Seven Things That Were NOT Supposed To Happen: Ever Lost Edition

Good Morning, Cyberspace! Happy Thursday!

Wow. It’s already December 1st. Can you believe it? It feels like just yesterday I was leaping out of bed to start my NaNoWriMo journey, and now…

December.

There are many things I like about December. There’s Christmas, New Years, snowball fights, snowmen, all the pretty lights, and that wonderful sense of friendship and community wherever you go.

And there’s also the biting cold and icy roads and scowling faces of angry shoppers that apparently didn’t get the thrill of running someone over with a shopping cart during Black Friday.

#stressreliever

Anyway. Today, I’d like to talk a little bit about this past month, and, more specifically, what in the world happened to my book. So much happened this month, and so much of what I wrote was not in the original design for the plot. At all.

Some of it is great. The genius that has sprouted from my fingertips is beyond compare. It is a work of art. A genuine Picasso. (Or whatever that famous painter dude is called.)

And some of it…not so much.

So today I’d like to share with you some of the terrible mind-blowing things I’ve had the chance to experience this month. And what better way to do that than to make one of my infamous lists?

That’s right, folks. We’re getting back into the swing of things over here at Smudged Thoughts! So exciting, isn’t it?

#no

Anyway, without further ado (it’s been so long since I’ve typed those blessed words!), I present to you–

1. Nathaniel

Now, for those of you who have been keeping up with my NaNoWriMo posts all month, you may be thinking, ‘Who in the world is Nathaniel?’ And to that I say–

Exactly.

Nathaniel was NOT SUPPOSED TO EXIST. I don’t even know what to do with him now. In fact, he’s getting in the way of some of my future plans. And I mean seriously getting in the way. To the point where I’m not sure whether I should just kill him off or erase his existence entirely.

To kill or not to kill? That is the question.

(That is also extremely disturbing. Don’t mind me, guys. I’m just a serial killer posing as a blogger.)

Anyway, you guys have, actually, heard of Nathaniel before. He was just under the alias of ‘that random dude who just appeared’.

So yeah. He’ll probably be dead soon. Or knocked unconscious, which leads me to–

2. All The People Who Are Getting Knocked Out

Now, the first time someone got knocked out, it was by a sedative, and it was actually planned.

The second time was when one of my characters got hit over the head with a frying pan.

And now, as we speak, I am currently trying to knock yet another character out with a hammer.

So yeah. There are so many people getting conked out with various objects in this book, I think it’s becoming a theme.

“I’m not exactly sure what to write about now… Oh! I know! I think I’ll knock someone out!”

Actually, that method does work… Trust me. I would know.

(This also makes a great, slightly abrupt, scene ending.)

3. Butterflies

For those of you who read my Introducing Ever Lost post, you may (or may not) remember me posting this wonderful picture of a butterfly and commenting on how I felt like I should add some butterflies into my story.

Well, they most certainly came.

And they are still here.

These butterflies have actually woven themselves so intricately into the plot, there’s no way they’re ever getting removed. Ever.

I mean, seriously, they are here to stay.

And only one of my characters knows about them…

4. Pears

Again, this one came about by all my talk about rotting pears in garbage cans. Remember that?

Sure you do. I’ve only said it about eight million times.

Anyway, I decided that I couldn’t keep blogging about rotting pears without having pears make a cameo in the book. Will they stay? Probably not. Are they staying for now, and possibly sticking around in future drafts?

Why, yes. Yes, they are.

5. Melting Bodies

There is really nothing I can say to make this sound any less disturbing than it actually is.

Moving on…

6. Security Cameras

Do you know how difficult it is to work around security cameras? I didn’t initially plan on even having them, and now I’ve got my characters trying to perform a heist, while high-level security is watching their every move.

I’ve tried nearly everything I can think of to make the security cameras freeze. Eventually I just went with electromagnetic pulses.

“But wait,” you say. “Wouldn’t that destroy them?”

To which I answer, yes. Yes, it would.

Do I care?

No. No, I don’t.

(Why am I writing a sci-fi again? [Oh right… Because I’m an idiot overachiever])

And lastly…

7. Thao’s Personality

This one, I’ll admit, was sort of planned. Sort of.

However, once I started typing out his first scene, his personality just sort of…exploded.

Literally.

It was like a giant sarcasm balloon vomited all over my screen, and there was no way of wiping it off. Trying to edit it only made things worse, and deleting it made it manifest into a giant, clawed monster that tried to rip my head off.

*coughover exaggerationcough*

So, in the end, Thao became this strange, sarcastically brilliant character that I absolutely adore. He is now officially one of my favorites, and it’s all because he would not shut up. And also because he reminds me a little bit of Chess.

Except Chess is even more sarcastic.

And apparently flawless.

(Except he’s also an arrogant little kitty, but don’t tell him I said that. [seriously, please don’t…])

Well, now that we’re done with that glorious list, I think it’s time for the part you’ve all forgotten about been waiting for!

The results to Tuesday’s Game! Now, I think I had, like, two people who actually participated, but I’m still gonna act like this was a ginormous gameshow, and millions of people are holding their breath to see who the winner is.

Because they should be.

Anyway, on with the results!!!

Drumroll please!!!

(Brrrdedebrrrdedebrrrdedebrrrrrrrrr [pretend this sounds like a drumroll…])

And the answers are……

….

….

….

….

1. Adaline

2. Peter

3. Thao

4. Thao

5. Adaline

And I’m actually really excited because both of you everyone was SO close!!!! And (I’m actually shocked seeing how rigged this game was) one of you got each one right!!!!

Congratulations, Anna!!! I don’t know how you did it, but you did and that’s amazing! I wish I could give you a prize, but I’m not exactly sure what I could give you other than cookies…

Which are virtual.

But anyway, thank you both all for participating, and a huge shoutout to Kate Marie, as well, because you were SO CLOSE!!!! You totally deserve virtual cookies, as well!

Until next time,

Kenzie

P.S. Next week will not be about NaNoWriMo. I promise…

(maybe…)

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Well, that’s about it for today! What do you guys think? Was there any unexpected things that happened during NaNo? Anything crazy? Morbid? (My surprises are usually morbid…) Tell me all your random findings in the comments below! Don’t be shy, we’re all crazy here.