Snazzy Snippets: May

I’m editing Snow at the moment, which means that I’m feeling rather vulnerable as I face the awfulness that is my own writing (I swear editing read-throughs are one of the hardest parts of writing). Which means that this is obviously the perfect time for me to be participating in this month’s Snazzy Snippets link-up, hosted by the amazing Alyssa@The Devil Orders Takeout and Emily@Loony Literate, the prompts for which are simply made for making you feel vulnerable. However, be that as it may, I shall gather the shreds of my courage and share some snippets from last month’s Camp NaNo novel, The Dragon Thief, in all their unedited glory.

A snippet that was difficult to write

It was getting dark as they climbed into Zanth’s back and took off into the sky. As they flew, the stars came out, one by one, like crystal teardrops frozen in a black backdrop. Maya lifted her face to the sky and took a deep breath of the cool night air. Was there anything better than this, sitting on a dragon’s back, soaring through the night sky, alone, and yet so far from being lonely. She couldn’t think of anywhere else she would rather be.

“So this is what it’s like to fly under the stars,” Xavier said quietly. “You said it was amazing, but I didn’t really believe you until now.”

“Yeah, it’s…special.” Maya settled back. Floating in the darkness, it was like the three of them were the only people left in the world. “It’s like being alone in your own little world, a long way from problems and worries.”

Why was this one difficult? Mostly because this was a moment that I’d been looking forward to writing for ages and I couldn’t find just the right words. It turned out better than I hoped though, considering this is so rough, so the struggle was worth it.

A snippet you had a lot of fun writing 

The door slid open, and Xavier appeared round it. He didn’t come the whole way through, but held some of the door between them, almost like he was trying to shield himself. Smart thinking, because Maya was about to kill him if she didn’t get a good explanation very soon.

“What was that all about?” she said.

“It was easier,” he said. “You get sick easy.” At least he had the grace to look awkward and ashamed. “You’re back at least.”

“Doesn’t make me any happier.”

“I brought food.” Maya considered this. “Ok, you can come in. I promise I won’t try to hurt you.”

Food fixes everything, obviously. Basically the story behind this little moment is that most of the long distance travel is done through magic portals. Only Maya gets violently portal sick. And sea sick. And is terrified of drowning. And their journey took them over a huge lake and through a portal. So Xavier drugged her and took her back that way. Which she was NOT pleased about, obviously.

A snippet you plan to delete/significantly revise

They walked down the corridor to the beginning of the rest of her life, and boy did it look beautiful after everything they had just been through. Even a future of working with Xavier wouldn’t be too bad. She gave him a sideways look. He wasn’t such a bad old stick when you got to know him. And then there was Zanth. He was going to love hearing this. Yes, life was looking rather good at the moment. Turns out, it was perfectly possible for a thief to make good after all.

Ok, full disclosure with this one. This is the final paragraph of my book, and, obviously, it is currently rather terrible. But during NaNo, I simply have to finish out the last thousand, so I generally end up rambling on for 300-400 hundred words so that I can reach the next thousand before writing the end. So I end up with heaps of rubbish like this, which is promptly deleted in the next draft. It’s a terrible habit I know.

Which of these snippets is your favourite? Are you participating in the Snazzy Snippets link-up this month? Link me to your posts! And tell me, what’s a bad writing habit you have?