#172 Write a Novel

So NaNoWriMo had finally finished and I can reveal that i'm offically a WINNER.

I cannot begin to tell you how hard it has been over the last 30 days. I started my novel off really well as I had made a plan in October. I was on target with my word count until day 5 when it started to go a bit down hill.

The second week of November was the hardest for me. I had written everything I had planned to write and then 'Writers Block' kicked in! If any of you have experienced this then you know it is the worst thing to have when trying to write anything.

I then had a few of days off work and sat at my computer for two days straight and was back on track with my word count until I reached 50,175 to be exact.

Below is part of my Novel:

“Are you going out this afternoon?” I asked mum and dad. “Wasn’t thinking about it” replied dad. I was starting to get frustrated. It was now Sunday afternoon and I still hadn’t managed to return to the loft. Today is going to be my only chance until next weekend at least, because mum is always around when I get home from school. “Why don’t you go out for a romantic meal?” I suggest. “A romantic meal” mum laughed. “The last time I had one of those was before you were born! You’re dad isn’t the romantic type.” “Yes I am!” dad shouted from the living room. I ran across the hallway into the living room, “well show mum that then, take her out for the evening. “I’ll be fine on my own” I reassured them. Dad thought about it for a while and eventually decided that it was a good idea. Mum looked the happiest I had seen her for a while.

It took mum about two hours to get ready. Usually she does it in an hour so I knew that she really wanted to impress dad. “You look lovely, mum” I said. “Thank you darling, I best do after spending two hours getting ready,” she laughed. “Come on!” dad shouted from the doorway, “we’re going to miss our table reservation!” “Dad’s gone to a lot of trouble, you best get a move on,” I said pushing her out the door. “Bye, have a good night” I shouted as they pulled away.

I ran straight for the kitchen to get the keys to the loft. I was so desperate to find out what was in the chest, that I ran upstairs without the ladder. I turned around and went back down huffing and puffing. I dragged the ladders up the stairs and placed them under the loft entrance. I began to climb but quickly became nervous. “Should I be doing this?” I asked myself. Was there a reason mum didn’t let me up here? Was I over exaggerating the excitement of the chest? I soon composed myself and carried on into the loft. I turned the light on and walked over to it. It looked a lot bigger up close.

Like everything else it had a padlock on it, but this time I didn’t know where the key was. It was quite a chunky padlock but it had a very small keyhole, like the one you would get on a diary. I sat back against the wall feeling disappointed. Something inside me really wanted to find out what was in there! I sat for a while picturing all the places that mum could have hidden the key, when I suddenly spotted the bunch of keys that I used to get into the loft. “That would be the obvious place,” I thought.

Searching the keys there was one key that stood out from the rest. It was a small key with one side all smooth and the other side had groves in it. My hands started to sweat slightly and the thought of being caught finally dawned on me. If my mum caught me up here, let alone in this chest I would be grounded forever. Putting that thought behind me I inserted the key into the keyhole. Slowly turning it I heard the all-important click! The lock had opened and the key had worked. I slowly opened the lid of the chest to find some old diaries and what looked like legal documents. “Well that was exciting,” I moaned to myself. I don’t know what I was expecting but paper and diaries was not a thought.

I started scanning through the documents anyway, being the nosy person that I am. It all looked like legal paperwork, until I came across a certificate. ‘CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION’ was written in black bold writing. We, John and Alice Fredera, by signing below, take full responsibility for the child known as ‘Sophie Jane Williams’. This was odd; mum and dads name was on the certificate. I began looking further into the chest and there were several documents that didn’t make sense. There was a birth certificate for Sophie Jane Williams and a change of name certificate. To my horror the name was changed to Jane Fredera! I was in total shock, had I been adopted! It took a while for it to sink in. “Of course you have, what other explanation is there” I said to myself. There are so many questions floating around in my head. Why was I adopted? Who are my real parents? Why have I never been told about this? I couldn’t talk to mum and dad about this because they would know I’ve been up in the loft. As I was putting everything back into the chest I noticed the diaries again. “Maybe these will tell me what happened,” I thought. I grabbed the 1995 and 96 diaries and locked up the chest and the loft.

As I was putting the ladder back into the shed I heard a car pull onto the driveway. “Had I been up there that long,” I thought. I quickly ran up to my room and hid the diaries under my pillow, as I didn’t want mum to see them. “Hello”, dad shouted as he entered the house. I wanted to reply but my body was just num, I couldn’t talk. “How could they have lied to me?” I got into bed and pretended to be asleep as mum walked into the room. “Darling, are you asleep” mum whispered. No reply came from me, so she switched off the light and went downstairs. I led in bed still feeling very num. I wanted to know what had happened but I couldn’t bring myself to read the diaries. “What was I going to do now? I can’t just carry on like nothing had happened?

I hope you enjoyed ready it and Let me know what you think. Please remember that it won't be perfect as it is a first draft.