticed how infrequently Kit’s friends came
over, nor did she notice how much time Kit had been spending with Henry. It
suited them both for Kit to be out of the house so much. Her mother didn’t
question and Kit didn’t volunteer the answers.
This is a bit from later which is set in the 1980s (I set it then because that's a period of time that I know about - also because of the lack of technology and social networking that nowadays makes it so much easier to trace people...)
It had been a mistake
coming. What had she hoped to achieve? Was she going to learn anything that
would undo what had happened in the past? “What’s done is done!” She remembered
those words from her mother. The past can not be changed. She had a future with
Nigel. She could just go home now, home to him, tell him what she could and
finally lock it all away forever. Forget the solicitor. What was he going to
tell her? That she had been left a fortune- no chance of that. Gran had never
had any money. The war pension had helped her to make ends meet, but there was
not going to be a fortune waiting for her. She pulled over to the side of the
road and beat her hands against the steering wheel. She wanted someone to make
the decisions for her, to tell her what to do. But who?
No, she had to make that appointment. The wounds
had been reopened and she had come this
far, to turn back now was not going to ease her pain. Maybe she would at last
find out what it was that her Grandmother had known all those years ago. Whatever it was she didn't want to hear it from
her mother, she could never forgive her for what she had done.
You'll notice that I have used the name Kit - one of the names I have used in various 100wcgu . The inspiration for the story came about from one of the 100 word pieces I wrote a while back. I rather like the name and it seems to suit the character.
Thank you again for reading...