Hi folks! If you’re new here, this is the 200 Word Novel, where I’m writing a book 200 words at a time, Monday through Friday. Each Friday I post the last week’s progress, raw and largely unedited, along with some reflections on the past week’s writing. If you’re here primarily to read the story, you can find the start of the novel here. If you’re mostly interested in the weekly introspection on writing (and occasional life update), you can find that down below.
Bria skittered to the front of the sled and held her hand up, palm out. Chiara nestled into it with their nose as they had before. Bria suppressed the flutter in her heart at the sweet gesture, and instead kept her tone and face serious. “Chiara. We need to be quiet and still. Can you do that for me? Quiet…” Bria put a finger to her lips. “…and still.” She reached out and pet Chiara’s head, hand drifting along the ridge line of their skull then curling down to their cheek, gently guiding it to rest flat against the sled. With her other hand, she tugged the tarp forward again, covering Chiara and tucking them in so only thier snout remained. She crouched, peeking down the tiny tent the tarp made across the dragonling’s horns, making eye contact with them. “Do you understand?“
Intelligent eyes peered back at her with curiosity, and Chiara let out a quiet, rumbling coo from their throat.
“I didn’t realize you spoke Draconic,” Tavi quipped, watching a few paces back.
“I have no idea if they got any of what I just said,” Bria confessed.
But Chiara seemed content to remain underneath the tarp, and the otter and mouse managed to glide the sled down the hill and into town without event or fanfare.
The village was fairly small, like most settlements near the edges of the Wylds. A few small burrows and humble homes dotted the landscape, growing more dense and close together as the dirt paths (currently covered by snow) meandered towards the town center. A plaza with a presently frozen fountain anchored the cluster of taller buildings in the village, most prominent among them the one tavern, the mayor’s home, and the local Scurryer’s office. The latter was one of the smallest Bria has seen in her travels—just a single story rectangular room with a simple counter up front and a few half walls to create areas for various packages and mailed goods. There wasn’t even a guest room for traveling Scurryers; instead, an arrangement with the tavern next door had been made to always keep a room in reserve.
Bria had learned this fact from the local journeyman Scurryer when she and Tavi arrived in town. A chipper skunk named Sansan oversaw a handful of apprentices that helped deliver the local letters. At this time of night, Bria was certain Sansan would not be there, but she had shown Bria the hiding place for the spare key (under the small statue by the back door) and given her the Word to disarm the arcane alarm enchantment on the door (a disturbingly common and easy to guess passphrase). Bria got the impression that security and theft were not high concerns in town.
As the sled glided to a stop in front of the Scurryer office, Tavi let out an audible sigh of relief. “I can’t believe things have gone so smoothly,” he said. Chiara sprang with excitement from under the tarp, bounding up to the window by the door and peering inside. Tavi sucked air in through clenched teeth and glanced around. “I can’t believe I’d say such a disaster-inviting thing out loud,” he grumbled, as Chiara began to run in tiny circles in the snow, chasing their own tail.
🐭
200 words, 200 words
This week has been… busy. I’m in a play that opens tonight (Dracula!), had a busy week of work, and also started reherasals for a musical I’m music directing (Annie!).
And yet! I carved out at least an hour of time to write my novel every single day this week! 💪
“But wait,” you say, “there’s a very short amount of updates in this week’s post, Yichao. What gives?”
One of the challenges of writing this week is realizing that there’s some disparate threads that I want to set up for future plot events—and some facts that I needed to sort through and plan out regarding character motivations, the plot, and greater world events.
Writing in an improvisational, take it 200 words at a time method has served me very well up until this point because I’ve largely gotten to just focus on scenes and character. But (mild spoilers) some of the events of this chapter are dependent on understanding how other parts of the plot are moving or might move, and so I’ve found myself writing more words about the story and taking notes, and fewer words that actually move the novel along.
All of this is very good reasons why I haven’t made as much forward progress on the actual word count. And also, they feel like excuses as well. I can already hear my inner voice saying, “why didn’t you do that work and just write 200 words on the day, Yichao? It’s only 200 words!”
Creative output is a funny dance of guilt, motivation, fun, and hard work, messily intermingled and mixed on what parts are what. Learning which voices are Inner Demons and Self Doubt getting in your way, and which voices are Reason and Discipline trying to keep you on track, can sometimes be tricky in the dark.
For me, I’ve found shutting them all out best I can and continuing forward at the pace I can manage week to week without succumbing to guilt or fear too much is the best way forward.
Unsubscribe pls
I’ve had a few folks unsubscribe for the first time this week! Despite an initial reaction of a bruised ego, I also totally get it. If you’re not opening the email week to week, I am not offended if you want one less piece of guilt-inducing “unread” notification coming into your inbox on a recurrent basis. Feel free to unsubscribe at any time, and know that I’ll be here—and hopefully have a finished book next time you check back in!
On the flip side, if you are enjoying the journey and want to support me on the path, or if you’re reading this on the website and would like to get these weekly updates in your inbox, you can always subscribe below.
For now, a paid subscription unlocks all the past entries rather than just the three latest ones. (Though honestly, I think I’ll be updating that so anyone can read everything at any time. I don’t think the raw ingredients of the novel is what’s convincing people to throw in their support; it’s your kind interest in supporting the effort to make a cake.)
Thanks as always for coming along on this journey, and excited to share more of this weird fantasy little world with you all. 💙