Things here have been quiet since Blood on the Stars finished - and for good reason. I've been working hard on trying to get myself ready for NaNo. Last year's novel was a fly by the seat of my pants adventure and the results of doing so are here for you to read. This year, I'm taking extra care in plotting the novels I'm going to be writing.
That's right. Novels. As in more than one.
These novels won't be posted here. I'm working for actual publishable material this time around. Which is why I'm not just doing one novel. I have an idea for a series so I am doing it all at once and working straight through at top speed even past the end of November. Or at least, that's the plan.
Of course, I have a lot of work to do. In fact, one of the reasons I am taking a moment to write a blog post (besides my guilt) is because I am feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of prep this series is taking. However, I think it's going to be worth it in the end. I can feel it deep down in the bottom of whatever passes as my soul. This prep work will make all the difference.
It has already, in it's unfinished form, been called overly organized and scarily detailed. I've added to it since then. I think, perhaps, that it has actually taken on a life of it's own.
I'm trying something a little different this time around. I've actually created an excel spreadsheet with multiple tabs to keep track of everything that I need to know about this world. From the characters to the timeline to the plots and even potential titles for the books.
Under the Characters tab I have all these headings for the 21 characters I have (so far) created. Name, Story Position, Represents, Associated Symbol, Associated Colour, Actual Alignment, Apparent Alignment, Goals, Driving Influences/Basic Backstory . In case you're wondering this series is very loosely based on something else so I needed to keep track of who they represent from my source material.
With only two weeks to go and I still haven't finished nailing down everything under the characters tab, the timeline isn't finished and the plot hasn't been touched since I first came up with the idea perhaps you can see why I'm a little stressed about this.
Not to mention, this year I am coming back as a second year member liaison for my area and I still have all my ML duties to take care of, refreshing the area website for a new year and getting the forum up and chatting for a new year as well! And let's not forget that it's still hunting season so my weekends are taken up with the need to fill my freezer.
So yeah, I'm a little overwhelmed and I seem some late nights in that last week leading up to November 1, but it'll be worth it. It will be worth it.
