Day: November 3, 2023

Promises were made that have to be kept. So without further adieu, I present the first freewrite of the month: Aftermarket Parts

Echo had every right to feel good. The new ware worked as advertised. Everything inch of his body felt like it was turned up to eleven. The doc InfraRed told him about had been a longshot. After all the old ware was buried so deep in his endocannabinoid system that most cutters wouldn’t even attempt ripping it out. “Lasting damage.” They said, “You could experience permanent ghost pains or even lose cognitive function.”

What he was losing was his edge. Seven years in the biz and he’d gone from cutting edge cyber-soldier to that guy with the tech package that wasn’t even receiving updates anymore. He ran the fingers of one hand through his thinning black hair as he pushed through the door of Metal & Mead. A Sliderule cover of CCR’s Travelin’ Band blared over crackling Sendai speakers. The crowd didn’t seem to care. It was Payday Friday and the mugs were all full. Quickly he made his way across the dance floor to the one remaining free spot at the edge of the bar.

Well, 12000 words still seems so very far away. I’m getting in a few thousand a day spread between two projects, but the goal of 12 K in the first week feels distant–especially in light of me only truly accounting for the novel as my nan0wrimo project and not the other writing I am doing and completing along the way. For those not in the know, NanoWrimo is National Novel Writers Month, a made up writing holiday of sorts incorporated by organizations such as this. People bought into it, which is why it has international following. I suppose in that sense it is hardly different from any other heritage month or holiday less the history behind it. Though young, nano is much celebrated. I enjoy it because it means people are writing and it gives me that needed push of competition to get my 50,000 words done in the month. That goal of 50K is the one set by the Nano-lluminati (not their actual name) to serve as the finish line for those who put in the work. There are virtual awards one can win. However, it is all on your own recognizance, so there isn’t much to prove you’re that person. You’re really just trying to prove it to yourself.

I’m trying to remind myself that I am ‘that guy’. Moreover, I am trying to get this novel done in a timely fashion to fall nicely into the publishing window already set for this book. Once that is handled, it is on to the next one and the one after that. More and more, as I age, I need less space between jobs to ramp up. In other words, I am turning into a pretty serious writer–the kind who back burners all projects that are not writing. It helps that I’m getting paid for them. The supplemental income fuels my travels, which fuels my writing, which… you get the whole vicious circle philosophy by now.

As for this Nano, I’m going to find a way to make it. The first step is locking into these writing hours and keeping my butt in the chair. I’m getting better at it each day.