Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Chapter 12 is still a work in progess, mostly from getting ready for and getting back from camping. In fact, I just relised today that I'm a week behind. Chapter 12 will be up as soon as posible, but there is a bigger update: New site!
It has come to my attention that the email update doesn't work, it's a miner thing but it still bugs me. With that being said, the blog will now be on Wordpress at http://meganbennettnovels.wordpress.com/
This one will still be around in case something goes wrong with the new site. Untill then, a preview of Chapter 12:
It has come to my attention that the email update doesn't work, it's a miner thing but it still bugs me. With that being said, the blog will now be on Wordpress at http://meganbennettnovels.wordpress.com/
This one will still be around in case something goes wrong with the new site. Untill then, a preview of Chapter 12:
The
house was quite as Cynthia Patrick roamed around her kitchen making her morning
cup of tea. She had the place to herself for the first time in weeks after
dropping her son off at his grandmothers. She shuffled over to the stove in her
old flannel gown, probably thinking about her meet up with Greg this weekend,
and put the water on to boil. As soon as the kettle started to whistle, she
reached over to turn it off when a hand camp up from behind and held her mouth
shut.
Monday slit the blade
across Cynthia Patrick’s throat, tensed up as Cynthia Patrick’s body fell to the
floor. Monday inhaled the scent of blood: even when she wasn’t in Nightling
form she could taste it in the air.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
I just acoried to me today that I said I was going to post Chapter 10 on Monday.
Oops.
This is not a fun time to write right now. The list of things to get done before finals just keeps geting longer and longer so it is my sad duty to extend the hiatis to the 13th.
Oops.
This is not a fun time to write right now. The list of things to get done before finals just keeps geting longer and longer so it is my sad duty to extend the hiatis to the 13th.
Me the week of finals
Friday, April 5, 2013
Hey readers,
A few things I want to say. First, i have to say that Chapter 9 was so far my least favorite Chapter. I didn't like the ending and I thought it was rushed, literly right after I posted it, I had a better ending. But, that is part of the writing process, this blog is a raft and not the finaly product. In the great words of Marueen Johnson:
A few things I want to say. First, i have to say that Chapter 9 was so far my least favorite Chapter. I didn't like the ending and I thought it was rushed, literly right after I posted it, I had a better ending. But, that is part of the writing process, this blog is a raft and not the finaly product. In the great words of Marueen Johnson:
Ignore the covor image for the video and skip to :53
This is also why I love getting feed back, there are things that I think I do really well, but then find out that I can do better.
Which is why, to all my readers who are looking forward to Chapter 10, that this blog with be going on hiatis for the next 2 weeks. First, I need to focus and pulling some of my grades up and with two major test on Monday and another the 19th, I need to study. Secound reason:
I'm going out of town next weekend. I won't be playing with my team, but I am going along to cheer them on. With packing and driving and watching and more driving; granted I'm not driving, but it is a 16 hour drive to Florda, I won't have the time to work on the book. With that said, Chapter 10 will be back the 22th.
Untill then, what moments did you think was well written and what moments do you think need work?
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
I would like to start off with this post to let everyone know that Chapter 9 is delayed a week. I have two test to study for and a camping trip to go on, basically, I don't have the time. With that out of the way, I wanted to write another fun post.
A lot of the names in the book have a special meaning behind them. As I pointed out in Chapter 8, most of the street names are Catholic saints, like Martha street where Ezra lives in named after Saint Martha, the patron saint of cooks.
Some names don't have that special of names, Syringa is just the real name of lilacs and has a lot of them. Monday's home town Larksper is the common name of Consolida, a flower that is toxic to humans. Some of the characters names don't have any real meaning other then I liked them; names like Jolene, Jason, Edith, and Marcus. Bo was named after a fictional charter from the Thief Lord(BTW great kids book)
And sometimes what seemed like random names turned into happy accidents.
For example, Monday at one point was named Wendy and it was going to be short for Wednesday. i thought that it was to cliche to name a depressing charter after the worst day of the week in the mother goose poem, so instead I settled on Monday. Fair of face but worst day of the week, a little bit of bad and good, just like Monday. However after I renamed her is when I discovered that the day Monday is named after the moon. I gave my night dwelling character a night themed name. (Side note, the moon has nothing to do with night, I did learn something out of Intro to Astronomy.)
Some other characters had their back story added because of their name. Ezra was always Ezra because I liked the name and Sorin was named Sorin after I watched Legend of the Guardians, the stupid owl movie. I liked the name and my have been influenced by Jim Sturgess.
And yet after I named them and looked up what their names meant, I was kinda inspired by them. Ezra means "Help" in Hebrew, which inspired his Jewish heritage and Sorin meant "Sun" in Romanian, which inspired his heritage, just the Romanian part, the Romani part came in later.
I like knowing the meaning behind character names, even if it's not intentional. It's like colorful eggs on a Easter egg hunt. Since i won't post again still afterwards, Happy Early Easter, Eostre, bunny commercialism or whatever you celebrate.
A lot of the names in the book have a special meaning behind them. As I pointed out in Chapter 8, most of the street names are Catholic saints, like Martha street where Ezra lives in named after Saint Martha, the patron saint of cooks.
Some names don't have that special of names, Syringa is just the real name of lilacs and has a lot of them. Monday's home town Larksper is the common name of Consolida, a flower that is toxic to humans. Some of the characters names don't have any real meaning other then I liked them; names like Jolene, Jason, Edith, and Marcus. Bo was named after a fictional charter from the Thief Lord(BTW great kids book)
And sometimes what seemed like random names turned into happy accidents.
(You can skip to 3:00. If you ever have a bad day, watch Bob Ross)
For example, Monday at one point was named Wendy and it was going to be short for Wednesday. i thought that it was to cliche to name a depressing charter after the worst day of the week in the mother goose poem, so instead I settled on Monday. Fair of face but worst day of the week, a little bit of bad and good, just like Monday. However after I renamed her is when I discovered that the day Monday is named after the moon. I gave my night dwelling character a night themed name. (Side note, the moon has nothing to do with night, I did learn something out of Intro to Astronomy.)
Some other characters had their back story added because of their name. Ezra was always Ezra because I liked the name and Sorin was named Sorin after I watched Legend of the Guardians, the stupid owl movie. I liked the name and my have been influenced by Jim Sturgess.
Look familiar?
And yet after I named them and looked up what their names meant, I was kinda inspired by them. Ezra means "Help" in Hebrew, which inspired his Jewish heritage and Sorin meant "Sun" in Romanian, which inspired his heritage, just the Romanian part, the Romani part came in later.
I like knowing the meaning behind character names, even if it's not intentional. It's like colorful eggs on a Easter egg hunt. Since i won't post again still afterwards, Happy Early Easter, Eostre, bunny commercialism or whatever you celebrate.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
“Are
you sure this is safe?”
Monday
looked up at an 8 story building on Sanders street. Sanders Street was one of
the few streets not named after saints; it was once the factory side of town
where the Blair brewery was built, but the family had moved locations years
back, leaving empty buildings behind. The moonlight hit the crumbling brick and
bounced of the broken glass roofs illuminating the ally below. Monday stood
next to Ezra, both in Nightling form and wearing the Nightling's uniform; dark
jean, fingerless gloves, and a black tank top with a slit in the back for the
wings, it was a week since she had become and Nightling training had begun.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
As you can see, I did a little clean up. I just figured out how to create blogger tempets and felt that mine needed a facelift. Bo more sloth header.
You might also notice the email box on the left. While I'll still be posting on my facebook page, you can now subscribe and receive chapters when they're posted. I'll probably do a fun post sometime this week, then Chapter 8 on Monday. Look forward to Chapter 8, it's one of my favorites.
You might also notice the email box on the left. While I'll still be posting on my facebook page, you can now subscribe and receive chapters when they're posted. I'll probably do a fun post sometime this week, then Chapter 8 on Monday. Look forward to Chapter 8, it's one of my favorites.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Monday felt
a jolt as she woke up, back in the small room, surprised to find her feeding
tube was missing. She could feel her body twitch and twist as it felt like she
was being pulled apart. Monday bucked in the bed but found not only was she
still bound to the bed, but now, her legs were bound too. Monday looked over at
Edith and saw that she was reading something on her tablet, “Edith, I need more
meds.”
Edith
looked up at her with black eyes and gave her a sad smile, “This is the part
where you’re going to call me a bitch.” Monday looked down at her arm and saw
that the IV was gone, she looked back at Edith, who wasn’t smiling anymore,
“The change creates a high level of adrenaline and the amount of anesthesia and
blood thinners that you would need is unsafe. Plus, the transformation is
smoother if you’re angry.”
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The further I get into the book,
the more I think about how Nightlings work. I’ve always wondered about the
science behind mythical creatures and how they would work in the real world.
Not things like, why do werewolves exist but, werewolves that grow in size when
they change, were does the extra mass for that come from and were does it go?
In this blog post, I’m just going
to clarify the science behind them to 1. Clarify what’s going on to my readers,
and 2. A note to look back on when I change things and need to clarify them
more. This is a non-spoiler post; it just clarifies the information that our
Character Monday.
The Science of Nightlings
Nightlings in the simplest terms
are the physical embodiment of human rage. This is based on the idea who stores
of people who snap. Example would be the battered housewife who stabs her husband
30 times, it’s shocking and goes against common since but in a way, it’s
understandable. To be a Nightling you need to things
1.
A trigger – The Fledgling stage
2.
A release – The Nightling stage
The trigger is an event that cements
the rage inside a person. Take Monday, she was abused by her step-father for
years, but the event of the night that Alyson killed herself- Alyson tried to
save Monday from her stepfather but Monday, scared of what would happened,
turned on Alyson and defended her stepfather in court. Alyson, being bullied
for “trying to harm Monday’s poor and innocent Step-father” kills herself but
not before calling Monday to let her know. This is Monday’s trigger; the loss
of her only friend to her stepfathers actions. This cements the rage in Monday
against her stepfather, because Monday is not the only victim now. Monday also
feels some rage against herself, which isn’t uncommon for Nightlings, for her
roll in the event. This moment is what triggers Monday to follow Alyson’s body
to Syringa and starts the Fledgling process.
Next comes the Nightling stage. To
be a Nightling, you have to release that pint up rage in an inhuman way, such
as killing. It can’t be done in self defiance either. You’ll notice that Monday
escapes her Step-father in the kitchen in Chapter 5 with stabbing him in the
chest, if she gone to a neighbor and called the police, she could have been
spared from being a Nightling, but instead she goes back and stabs him to death
instead. Dion would have probably died, but Monday’s rage is what killed him,
not her self defense.
It’s important to note that not all
people can be Nightlings, because react to different situations differently,
going back to the metaphor before, not all abuse women are going to kill there
husbands. Not all people are going to be Nightlings, being a Nightling is
something that you a predisposed to. All it takes is the right events to
trigger the change.
The next part is the first change
itself. I’m not going into detail on the actual change itself, since that will
covered in Chapter 7. The first change happens the first night you commit your
first kill. Nightlings follow the sunrise and the sunset. Which means that at
different times of year, the Nightlings phase is either shorter or longer? More
detail about the change will come next week.
Now that you a Nightling, what is
your lifestyle? First of all, Nightling drink blood (Monday sees Edith give
Ezra a bottle in Chapter 3), but not on the nights that they kill. All of their
victims are picked out for them ahead of time. If the victim’s blood type is
known a head of time, then they may drink but it is not preferable. This will
be explained more in alter chapters but what generally happens is that after a
Nightling kills their target, Lenny is in charge of collect the bodies from the
crime scene. Once he has he bodies, he has the blood test to make sure there
are no drugs or disease and drains the body of blood. The blood is then typed
and if the blood is compatible, then it is sent to the Nightling who killed the
target. I the targets blood type is not known before hand and the targets blood
doesn’t match, then Lenny will switch bloods to different Nightlings, depending
on their blood type. The blood is then bottled up and Edith delivers the blood
to the different Nightlings, sometimes with their next kill. Nightlings only
kill about once every 6 weeks. Nightlings have to drink blood to keep the
inhuman, animalistic side of them at bay. They won’t die, but they will become
unstable and prone to outburst of aggression that can lead to accidental
deaths.
I may be over thinking it but these
are just the basic facts. In later chapters, I’ll post updated post on things
like:
1.
The pros and cons to the Nightling life
2.
The system that keeps them under ground
3.
The physics of being a Nightlings
If anyone had any questions, leave
them in comments. New blog posts this week to make up for the week I took off.
Chapter 7 on next Monday; although it could come sooner, it’s a good chapter.
Monday, March 4, 2013
I
took only an hour and half for him to find her, but it was the longest hour and
a half of Monday’s life.
Monday
was pressed up against the counter, she wanted to look away from Dion, but all
she could do was stair at him in. Monday tried to come up with what she had
done, but off all the emotions she felt- anger, repulsion, horror- the only way
to describe what she felt was relief. He can’t hurt me anymore, Monday thought.
The feeling of ease washed over her, but there was darkness to it. This must be
the Nightling side of her being freed.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
For those who follow my blog, you may have noticed that there hasn't been anything new for almost 2 weeks. I posted a sneak peak of Chapter 6 and that was all. I haven't gotten a chance to update my blog or even work on Chapter 6 really in the last 2 weeks, it has been chaotic. The main reason is that I'm trying to pack because I'm moving.
But with moving day almost here, this blog is not dead. I need the weekend to get settled and Chapter 6 will be up MONDAY.
and If I fail again? I can always post more Swift Adventures chapters if anyone liked them.
But with moving day almost here, this blog is not dead. I need the weekend to get settled and Chapter 6 will be up MONDAY.
and If I fail again? I can always post more Swift Adventures chapters if anyone liked them.
Monday, February 18, 2013
It took only a hour and half for him to find her, but it was the longest hour and a half of Monday’s life.
Monday was leaning against the counter, tying not to look at Dion, and thought this was not what she wanted. She hated Dion, but never wanted him dead. When he would touch her at night, when he made her call Alyson a lier in court, when Alyson was bullied at school for “ruining” Monday’s family and he banned Monday from talking to her. Even when Alyson killed herself and he called her every name in the book, Monday never wanted him dead. Gone, but not dead.
But there was this part of her that was glad, there was a part of her deep down that found relief in his death. This part of her felt darker, this part must have been the Nightling being freed.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Every day
was walking on eggshells; Monday felt her mother was overtly nice to her one
minute, but then ignore the next. Dion kept a watchful eye on her, and because
of it, Monday never tried to be alone with him. Monday missed the days with
Ezra: that wasn’t prison, this was.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The moon
was high and gave light to the night. Monday sat on a swing and let her feet
drag on the gravel as she lend against the cold chain, wondering, where to go
now. She had made it to the end of the neighborhood and was now at a wooded
park with a playground past its prime. She could go home but she could go back.
Monday’s mind raced back and forth. Monday wanted to run back to a less
confusing time but she couldn’t even think of one. All she could think about
was being back in the bakery with Ezra the first day they met. She smiled at
the moment of kindness but it quickly vanished; she couldn’t go back.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Getting back on schedule, there is a reason why Thursday's post is now on Friday. 1. Sudentlink was put on this earth to torment people and 2. When the Internet was back, I was helping teach kids how to play Quidditch. All that is passed and now it's back to the bi weekly post.
It took longer then what I thought to write Chapter 3. One reason, last week was a chaotic week, but another reason is that I find it much harder to edit than to create. The revised draft from the original book, Chapters 1, 2, and 3 I had already done before starting over. The problem with Chapter 3, is that I was happy with the first 2 Chapters. The 3rd? Not so much. Chapter 3 was parts of Chapters 3 and the beginnings of 4 with new content added in. What was weired is that I was stumped when rewriting scenes but as soon as I get to write something new, could whip it out on no time.
Why do you think this is? Because I'm stumped.
Something else i find hard is resisiting the urge to go back and re write scene, even once I get feed back. For the record, this is going to reference Chapter 3. If you haven't read it yet, they prepared to be spoiled. For example, the introduction of new Characters, like Jolene, Bo, and Michael, I got mixed reviews on. For example, I didn't explain how Ezra knew Michael or Jolene and it was confusing. I want to go back and fix it so bad and it others me but If I fix it then i fall into the same trap as before.
So to clear a few things up:
Ezra and Michael are married.
Jolene and Ezra found each other from Marcus. Most Nightlings don't know each other that well, but a few friendships slip by.
I didn't do a good job on Ezra and Bo's relationship.
I'll go back and fix these things in the next revision. Next week should be Chapter 4, one of my favorite chapters.
With all due respect,
Megan
It took longer then what I thought to write Chapter 3. One reason, last week was a chaotic week, but another reason is that I find it much harder to edit than to create. The revised draft from the original book, Chapters 1, 2, and 3 I had already done before starting over. The problem with Chapter 3, is that I was happy with the first 2 Chapters. The 3rd? Not so much. Chapter 3 was parts of Chapters 3 and the beginnings of 4 with new content added in. What was weired is that I was stumped when rewriting scenes but as soon as I get to write something new, could whip it out on no time.
Why do you think this is? Because I'm stumped.
Something else i find hard is resisiting the urge to go back and re write scene, even once I get feed back. For the record, this is going to reference Chapter 3. If you haven't read it yet, they prepared to be spoiled. For example, the introduction of new Characters, like Jolene, Bo, and Michael, I got mixed reviews on. For example, I didn't explain how Ezra knew Michael or Jolene and it was confusing. I want to go back and fix it so bad and it others me but If I fix it then i fall into the same trap as before.
So to clear a few things up:
Ezra and Michael are married.
Jolene and Ezra found each other from Marcus. Most Nightlings don't know each other that well, but a few friendships slip by.
I didn't do a good job on Ezra and Bo's relationship.
I'll go back and fix these things in the next revision. Next week should be Chapter 4, one of my favorite chapters.
With all due respect,
Megan
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The grave
had not changed in the last three days, and yet, it felt different being back.
Ezra had
brought Monday to the graveyard to pack up her things and to see Alyson again.
As Monday stood before her clean and safe, Marcus’s meeting was replaying in
her head. The grief and guilt had boiled back up, but now Monday felt a new
emotion; angry. Monday hated the fact that in the last few weeks she would wake
up from the nightmare of Alyson’s last words repeating in her head; the sobs,
the drop, the sounds of her mother crying. Monday felt guilty about her part,
but Alyson had brought this on herself. Alyson just had to drag her to hell
with her.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
There will be no Chapter 3 today.
...
I have been trying to write but it's not happening. This week has been to caotic. School has been kicking my butt, and I'm having some other issues that are not helping. Wednesday was going to be my catch up day but it didn't work out. Wednesday was just a good day.
So what does this mean? It means that there will be no chapter this week but next week. I know that it's to early to be skipping weeks but I'm tired and my work is suffering. I have a higher reaspect for people who do this for a living and never fail to post anything. This is just not my week.
Instead, to keep people instrested, I'm going to upload a secound book. For thouse who come back and read, there will be to storys. Just a few diffrences:
1. It's not a Nightling Novel
2. This is also a NaNo novel but a hugely unedited one. This is what I literately wrote last November. No one has read it, not even my own mother.
Kinda of how in 2010, my mother read The Nightlings when it was still at 50,000 words. It was bad, but it was fun. It's a novel that I might want to finish one day but untill then, it's in draft 1 mode. I need to keep posting something.
With that being said: Nightings is coming back next tuesday.
With all due respect,
Megan
...
I have been trying to write but it's not happening. This week has been to caotic. School has been kicking my butt, and I'm having some other issues that are not helping. Wednesday was going to be my catch up day but it didn't work out. Wednesday was just a good day.
So what does this mean? It means that there will be no chapter this week but next week. I know that it's to early to be skipping weeks but I'm tired and my work is suffering. I have a higher reaspect for people who do this for a living and never fail to post anything. This is just not my week.
Instead, to keep people instrested, I'm going to upload a secound book. For thouse who come back and read, there will be to storys. Just a few diffrences:
1. It's not a Nightling Novel
2. This is also a NaNo novel but a hugely unedited one. This is what I literately wrote last November. No one has read it, not even my own mother.
Kinda of how in 2010, my mother read The Nightlings when it was still at 50,000 words. It was bad, but it was fun. It's a novel that I might want to finish one day but untill then, it's in draft 1 mode. I need to keep posting something.
With that being said: Nightings is coming back next tuesday.
With all due respect,
Megan
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
I should have posted this early but held onto hope that I could do it, but sadly, no Chapter 3 today. First week back to school has been tough but once I get back on a regular schedule, then Chapters should start coming out on Tuesdays.
Until then, I have a question for all of my readers; what do you think about the town? When you imagine Syringa, what comes to mind? I ask, because I want to know. I personally like writing dialogue more then descriptions, in fact, sometimes, I'll add the dialogue first then go back an ad detail. After my mom read the first draft of my novel, I asked her about how the characters looked, what did the town look like, basically to see how well I did on detail work.
Everything she told me about how she remembered the book was wrong. Hopefully after years my descriptions have gotten better.
With all due respect,
Megan
Until then, I have a question for all of my readers; what do you think about the town? When you imagine Syringa, what comes to mind? I ask, because I want to know. I personally like writing dialogue more then descriptions, in fact, sometimes, I'll add the dialogue first then go back an ad detail. After my mom read the first draft of my novel, I asked her about how the characters looked, what did the town look like, basically to see how well I did on detail work.
Everything she told me about how she remembered the book was wrong. Hopefully after years my descriptions have gotten better.
With all due respect,
Megan
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