Despite the server crash, and the possibility that the lost threads might magically reappear in the next few days, I'm going to start this one again:
What's *your* novel going to be about?
Do you have the germ of an idea? A vocal main character whispering in your ear, just waiting to be brought to the page so you can narrate her story? Have you been extensively plotting, planning and considering your novel for the past six months? Is your story going to be told in first person or third? Are there flying monkeys involved? (They really did knock my garbage can over two nights ago. I'm telling you, flying monkey footprints look almost uncannily like raccoon prints.)
Tell us all about your developing novel plans here!
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Victoria Anisman-Reiner
ML for Toronto, Canada
http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com
155,026 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 06 58
So far I have an easily distracted Demon Summoner who's coming into her power.
...
...
...
And that's about it.
I don't like outlines. They make me feel as though I've already written the story, so I'm going to wing it, because winging it worked well last year, and because Sarabeth (the character) likes spontaneity anyway.
101,633 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 06 59
I don't like outlines. They make me feel as though I've already written the story, so I'm going to wing it, because winging it worked well last year, and because Sarabeth (the character) likes spontaneity anyway.
I have the same problem... i hate doing things twice so i come up with my plot characters and wing it from there.
226,153 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 07 22
ditto...no outlines..and at this point, no story ideas or anything! I"m busy re-writing May's novel...
I suppose I COULD do a sequel...if I bring her back from Saudi in her hijab..
I'm SURE that a story is awaiting me in NFLD>..and if not, I've got 2 weeks to panic and pressure something out of my psyche..
UGH..PRESSURE>...
I didn't have any with the MAY novel! :-)
only had myself to deal with :-)
hil
101,633 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 07 24
i meditate.
I have my protagonist --- hes a staple in all of my books.
I read every night about creepy bad guys so I generally have a bunch of creepy people running around in my head.
Then I think on it for the month of October.
Then I write like a madwoman in November.
Thats my nano in a nut shell
53,905 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 08 27
I have some ideas. I'm writing the third in a series I have the first two parts done for, so I have some background there. But I agree with the not plotting everything out, because if I know how it ends and how it gets to the ending, I have no interesting in writing it, and end up with a 50 000+ word story all condensed into two really boring overview pages.
----------53,255 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 08 44
My novel is, hmmm...how to describe it...
The main character is employed as a "dream facilitator" -- she goes into peoples' apartments (unbeknownst to them) and assists them with their dreaming through what I guess is best described as a psychic link. She provides imagery, nudges them in this or that direction.
The storyline will focus on the main character discovering why the organization she works for does what it does and what its intentions are.
So I don't know what genre to call it. It's set in our world, around now, and has elements of fantasy, thriller and conspiracy theory stories (just a pinch of the latter).
It's an expansion of a short story I wrote earlier this year: http://pixelenvy.ca/cgi/fff.cgi/week13.html?fullstory=y
---------------------------------------------------------------
LJ: gruberman.livejournal.com
AIM: NoGuitarMercy
23,189 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 08 45
When I have the slightest idea, I'll let you know.
----------***
D.J. Sylvis, Toronto Co-ML
http://djsylvis.com http://monkeymanproductions.com
My Liveournal My Facebook
51,236 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 09 07
I'm taking Robin Hood and turning it on its collective ear by making all the outlaws women instead of men. :) Means I get to throw all the Robin Hood and his Merry Men backstories out the window, along with several of the standard conventions in all the original tellings and modern adaptations....no robbing from the rich to give to the poor, no Lord of Loxley back from the Crusades.
I'm in the process of figuring out why these women are living as outlaws in Sherwood Forest, what their survival skills and combat skill are (and just how good and bad each one is at any given skill), and what it is that Robyn has against the Sheriff, Prince John and Guy of Gisbourne (and that I have nearly complete in my head). I'm having such a ball with figuring all this out and keeping it all within the context of society in 1190 that I can hardly wait to start writing the damned thing....but starting it now would be cheating and I still feel guilty for writing trig formulas on the side of my shoe in grade 12 for the exam....so......
61,013 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 14 53
(edited from original post ... )
Greetings:
I have a beginning and an end point. Someone gets killed in the middle.
That's my outline. In real time, I shape out the outline as I go and
keep track. That's the plan, anyway.
My main characters are the ones I used last Nano. There's lots to
choose from - about 10 main characters and about 20 more minor ones. I
grew fond of the gang and they have been following me around all year.
They are - ah - quite a cast. No fading violets or anything subtle
about anyone of them. : ) Have a whole new family of characters to add.
Setting was researched over the summer ... ; ) ... wine country ...
I narrate in third and switch POV from character to character. (Side
bar - I once attended a creative writing lecture by PD James who said -
paraphrased - seeing the world from a character's POV and then switching
allows you to "tell" the story from the person who has the most at
stake. Thus more interesting prose and more suspese. This suits my
style of mayhem, action and anxiety ... footnote to that story ... I
think I was the only person in that adoring crowd who actually could
not STAND her novels ... the woman is without question brilliant, a
ridiculously capable and beloved author, created one of the more
enduring detectives in the genre and I suspect even her cat is more
well-read that I will ever be ... having said that, someone show her
the carriage return / enter key so she can periodically end a paragraph
and start a new one).
One of my non-nano cheerleaders is a marathon runner. I learned more
about the endurance sport process from her that I thought necessary
before last year's. Afterwards, I realized I used every one of the
skills she shared. It sounds a little bloodless and the methods are
absolutely not for everyone ... in short ...
- break it down into bite size pieces
- all you have to accomplish are today's goals
- stay limber. eat well. stretch. (I thought this was TOTALLY stupid
then l I hit week 3 ...)
- cheerleaders sustain the energy when it gets stalled
- show up and do it even when you don't want to
- one foot (word) in front of the other
- remember that bragging rights are forever (she has a pendant with the
number 42.5. That's the KM distance of a marathon ... )
- keep track of your progress
- cross train ... (I used this to be ... do something wild - new
character, new plot, dream sequence - not exactly relevant but it is
words that matter)
- go forward
- the end is the point. not every step will be pretty. enough steps
will get you to the end
- and (new) from her last marathon ... "SUCK IT UP, PRINCESS!" ... she
wrote it in sharpie marker on her hand.
- celebrate at the end (my cheerleading squad took me out for dinner
WITH THE EXPECTATION of each of them getting a printed/bound copy of
the novel ... this also served to keep the goal real ... holy razzing
if I didn't deliver ... )
All the rest is just 50,000 words.
That and a bag of chips.
----------The RedParrot
50,000 words or taxidermy ...
300,283 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 16 11
I have 4 plots.
Two of which are about my psychotic Elvish Vampire and stuff like that, one of which is about the Original Vampire, one of which is about the characters from AugNo thrown into Moonshadow... and I need a fifth. I'm thinking something to do with corrupt asylums.
Lots of people die, and barely avoid war, and stuff. I might even throw in another plague.
----------Lithy's Shoppe:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=2953967
Lithy's Blog:
http://fictionalworlds.net
50,055 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 18 58
My plot's about a group of scientists who create a utopian society in the south Pacific, and the reporter who visits them to do a series of articles about the structure of their society. When murder strikes this utopia, however, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to remake her career.
What it's really about, though, is how people are rarely satisfied with what they have, and how difficult it is to hold onto the things that really matter in life.
------------Ryan
Word War Captain, Toronto Region
All Our Tomorrows...
600 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 22 20
I am thinking of writing a story in French this year. Every year, I write a nano novel and never seem to do anything with it beyond just writing it. I am a French teacher though, so if I wrote something in French, I would get some use out of it in my teaching. It is not my first language though, and I ave to go through certain linguistic contortions when I write on French because I am limited to vocabulary and verb tenses with which my classes are at least reasonably familiar :)
Still, it will be worth it if I get a useable YA novel study out of this whole thing. To make up for the increased difficulty for me of writing in a second language, and to keep the length manageable, I am going to count the worksheets and supplementary materials in the word count. What do you think, am I crazy? Any French people want to buddy with me and help me out if I get stuck?
As for plot, I am working on ideas for a story about a boy who has three adorable, seemingly angelic little holy terror sisters who are identical six-year-old triplets. Trouble times three! I want one with both boy and girl characters so I can teach with it to different types of kids. I am aiming for 15 chapters but I am counting my worksheets and supplementary materials as part of the word count too; otherwise, the story will be too long, and I also need the handicap because I am writing in a foreign language :)
60,646 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 23 33
my ideas are still pretty vague but:
something about a team of giant-monster hunters from the 1980s having to regroup in the present day to face a new threat. the members are in their 40s now and there will be stuff about aging and a lot of reminscing about their high school days. or something.
(60s or 70s would probably be more appropriate for daikaiju but i'm much more familiar with the 80s :P)
4,026 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 10 49
I'm thinking cynically comical chick-lit this year. Tiaras, backstabbing bitches, maybe a skeleton in a closet or two. Thus far I have no characters, but a lot of shoes. And no plot, just a lot of bitching.
----------**********************************************************************
Wendy Sullivan
Freelance Writer & Professional Blogger
http://www.girlonthewrite.com
226,153 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 13 38
I think you have to go shopping to do research :-)
I did a chic-ilt bitch book in May...was great fun to write the work FUUUUUUUUUUCK alot :-)
hil
28,144 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 13 47
That seems really interesting and plot driven...I'd be too scared to write that.
104,343 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 17 37
*G* Science fiction, set at least a few centuries in the future, and the characters have been whispering to me since about April or May. At least.
No outlines, but I've got the (very) basic idea behind it, and the beginnings of the actual plot!
Summary of the basic idea in 5 words or less: Telepaths as Search and Rescue.
;) TrudyG
70,197 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 17 40
At the moment, i have a random image of people in formal wear jumping off a high diving board into a pool while being pursued by a madman with a knife. Why? I have absolutely no idea... I'm trying to turn it into a plot...
50,055 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 19 57
I hope I'm up to the challenge of it - I actually had the idea late October of last year (after I'd already planned out my novel for last year), and it's been percolating in my head on and off for the past 10 months. Hope it turns out as interesting as it sounds :o)
------------Ryan
Word War Captain, Toronto Region
All Our Tomorrows...
226,153 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 20 57
ok, so tonight, i was heading out for Nuit Blanche and I was sitting at a wee outdoor cafe table awaiting the delayed streetcar..
and this few-sandwiches-short-of-a-picnic type guy came lumbering along and ..wouldn't you just know it, sat down beside me at the same (solitary) table.
So the stench of stale cigars and bodies worn to breaking down point, his rambling conversation with himself, and his general street-familiar appearance made me feel that urge to stand up and back away to give him his space...
BUT two things shot through my head: The first, that my right baby toe was killing me from the too-tight shoes, and sitting was a necessary comfort;
the second: WOW What a GREAT character for the Nov 1 deadline! At least as something to splice in, if not a main plot-building character...
SO I stayed put...which surprised everyone around me at the stop, especially the character himself. He suddenly stared right into my eyes, deep and direct, electric blue cognizant eyes. Perhaps his flowing stream-of-consciousness ramblings were just a game to make himself sound more crazy than he is, and to keep strangers at bay..
Hmm..but who is he REALLY, behind the facade??
This MIGHT be the makings of something///WHO KNOWS!
Roll on Nov 1...~
hil
50,446 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 08 03
Some interesting ideas floating around here. I find it neat how many people refuse to plot out their stories. I tried to do that my first attempt at NaNoWriMo six(?) years ago - never mind several times over the years I've been writing - but all those attempts failed badly.
My problem is that I have a lot of novels prepared and waiting to be written. None of the characters are connected - except for an idea for a sequel to my NaNo of last year, which was entirely unexpected - and they won't even let me use the same world for them. Being now gainfully employed full-time, I don't have a lot of time to write all of these novels, and perfectionism often makes the going slow. This is why I love NaNoWriMo so much - it allows me to get stuff written, got it written actually pretty well last year, and I don't have to sacrifice additional time to write it. Just standards. And heck, I'm happy to see them go. Admittedly, last year was my first successful attempt at NaNoWriMo, and while it was a smashing success for me, I only have one year's experience with it. Still, I'm optimistic.
That said, I came up with the idea, setting, and characters for the novel I'm going to write a couple years ago - a recent idea for me, though not quite as much as last year's NaNo - and it's pretty well planned out at this point. There's wiggle room for the characters to do their own thing, of course, but I know where it's going and generally how it's getting there. It's a science fiction story about a group of people trying to cure a computer virus that targets vital cybernetic implants.
Egads, I'm sorry for going on like that. Didn't mean to.
----------"You know, with the exception of one deadly and unpredictable midget, this girl is the smallest cargo I've ever had to transport, yet by far the most troublesome. --What did he do? --Who? --The midget. --Arson. Little man loved fire." ~Firefly
50,131 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 12 19
I have an idea, but I'm a very private writer. I've been plagiarized before -- only to a very small extent, but it still hurts! -- so I don't really like to talk about my ideas until I'm actually done writing. :) As much as I will give you is that the topic is "dog fighting", but with a twist. (I am opposed to dog fighting, FYI. :p)
My two stories so far follow the same idea... the world is entirely different from present day in some way or another (ie, in last year's novel it was post-apocalyptic), the main characters are always young adults, and I am the biggest sadist I know when it comes to writing, so my characters usually go through quite a bit of torture... usually physical because I'm just that cruel.
I also like my stories to make a point without preaching, and that's what made me go with my current idea. I have quite a few ideas, but I'm scared to write an outline or expand upon them in any way. I don't want to lose interest in my story before November 1st!
4,026 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 12 53
I have found that trying to plot out scenes and twists and even characters bores the sh*t out of me, and I end up ditching the whole thing. I was lucky in 2004... I put my pen tip to the paper and didn't look up again till I had over 5000 words! I have a few ideas floating around, and if I were professional about it I would write them down and try to come up with an outline.
----------**********************************************************************
Wendy Sullivan
Freelance Writer & Professional Blogger
http://www.girlonthewrite.com
4,014 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 19 57
I only have a few vague ideas. I know that my novel focusses on a boy who left Europe with in parents in the late 1930s, right before WWII. The actual narrative will probably pick up in the 1940s. I'm setting it in Bloor West Village (I'm just in love with that area, though I have no idea why). I know quite a few people around there, so I'm hoping to be able to get a feel for how developed it was at the time, since my online research hasn't been very detailed. Anyway, the main thrust of the story will be the boy's desire to connect with his Eastern European roots when all his relatives, even the oldest ones, are embracing Canada and the future.
50,856 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 20 07
I believe my story is planning to be an Urban Fantasy, female MC, dealing with a suddenly much wider world of supernatural goingson than she thought.
Wait, you can see ghosts too?
We all can.
Shit...there goes my corner on the market.
I'd like to set it in a recognizable Toronto. I've read city-set stories before, where you'll see the city on a Food/Travel/whatever show and go 'OMG there's [insert local coffee shop mentioned in Some Author's book]' and I love that idea.
----------Other than that....totally winging it. I think it's in 1st person POV.
Title: Beneath
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy/Romance
MC's: 2
SC's: 2
Dead Bodies: 2, 1 upcoming!
5,555 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2008 - 05 49
Currently I have a protagonist and a title, both of whom I am thinking of changing. I am horribly indecisive and wishing that I'd left my Screnzy idea as a Novel because I love the story to death. At any rate, I can't wait to get to November and just start. It'll come. I hope. xD. At least it did last year.
-----------------------------
NaNoWriMo '07 -- Not Worth the Wait -- 46 289/50 000
Screnzy '08 -- Rhetoric -- 27/100
NaScWriMo '08
Coffee Binges: 2 -- Chocolate Binges: 4 -- Adult Scenes: 1/2
Characters offed: 1 -- Plans to off: 3 -- what the heck mom
129,745 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2008 - 12 40
I'm not much of a fan of plot lines either.
I'm thinking of either bringing a past story that I started making notes on back from the dead, or I'm going to write a story about Christian Camp life... not sure which yet. If I go with the Camp one (and no Errol, it has NOTHING to do with band camp :P) then it will be called 'The Bubble'
That's about all I've got right now. Haha
----------~ Live to write, write to live~
4,026 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2008 - 13 49
Yesterday it was chick lit about women's relationships. Today, I have a title in ind, but I'm not sure the premise would actually count as "fiction". What do y'all think of "Blogging Ate My Marriage"?
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Wendy Sullivan
Freelance Writer & Professional Blogger
http://www.girlonthewrite.com
129,745 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2008 - 14 01
I like that title. I'd definitely read it.
----------~ Live to write, write to live~
50,106 / 50,000
oct. 7, 2008 - 15 09
I decided today that I'm going to write my novel about waiting. I figure it's such an essential part of life, and there's so many things that can happen while you wait. I'm going to write in first person I think, and describe different times of waiting. I came up with the idea a couple of weeks ago, but it was just going to be a short piece. Right now I'm thinking of all the possibilities...it's almost mind boggling.
----------Live life to it's fullest :D