NaNoWriMo: Day 4 outakes

Ok, things are flowing a bit better. Perhaps it's the Tylenol? Or the nap. No matter, I don't even want to count all the attempted starts this weekend. Or even just today. I didn't delete, but several things sputtered out and my ill brain could not continue. I really should have, as the first couple days I plowed through and was able to keep on topic for my day's allotment. And while there are bits of random right now, they just might all fit in together in the end, or at least some of them. But again, my personal NaNoWriMo experience is all about practice, practice, practice.

And today's breakthrough: Fiction. Nearly 1,000 words of pure fiction in this one burst, and I'm not quite done for the night. But confident I'll eke out a few more hundred words by the end of the night and at least be caught up. So tonight's excerpt, my first couple graphs of pure, raw, unadulturated fiction and I'm even using dialog in today's venture ... maybe I'm nearing the end of pure crap! (Maybe next week it will be only partial crap ...)

The only problem -- while I'm somewhat happy with the direction today's end-of-day blurb is going -- is that I have no idea where it's going next, unlike you NaNoWriMo folks who have outlines and character sketches and stuff. And I'm desperately trying to fight of urges to go tame. Trying to put in conflict, but must pick a direction. Here goes ...

Day 4 excerpt: Liz balanced cautiously on her bar stool, chewing at her newly blue fingernails. She wasn’t quite sure whether to sink in or sit up straight. The stool wasn’t comfortable, and too tall for her. She felt 5. But the bartended looked 15. He gave advice like a 50-year-old, but he looked 15. “Now see here, missy,” the bartender crooned as he slid up to where Liz was with the rum and coke she’d ordered. “You’ve been holding your breath for half an hour now, are you waiting for something? Someone?”

Liz bit her lip, and took the drink.