First steps of a marathon

So, I started actually writing Following the Gay Umbrella last night - and it feels incredible! At 1,973 words, at the end of the night (somewhere around 1 am), I already knew that I was somewhat unhappy with the beginning of my story. It's not great, but it's not too bad, either. But that's the point, I thought to myself - the point is to not worry, but write. I will have lots of time after November to polish this to a point where I am happy - now the most important part is to keep on going.

And this morning, I did. I hit 3,000 pretty easily, and am getting over my fears from yesterday. Sure, sometimes it feels like I'm waffling and I have to pause to think of how to include all the information I want to (and sometimes I'm reminding myself that this will be a loooong novel, and I don't have to give all information in the beginning), but it's rolling pretty nicely. Currently I'm up to 3,194 words, and my kiddies are walking to wag school. That's the other thing I noticed, however, that having characters walk and talk at the same time can be a little difficult to write. This can prove a problem, seeing as my novel is somewhat fantasy-adventure, meaning that they walk and talk A LOT. And with A LOT, I REALLY mean hell-of-a-lot.

Oh, well, I will conquer!

Also, I'll be posting excerpts of the novel here, just to make any potential readers happy. *grin* Here are the ones I posted on my NaNoWriMo forum profile:

If Ada Isabella Fields had a diary, it would have begun with the following words:

“Dear diary,
I’m not a normal person. I’ve never been. You see, it’s my umbrella;
My umbrella’s gay.”

* * *

“Sometimes I really wish I had a dick, so I could more clearly express the admiration I have for certain people,” said a high, defined sort of female voice with a wistful quality to it. Ada startled, almost tripping over her own shoes. Was that… What?

“With ‘dick’, dear ladies and gentlemen,” began to clarify another voice, this one definitely male, speaking in a sarcastic, jester-like tone, “she refers to what even I have between my legs, and the bodily function of—”

“I mean,” continued the first voice, effectively cutting off the rest of the explanation (that certainly left nothing for imagination, thought Ada, pressing her back snugly against the wall and trying to seem as small as possible), “I’ve always wanted to pull off that ‘are you just happy to see me’-joke, but nobody ever seems to be that happy to see me. See, even Nic there is just sleeping away—”

“Shut up, you heretic, and allow honest people their sleep,” came the half-heartedly angry, sort of mumbled reply from a lanky frame of a male sprawled across the school corridor in the group’s feet.

“Mr Collier certainly seems not to be too happy to see you,” commented the sarcastic voice, incredibly helpfully, and Ada saw the first speaker, a slim, short-ish girl with short, red (probably dyed, since it was entirely too bright to be natural, Ada decided) hair proudly present her middle finger to the blonde-haired boy, the one with the self-righteous and egoistic tone of speech. She also saw the other girl at the scene, the girl with hair a lighter brown than Ada’s, and on a neat plait, eye this red-haired girl incredulously, and then shake her head chidingly, before going back to reading whatever book she was currently holding.

“Honestly?” asked the boy lying on the floor, in a defeated manner, slinging a long arm over his eyes, “I don’t mind seeing her, but the hearing part I could do without.”