Beginning of Day 11

The Nanowrimo site has its validation thingy up now, and it gives me almost a hundred more words than Jer's Novel Writer. For consistency I'm going to stick with the JNW counts, which means I have 20,715 words.

The highlight of tonight's writing was discovering the tragedy of Charles. He is very loyal to both Edward and their father, and even in last year's attempt this came through in the way he still hoped they would someday reconcile. Unfortunately, reconciliation is basically impossible, and he was forced to choose. He chose Edward but it killed him to do it.

More of the details are working themselves out as I go along; for example, Edward didn't escape from his father so much as get smuggled out by Charles. In some ways it's actually writing itself. This has never happened to me before. I think I like it. :)

[members-only cut]

Chapter 11 - This was the battle where Mario Romero was captured.

Chapter 12 - Edward takes Mario back to his father. Much to his great surprise, his father accepts him back into the family with no argument at all. It's because he's devised a ritual...

Chapter 13 - the ritual in question is performed. It's very painful and last a long time.

Chapter 14 - Edward convalesces from the ritual. They discover it didn't work. Father wants to do it again.

Chapter 15 - second attempt at the ritual. Charles decides he's had enough, he can't stand to see Edward destroyed by inches like this, and he chooses to hide Edward away from their father, thereby disowning himself. About 90% of the chapter was dialogue, where Charles wrestles with himself before reaching that decision.

Chapter 16 - And now it's a month or two later, they've moved to a peasant's cabin, and Edward is waking up for effectively the first time since the second ritual.

That's where I stopped. We'll see what happens next. ;)