DZ-Jay's Random Blog - Christmas Carol: A Short Story - Part XXXIV

RSS Bot · December 17, 2018

Well, I did it. I would not have believed it, but I was there, and I saw it, so I know it to be true. I did it.

I finished the story. Phew!

It now stands at a full 15 chapters plus the short epilogue, for a total of 83 pages. Here are some statistics, straight from the word processor:

Words: 29,615
Pages: 91
Lines: 2,621
Paragraphs: 654
Sections: 3
Characters (excluding spaces): 137,171

That includes the entire manuscript, with the title and dedication pages, and all the blank spacing pages between them. Still, a rather hefty size for what originally started as a short story of no more than 15 or 20 pages.

There's even one part, during Carol's trek back, that she makes up an epic song about her adventure to sing to everyone back home. It's silly and childish and perhaps not all that great, but I like it and it fits in Carol's nature. Here's an excerpt:

"On a busy Christmas Eve, 
An Evil Snowman came 
He took the children's presents
 And tried to ruin Christmas Day.

"Then Santa called on Carol—me!
 And ask her for assistance
 He sent her on a mission, 
Far away into the distance.

"To the lands of mighty legend
 To the snowy mountains wide
 To the frozen Ice Cube Caverns
 Where the folks of legend hide.

"Oh, Santa! Oh, Santa! 
What a horrible, terrible place!
 There are Ghosts and Evil Snowmen,
 And the cold wind chills your face!

"Oh, Santa! Dear Santa!
 What a horrible, terrible sight!
 The wind howls with scary noises,
 Ice cubes glow with spooky light!"

It's not all doom and gloom, it lightens up as it goes revealing her encounter with the Ghost Of Christmas Presents and the magical snowflake chamber. It then ends with a happy chorus:

"Oh, Santa! Oh, Santa! 
What a marvelous, wondrous place!
 Where the mountains sings a lullaby
 And the snowflakes glow with grace!

"Oh, Santa! Dear, Santa! 
What a gorgeous and beautiful sight!
 Where the wind sounds like a melody
 And the mountain sings with light!"

"Where the wind sounds like a melody
 And the mountain sings with light!"

There's no music, and every time I read it in my head, it follows a different tune. Perhaps someday I'll compose a Christmassy tune for it. For the moment it shall remain just an epic poem. I should think of a name for it, like "Ode To Magic Mountain" or "The Ballad Of Christmas Carol" (although I think that's already taken by Tolkien). I don't know.

Oh, and did I mention I love the ending of the story? Oh yes, I truly do. I think it's very fitting for a magical story like this one. I think it's my favorite part now.

As much as I'd like to be done with this project, I have exactly 8 days to finish the entire thing and I have yet much more to do. Now I have to draw illustrations, print a hard-copy in good paper and bind it by hand. Then there's also the proofreading and editing, a job I do not look forward to. And on top of it all, I must find the time to celebrate the Christmas Season, which I do not intend to miss.

Yup, I'm running out of time, but at least the first major hurdle is over: I have a completed draft manuscript. The rest is just fluff.

See ya'!
-dZ.

P.S. I will end this post by reiterate that all the materials, characters, and story elements, and everything related to Christmas Carol are the sole property of myself, James Pujals, and I retain all copyrights. I post these entries for my own amusement and to entertain anybody crazy enough to follow my progress as I write this story. However, none of it is to be used in any other context or for any purpose without my explicit and written permission.

You have been warned, so don't take anything without permission. If you do, and I ever get to publish this thing and become rich and famous, I'm sicking my lawyers on you.

http://atariage.com/forums/blog/743/entry-15343-christmas-carol-a-short-story-part-xxxiv/