I accomplished my mission. I wrote a novel in 30 days that is made up of at least 50,000 words. Well, I wouldn't say the thing is finished. I've got plenty to edit and plenty more to add.
I like the idea of just dedicating a month to one thing. Now I'll have to see how well I keep up with editing this thing and making it worthy of something to be read by other people. This last week about killed me. I took a couple days off from writing because I just couldn't think of much to write and I just didn't feel like filling in some details in some spots. I figure the details will be part of my editing process.
All I gotta say about this process is that just writing some stories and tying them together seems to be the way to go with this. Also, having an idea of a story line before hand probably would have helped me along. I just winged it the whole month, randomly coming up with characters, events, locations, and dialogs as I went along. Some parts of the story left me bothered the next day after writing it, because I wrote about some characters that got me upset. It was crazy writing about a person, then creating a new sibling for them instantly and slightly borrowing from my life story, but drastically changing things and tying it into a fictional life that appeared on the computer screen as I typed.
For now, I'll give you a little excerpt:
"Jake! What's going on? Stop! What are you doing?" Geoff began screaming and hitting Jake. Jake kind of woke up from his slumber and saw the girl under him. He started to smile at the girl he was just with and was about to kiss her when Geoff continued his screaming. "Jake! What are you doing? Why isn't she moving?"
Then Jake saw that his hands were around her throat and saw that she wasn't moving. Jake looked at Geoff. "What's going on? What's going on?" He just kept repeating. Jake tried to wake the girl up. Geoff got out of the car and opened the back door. "Jake, what are you doing? What did you do? You two were having fun just a minute ago then she got real quiet. Why is she like this?"
Jake was stunned. He had no idea. "Uh, I have no idea. I don't think she's breathing." Geoff bent over to listen to her breath. "Jake." He then put is fingers under her jaw to feel a pulse. "Jake. I think she's dead."
"Oh God! What did I do?" Jake was going hysterical. "What did I do? How could I do this? Oh God. I'm in deep sh** now."
Geoff acted like he was struggling internally. "Jake, I know you didn't mean to do this. Maybe if we just leave her here in the alley, nobody will have to know about this."
"Oh God. What? What the hell is going on? Why would I have done this? My own hands were around her neck."
Geoff spoke again to Jake. "Jake, snap out of it. There's no bringing her back. You've got lots more in life to accomplish. There's no way I'm letting the people of this world lose you. I've got your back. If we just leave her in the alley, I'll keep this secret to my grave."
"But what about this poor girl? Her family is going to suffer and never know who did this." Jake was sobering up.
"Jake, don't let the alcohol get to your better senses. Think logically, not emotionally. If there's ever any time to truly apply everything we've ever talked about, it is now. We've got to leave her here. There's no choice. The world already lost one person today. Let's not lose you, too. She was just a prostitute. Do you really think her family cared for her? Even if they did, her present state may actually be a better relief than them having to always worry about her on the street. Come on. Logically, we've got to put her in this alley and try to act like this never happened. That way, you can continue to do the great things for this world that you've got planned. In jail, you'd never get a damned thing accomplished."
Jake was starting to feel a little better about his situation. He knew Geoff was a good friend, but he never imagined Geoff to go this far with him. He was willing to truly apply all the logic he spoke about to his real life. Until now, Jake's logic was only theory. Now he was given a chance to apply it to a very real and authentic life situation. Jake agreed that it was best for the world to only lose one person that night instead of two. Jake in jail is not a good situation for the world. Jake would just make sure that he never drank again and would not be able to kill someone like that again.
Fab's Adventures
Chronicling the crazy life of Fab
30
Nov
2009
2 Comments
18
Nov
2009
So earlier today I was reading the G-20 statement after they had their Pittsburgh meeting in September. I couldn't help chuckle at how they act like this financial 'crisis' was a big surprise. I mean, these people are pretty much beyond the smartest kids in class. Their entire life is economics and studying its history. So, they obviously know that every boom is followed by a bust. They know that it is inevitable to have a depression when growth is fueled by debt. There is no other way to do it. People get into debt, then have to pay it off. The paying off period is the depression.
Here's the quote that got me:
Global output was contracting at pace not seen since the 1930s. Trade was plummeting. Jobs were disappearing rapidly. Our people worried that the world was on the edge of a depression.
On the surface, nothing is shocking about that statement. But when you realize that the people writing this and discussing this were probably some of the most intelligent people in the world, it sounds a bit funny. They weren't worried about a depression! A depression is supposed to come because that's what comes after a time of prosperity. So they weren't surprised about this financial panic. And this is what they say about themselves:
Our forceful response helped stop the dangerous, sharp decline in global activity and stabilize financial markets. Industrial output is now rising in nearly all our economies. International trade is starting to recover. Our financial institutions are raising needed capital, financial markets are showing a willingness to invest and lend, and confidence has improved.
They avoided the coming depression for now only to have a worse one come on us later - probably in just a few years. There's always a reason, so I can only wonder what the reasons are. Think of yourself as a little part of a giant mess called humanity. Humanity is screwed up. Humanity, without guidance, will be directionless and useless. These smart people at the top know our greed and know how we'll act as a whole when loans are offered and interest rates are low. They know that we'll just get ourselves right back into debt, which is what drives "growth." That's how they avoided the depression. A depression is a time where we are supposed to learn how to live within our means. Instead of a depression, they offered the loans and we fell for it once again. Only this time, there is no way to get the rates lower. So the next crash will come and there won't be a way to avoid it. It'll happen probably in less than five years this time and it'll be nuts.
Just to show you that none of this is new and it wasn't new in 1929 either, here's a newspaper article from January 4, 1902. That's right. It's from over 100 years ago. It has a reprint of a speech made in 1897 called, "Panics and Booms." You'll see that financial panics have happened five times in the 1800's!
Here are a couple of quotes. Remember, this was said in 1897:
This rule also applies to people dealing in real estate. The country is growing; money is easy; the times are good; business is prosperous and therefore speculation is favored. A man worth $5000 can buy four times that amount of property by using his credit, and sometimes he buys ten times that amount or more. While prices are advancing he not only gets the benefits of the advance in the price of the property represented by the capital furnished by himself, but also on the capital furnished by his credit.
Sounds a little like what was happening just prior to this "financial crisis." And then what happens after the credit boom? Check it:
When the people arrive at a point where their credit limit is reached there is necessarily a decrease in the demand for goods and property, and soon the supply becomes greater than the demand and prices begin to decline. This stops speculation. Thousands of people engaged in manufacturing or producing articles of general use are thus thrown out of employment, and this causes a still further decrease in the demand for goods, and hence a further decline in prices. Those who have purchased on credit find themselves subjected to heavy losses because they are compelled to sustain the depreciation on goods they do not own -- that is, goods bought on credit. Because of this decrease in valuations all are compelled to economize in order to adjust their expenses to the new order of things, they being compelled to pay off the accumulated indebtedness with the decreased income. This economy of the masses still further decreases the demand for goods and property and this still further increases the supply over the demand and decreases the prices, throwing more people out of employment and increasing the depressed condition of business.
Sounds like what happened over the past year, doesn't it? And this guy was not writing about this after the Great Depression. He was referring to 'financial panics' from the years 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, and 1892. So it was nothing new then and it is nothing new now. You can read the whole article here: Panics and Booms.
It was written after a financial panic where banks went bankrupt and unemployment was high. It was at a stage similar to the one we are in. He has this to say to us today, about 112 years ago:
It is a difficult matter to make the people believe that our country is now entering upon another period of prosperity. Each one has a remedy for hard times. And each one sticks firmly to the proposition that better times cannot come again until his remedy has been applied. These remedies are mostly of a political nature. One man believes that a high protective tariff is all that is necessary to restore prosperity to the country, and another thinks the free coinage of silver and gold on a basis of 16 to 1 without making any suggestions to any other nation about the matter would bring good times. There is no question but the legislation on both these questions or either of them would affect the main proposition. Wise legislation will always assist in bringing prosperity, and unwise legislation will always retard the coming of better times, but no legislation, no matter what it be, can prevent the incoming tide any more than the little child on the sandy beach with its little shovel can, by piling up a ridge of sand, stay the incoming surf.
Right now, they're debating on television whether we're recovering or not. I say we are going to have a quick boom fueled by the easy credit, but we'll have a much stronger depression than if we had just gone through with it now.
Here's the quote that got me:
Global output was contracting at pace not seen since the 1930s. Trade was plummeting. Jobs were disappearing rapidly. Our people worried that the world was on the edge of a depression.
On the surface, nothing is shocking about that statement. But when you realize that the people writing this and discussing this were probably some of the most intelligent people in the world, it sounds a bit funny. They weren't worried about a depression! A depression is supposed to come because that's what comes after a time of prosperity. So they weren't surprised about this financial panic. And this is what they say about themselves:
Our forceful response helped stop the dangerous, sharp decline in global activity and stabilize financial markets. Industrial output is now rising in nearly all our economies. International trade is starting to recover. Our financial institutions are raising needed capital, financial markets are showing a willingness to invest and lend, and confidence has improved.
They avoided the coming depression for now only to have a worse one come on us later - probably in just a few years. There's always a reason, so I can only wonder what the reasons are. Think of yourself as a little part of a giant mess called humanity. Humanity is screwed up. Humanity, without guidance, will be directionless and useless. These smart people at the top know our greed and know how we'll act as a whole when loans are offered and interest rates are low. They know that we'll just get ourselves right back into debt, which is what drives "growth." That's how they avoided the depression. A depression is a time where we are supposed to learn how to live within our means. Instead of a depression, they offered the loans and we fell for it once again. Only this time, there is no way to get the rates lower. So the next crash will come and there won't be a way to avoid it. It'll happen probably in less than five years this time and it'll be nuts.
Just to show you that none of this is new and it wasn't new in 1929 either, here's a newspaper article from January 4, 1902. That's right. It's from over 100 years ago. It has a reprint of a speech made in 1897 called, "Panics and Booms." You'll see that financial panics have happened five times in the 1800's!
Here are a couple of quotes. Remember, this was said in 1897:
This rule also applies to people dealing in real estate. The country is growing; money is easy; the times are good; business is prosperous and therefore speculation is favored. A man worth $5000 can buy four times that amount of property by using his credit, and sometimes he buys ten times that amount or more. While prices are advancing he not only gets the benefits of the advance in the price of the property represented by the capital furnished by himself, but also on the capital furnished by his credit.
Sounds a little like what was happening just prior to this "financial crisis." And then what happens after the credit boom? Check it:
When the people arrive at a point where their credit limit is reached there is necessarily a decrease in the demand for goods and property, and soon the supply becomes greater than the demand and prices begin to decline. This stops speculation. Thousands of people engaged in manufacturing or producing articles of general use are thus thrown out of employment, and this causes a still further decrease in the demand for goods, and hence a further decline in prices. Those who have purchased on credit find themselves subjected to heavy losses because they are compelled to sustain the depreciation on goods they do not own -- that is, goods bought on credit. Because of this decrease in valuations all are compelled to economize in order to adjust their expenses to the new order of things, they being compelled to pay off the accumulated indebtedness with the decreased income. This economy of the masses still further decreases the demand for goods and property and this still further increases the supply over the demand and decreases the prices, throwing more people out of employment and increasing the depressed condition of business.
Sounds like what happened over the past year, doesn't it? And this guy was not writing about this after the Great Depression. He was referring to 'financial panics' from the years 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, and 1892. So it was nothing new then and it is nothing new now. You can read the whole article here: Panics and Booms.
It was written after a financial panic where banks went bankrupt and unemployment was high. It was at a stage similar to the one we are in. He has this to say to us today, about 112 years ago:
It is a difficult matter to make the people believe that our country is now entering upon another period of prosperity. Each one has a remedy for hard times. And each one sticks firmly to the proposition that better times cannot come again until his remedy has been applied. These remedies are mostly of a political nature. One man believes that a high protective tariff is all that is necessary to restore prosperity to the country, and another thinks the free coinage of silver and gold on a basis of 16 to 1 without making any suggestions to any other nation about the matter would bring good times. There is no question but the legislation on both these questions or either of them would affect the main proposition. Wise legislation will always assist in bringing prosperity, and unwise legislation will always retard the coming of better times, but no legislation, no matter what it be, can prevent the incoming tide any more than the little child on the sandy beach with its little shovel can, by piling up a ridge of sand, stay the incoming surf.
Right now, they're debating on television whether we're recovering or not. I say we are going to have a quick boom fueled by the easy credit, but we'll have a much stronger depression than if we had just gone through with it now.
12
Nov
2009
The month is moving along and I'm typing along. I didn't type much today, but what today's scene brought out was pretty nuts. I'll give you my unedited excerpt. After November, I'll be editing all of this (I hope). It may not make sense, but that's okay. I'll just say that people are being offered an injection that will transform their DNA and make them perfect humans with perfect health and they will never die of sickness or old age. What they don't know is that the nanobots being injected into them also make the people programmable. At this point in the story, most everyone on the planet got this injection to avoid another pandemic - since they just survived one that killed 25% of the human population.
There are a minority of people who did not get the injection, and are now living in hiding and hungry. They are scared of what the injection has done to people they knew. That's because all of the people who got the shot are now always busy and talking very highly of Geoff (the inventor of the juice). The world has flipped upside down, because the "enlightened" ones (as they call themselves and is also what Geoff calls them) refuse to give food to anyone who is not enlightened.
So this scene here is after a group of unmarked - or uninjected - people have been brought to meet Geoff and have been fed a nice hearty meal. They were shown a video of what mankind is accomplishing with their enlightenment and new, eternal life. Many of the people watching already decided to get the shot. Now we are at a scene where these are the ones who refuse to get it still. So, here it is:
By the end, there were maybe five percent of the original nonbelievers still left. Geoff would make his offer one more time.
“Do you want to join the rest of humanity?”
These were the stubborn ones. They insisted that they did not want any part of the strange brainwashing. They’d call Geoff names and say that he’s enslaving people. At this point, Geoff would show them Lucifer. Lucifer would appear, floating above everyone in the room. He looked just like many of the paintings of Jesus. He looked loving and peaceful. Many people would let their guards down when they saw this site. He was shining and looking around, directly at everyone. People would start to think it was some kind of trick. Then Lucifer would talk. He'd say, "Peace be with you, my children." It was a very confusing moment for these people.
"Why do you call yourself Lucifer?" someone would ask.
"Lucifer simply means 'light bearer.' That is who I am. I am that I am. There is no other God besides me. It was me who brought you here. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. Come, my sheep. I have been preparing a new home for you. Now is the time to take possession of your inheritance. The universe is yours. I have given Geoff the blessing of providing a way to give you a new body and a new soul. You do not yet understand it because you are in your old self."
"How do we know you are really God? You could simply be a creation of Geoff's. Maybe some sort of hologram."
"Oh no, children. I would never allow such deception. Here. Come. Touch my hands. Touch my body."
Then Lucifer would descend onto the floor and people would slowly approach him. He would touch them and they would touch him. It was a miracle. He is real!
"Look. If you still doubt, step out onto the patio."
There was a large sliding glass door that went out onto a big outdoor patio on the roof. Everyone walked out, following Lucifer.
"Watch me."
He then rose above the crowd, going higher toward the clouds. He'd even get larger and a bright light would shine from him. Suddenly, a loud cracking thunder would invade everywhere, putting fear and awe into the hearts of the onlookers. Then you could see what looked like angels surrounding him, praising him, singing and dancing.
One of the nonbelievers shouted, "You are the deceiver! This is a lie!"
In an instant, Lucifer looked at him, pointed and a burst of flames enveloped the person in a flash. He was gone as quickly as he spoke. All that was left was a little burnt mark on the ground where he stood. At this point, most of the nonbelievers dropped and worshiped him. It was too much. How could anyone doubt after that? Yet, still there were doubters. Geoff escorted the doubters into another room where they were secretly processed like cattle to make meat for the next hungry crowd that will go through same test. All the rest who finally decided to make the plunge lined up to receive their Miracure. Lucifer would come down and individually congratulate them and welcome them to the new life.
There are a minority of people who did not get the injection, and are now living in hiding and hungry. They are scared of what the injection has done to people they knew. That's because all of the people who got the shot are now always busy and talking very highly of Geoff (the inventor of the juice). The world has flipped upside down, because the "enlightened" ones (as they call themselves and is also what Geoff calls them) refuse to give food to anyone who is not enlightened.
So this scene here is after a group of unmarked - or uninjected - people have been brought to meet Geoff and have been fed a nice hearty meal. They were shown a video of what mankind is accomplishing with their enlightenment and new, eternal life. Many of the people watching already decided to get the shot. Now we are at a scene where these are the ones who refuse to get it still. So, here it is:
By the end, there were maybe five percent of the original nonbelievers still left. Geoff would make his offer one more time.
“Do you want to join the rest of humanity?”
These were the stubborn ones. They insisted that they did not want any part of the strange brainwashing. They’d call Geoff names and say that he’s enslaving people. At this point, Geoff would show them Lucifer. Lucifer would appear, floating above everyone in the room. He looked just like many of the paintings of Jesus. He looked loving and peaceful. Many people would let their guards down when they saw this site. He was shining and looking around, directly at everyone. People would start to think it was some kind of trick. Then Lucifer would talk. He'd say, "Peace be with you, my children." It was a very confusing moment for these people.
"Why do you call yourself Lucifer?" someone would ask.
"Lucifer simply means 'light bearer.' That is who I am. I am that I am. There is no other God besides me. It was me who brought you here. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. Come, my sheep. I have been preparing a new home for you. Now is the time to take possession of your inheritance. The universe is yours. I have given Geoff the blessing of providing a way to give you a new body and a new soul. You do not yet understand it because you are in your old self."
"How do we know you are really God? You could simply be a creation of Geoff's. Maybe some sort of hologram."
"Oh no, children. I would never allow such deception. Here. Come. Touch my hands. Touch my body."
Then Lucifer would descend onto the floor and people would slowly approach him. He would touch them and they would touch him. It was a miracle. He is real!
"Look. If you still doubt, step out onto the patio."
There was a large sliding glass door that went out onto a big outdoor patio on the roof. Everyone walked out, following Lucifer.
"Watch me."
He then rose above the crowd, going higher toward the clouds. He'd even get larger and a bright light would shine from him. Suddenly, a loud cracking thunder would invade everywhere, putting fear and awe into the hearts of the onlookers. Then you could see what looked like angels surrounding him, praising him, singing and dancing.
One of the nonbelievers shouted, "You are the deceiver! This is a lie!"
In an instant, Lucifer looked at him, pointed and a burst of flames enveloped the person in a flash. He was gone as quickly as he spoke. All that was left was a little burnt mark on the ground where he stood. At this point, most of the nonbelievers dropped and worshiped him. It was too much. How could anyone doubt after that? Yet, still there were doubters. Geoff escorted the doubters into another room where they were secretly processed like cattle to make meat for the next hungry crowd that will go through same test. All the rest who finally decided to make the plunge lined up to receive their Miracure. Lucifer would come down and individually congratulate them and welcome them to the new life.
10
Nov
2009
So, here's an excerpt from today's writings:
We do not listen to the ramblings of the unmarked ones on Earth. They are not enlightened. They are stupid and do not deserve to be fed. They sometimes seek food from us, but it is understood that to get anything of ours, you need to become one of us. The mark is necessary for progress. If you can find food and feed yourself, fine. Do not ask for it from us. For now, we will let you live. We have much work to do to be bothered by you. If you get in our way, we will do whatever is necessary to make progress happen. If you refuse to move aside, you need to be killed. It's that simple. You are simply another animal. Animals have their cages. We work together. If you are not with us, you are against us. We are not selfish like you. We work for the next generation. Sacrifice now for the betterment of tomorrow. You lazy animals live without vision. You only see today and are blind to tomorrow.
We do not listen to the ramblings of the unmarked ones on Earth. They are not enlightened. They are stupid and do not deserve to be fed. They sometimes seek food from us, but it is understood that to get anything of ours, you need to become one of us. The mark is necessary for progress. If you can find food and feed yourself, fine. Do not ask for it from us. For now, we will let you live. We have much work to do to be bothered by you. If you get in our way, we will do whatever is necessary to make progress happen. If you refuse to move aside, you need to be killed. It's that simple. You are simply another animal. Animals have their cages. We work together. If you are not with us, you are against us. We are not selfish like you. We work for the next generation. Sacrifice now for the betterment of tomorrow. You lazy animals live without vision. You only see today and are blind to tomorrow.
This was one of the nuttiest writing days of NaNo WriMo for me. It's hard to tell if this is progress or not, but I just spent one hour doing Write or Die and wrote 2,100 words in that hour. I know the goal is to just write and write without much thinking, so that's exactly what I did during that hour. I haven't even had time to look at it yet to see what a mess of a rambling I did, so I won't bore you with another excerpt.
Alright! I'm right on track to actually having 50,000 words by the end of the month. I just finished bringing the count up to 14,215 words. It's getting a little easier to just write without feeling the need to constantly correct myself. I have to keep reminding myself that I can always edit later. For now, the important thing is to just write thoughts out. Also, today was the first day that I decided to randomly write a scene that isn't necessarily in order with the rest of the writing. Until today, I've been continuing my story where I left off. Today, I decided to write something that may be a little later in the story. I think it helps to do that so I don't lose an idea while I have it. I'm not sure if there's much of anything quotable in today's writings, but let me check...
Ok, I just looked at my text and picked out a random paragraph. It seems it could use some rearranging, but here it is in the raw:
Among the first signs that Jon noticed about himself was his appetite changing. After a week, he started craving some odd things like raw potatoes and raw carrots. Once he ate a raw potato, he felt so good and loved the taste of earth. It made him really desire eating soil. He thought he must be going crazy, but he went with the logic that the dirt must have more things in it that his new nanobot cells needed. He pushed it off for a few days, but finally went for it when the craving was getting to be a bit too much. He never thought dirt would be so refreshing. It tasted so good to him that he just had to have more. He wanted clean dirt, so he took a little trip to the corner store and bought a small five pound bag of potting soil. He rushed into his apartment and ripped open the bag. Handful by handful, he stuffed his mouth full of dirt. He got such a huge rush from it. It was as if it was energizing his body. Then he figured it out. The bots were formed out of algae cells, which are plant-like. They must need more nutrients from the soil than normal human cells. Besides, his bones were reforming into an iron-like material, so he probably needed even more earth just to get those cells well fed.
P.S. If you're reading this on facebook, you can see the real "note" on my site here: Fab's Adventures
Facebook tends to import it odd.
Ok, I just looked at my text and picked out a random paragraph. It seems it could use some rearranging, but here it is in the raw:
Among the first signs that Jon noticed about himself was his appetite changing. After a week, he started craving some odd things like raw potatoes and raw carrots. Once he ate a raw potato, he felt so good and loved the taste of earth. It made him really desire eating soil. He thought he must be going crazy, but he went with the logic that the dirt must have more things in it that his new nanobot cells needed. He pushed it off for a few days, but finally went for it when the craving was getting to be a bit too much. He never thought dirt would be so refreshing. It tasted so good to him that he just had to have more. He wanted clean dirt, so he took a little trip to the corner store and bought a small five pound bag of potting soil. He rushed into his apartment and ripped open the bag. Handful by handful, he stuffed his mouth full of dirt. He got such a huge rush from it. It was as if it was energizing his body. Then he figured it out. The bots were formed out of algae cells, which are plant-like. They must need more nutrients from the soil than normal human cells. Besides, his bones were reforming into an iron-like material, so he probably needed even more earth just to get those cells well fed.
P.S. If you're reading this on facebook, you can see the real "note" on my site here: Fab's Adventures
Facebook tends to import it odd.
