NaNoWriMo days 1-3
Day 3 of NaNoWriMo has just ended so I figured I'd do a progress update.
DAY ONE
The midnight write-in was very productive for many of those present. Revenge, Comma, Petty started off with a "Note to the Reader" that ended up being much longer than I intended it to be. The thing was 2,500 words.
It started off harmless enough:
Hello. How are you doing? I hope you are sitting comfortably. Are you? Would you like something to drink? If you want to get up and get something to drink, I won’t be terribly offended. In fact, it is quite unlikely that I will ever know. The book will wait patiently while you get up and get something to drink.
Are you back? Good. I hope you find yourself fully hydrated, or inebriated, or whatever state you hoped to find yourself in which compelled you to get up and get something to drink. It is my fondest hope that you will put yourself in whatever state will be most conducive to the enjoying of the book.
According to local custom, or your own personal habit, you may now feel free to flip ahead to the last page of the book and find out what happens in the ending. I occasionally like to read the last sentence first. It’s harmless, really. In general, the last sentence won’t really give much away about what happens in the book. It might not even make sense until you finish reading the novel. I assure you right now that the last sentence of this novel is not going to spoil any major details about the plot of the book.
Eventually I go on to say things about the book itself in much the same wordy style. Then, there is a "Note to the Author" from the editor condemning the note to the reader, then a "Note to the Editor" from the author defending the Note to the Reader, followed by a "Note to the Reader (3)" alerting the reader that they will find a "Note to the Later (2)" later in the book.
And we're off to a good start.
The plot itself begins with:
CHAPTER ONE
IT’S GOOD TO BE HOME AGAIN
Also entitled
HERE IS THE MAIL THAT CAME DURING THE FOUR YEARS THAT YOU WERE ABROAD
In which an unfortunate receptionist must once again earn the pay that was so long given to her for free.
In this chapter, I introduce Owen Glendower, the protagonist (see previous entry) and his college friends, Jeremy Bentham and Ellen Raven Glenn. Owen has just returned from a long time abroad and calls Ellen (known to him as "Miss Raven" and he refuses to call her "Mrs. Glen") who was once his secretary and has her come into work. It's all very complicated, and it leads Ellen to call Jeremy, whom she had been dating at the time that Owen left:
Jeremy dragged himself out of bed and reached for the phone on his bedside table. He picked up the receiver and spoke into it. “Hello. Who is it?”
“Jeremy! How are you doing?” asked the voice on the other end of the line. A female voice. Oh boy.
“I’m doing 6:04 in the morning right now, and how are you, and who are you?”
“It’s Ellen Glenn,” said the voice on the other end of the line.
Jeremy paused. “Drawing a blank, doll. Don’t take it personal.”
“Jeremy!” said the voice on the other end. “I’m married. You know me. It’s Ellen Glenn. Ellen Raven Glenn. For God’s sake, Jeremy, you were at the wedding!”
Jeremy smacked his own forgetful head. “Ellen! Sorry. Like I said, 6:04 in the morning. Er, 6:05 in the morning. On a Saturday. How are you doing? How’s… Victor?”
“He’s doing fine,” said Ellen. A pause. “And so is our son.”
“Right!” Jeremy said. “Your son. Glad to hear he’s doing good. Haven’t seen him in a while.”
“That’s because we don’t have a son,” Ellen said with a groan. “I was kidding you. Apparently you fell for it.”
Jeremy groaned and put the receiver on the table for a moment. He really didn’t need this, and he certainly didn’t need it at five past six in the morning. He picked the receiver up again and put it to his ear. “…still there? Jeremy?”
“Yes, I’m here, Ellen,” Jeremy said. “And it is so good to hear you. I have dearly missed this ridiculous little games. We really must meet some time and play Boggle or something. Some time when I am not hung over. Drunk might be fine.”
Ellen and Jeremy discuss their bewilderment at Owen's sudden return and then Ellen goes to meet him.
In:
CHAPTER TWO
REVENGE
Also entitled
ON THE CONTRARY, MISS RAVEN, I AM OF THE OPINION THAT IT IS SOCIETY THAT IS INDEBTED TO ME, AND I INTEND TO COLLECT RATHER SOON
In which our hero explains none of the burning questions put to him by his friends but instead confounds them further, possibly deliberately
Jeremy and Ellen learn that Owen, who had once been a private detective, is now a "Retribution specialist". This is explained thusly (I have trimmed a bit of character stuff for your reading pleasure):
“You know, retribution. Getting back. Getting even.”
“I'm not quite sure I follow,” said Jeremy. “What is it that you'll exactly be doing?”
“Well, it's all rather easy to explain,” Owen said. “As I'm sure you know, when one person does something unkind or unpleasant to another person often the other person will want to get even with the first person.”
“Yes, that would be revenge. An eye for an eye,” Jeremy said.
“Precisely,” Owen said. “However, very rarely is it that simple. Eyes themselves are rarely the disputed object, and so the metaphor does not always work exactly like that. Sometimes, situations are more complicated than this. Sometimes, a more carefully calculated and considered form of retribution is called for. It has been my experience that women are particularly prone to plot and scheme against one another. And against men.”
“To that I can attest,” Jeremy confirmed.
“And yet, so often the need to get even with one's adversary is fulfilled willy-nilly,” Owen said, “or not at all. The punishment must fit the crime, as they say. As we mentioned, it's an eye for an eye. And as the saying goes, a tooth for a tooth. An eye for a tooth, however, simply will not fly. And this is where I come in. It is my role, as a Retribution Specialist, to help my clients keep their eyes and teeth straight.”
“So,” Jeremy said, not entirely sure whether he was hearing all of this correctly, “you want to help your clients to... plan their acts of revenge?”
“Plan and execute,” Owen corrected.
“But isn't that... illegal?” Jeremy asked.
“No, no, no, not at all,” said Owen, waving these concerns away as though he'd dealt with them dozens of times before. “This isn't about assassinations or theft. That would be grand revenge. I'm in the business of petty revenge.”
Jeremy had to chuckle. “I'm not sure I've ever heard that distinction put quite that way,” he said. “Are you kidding me? None of this makes any sense. You seriously think this is going to be lucrative?”
Owen laughed once again. “Jeremy, Jeremy. It has been lucrative,” he said, patting Jeremy on the shoulder. “Haven't you ever wanted to get even with someone but not been able to find in yourself the emotional fortitude to get your hands a little bit dirty?”
“No, can't say that I have,” Jeremy lied.
“Of course not,” Owen replied condescendingly. “A man such as yourself is above petty feelings of that nature. But the same is not true of all mankind. Many men and women feel the urge within themselves to take the revenge that is rightfully theirs. Society, however, has taught them to suppress this urge. It is my job not only to help my clients with the logistical problems of revenge, but to help them find within themselves the strength to take their life into their own hands.” Owen seemed to get a bit choked up at this, but Jeremy was sure he was simply hamming it up. “And that is what I do. What I have done, in fact, while I was abroad.”
The last passage I wrote for the day ends with Owen leading Jeremy and Ellen out the door to go see his first client. I ended with 7007 words.
DAY TWO
On day two I wrote barely anything. At all. I ended with 7030 words.
DAY THREE
Day three was a more productive day than the previous. Continuing chapter two, Owen, Ellen, and Jeremy walk to meet Mr. Boyle, their first client. On the way there, Owen dodges questions about where he has been for the past four years. When they arrive, Ellen realizes that Mr. Boyle is the father of a student at the school where she teaches. Ellen hasn't told Owen that she has a job (other than being his secretary) and so she leaves in a hurry to avoid an awkward situation, where she runs into Sam Glendower, Owen's uncle, that Ellen and Owen both worked for at one point. Sam and Ellen talk about Owen's new vocation:
“I have no particular interest in what he does with regard to business,” said Sam with a slight sniff. Ellen had never understood the differences between Owen and Sam that had led to Owen’s breaking off on his own. Perhaps if she understood more about these differences, then the way Sam talked about Owen would make more sense to her. “However,” Sam continued, “I do have a friend who has taken an interest in the whole thing, after seeing the advertisement in this morning’s paper.”
Ellen remembered that Owen had mentioned something about an ad. “What sort of advertisement?”
“Just some text in the classifieds,” Sam said. “It reads ‘Revenge, comma, Petty.’ Then some brief details and a phone number. Not much to go by. But it’s certainly… captured the imagination of my friend.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to tell Owen when I see him,” said Ellen. “I’m sure he’ll be eager to contact you.”
“I’m sure,” said Sam, in a way that made it seem obvious that he was sure of the exact opposite. “Anyhow, I must return to my office, lots of clients have been calling today. I don’t know why, but it’s been particularly busy this week. An ill wind, I think. Lots of unsavory elements blowing in.”
Ellen wasn’t sure whether to take that as another insult to Owen. She had never thought that Sam had such a distaste for his nephew, but a lot had happened in the past four or five years that she knew very little about.
“Goodbye, Uncle Sam,” Ellen said, switching places with him on the stairs so that she could get up to the office. Sam was not a tall man, so now she towered over him.”
“Later days, Elle-belle. Keep in touch!”
I ended the day with Ellen deciding to snoop through Owen's files to see if she can uncover any info about his long trip abroad. The day ended with 9014 words.
Day two was a rough patch, but other than that I'm off to a good start. I like these characters and the drama among them, but I'm really looking forward to what happens when I introduce the monkey wrench into the whole thing: Sam's "friend" is going to be important.
Anyhow, that's all for tonight. I'll have another update in a couple of days.
