Nano, I'm Cold, and One Chapter a Week

[paragraphs]

Just five minutes ago I realized that so far during nano, I have basically written two chapters. That doesn't sound like much, and it isn't, but that has been a chapter a week, which was always my happy pace In Times Before.  I still have about 12,000 words total okay less now that I spent the afternoon choppiting at what I have because of changes to a character that needed to be fixed, and the need to weave in a journal of folk songs that will prove important later. And somehow now I have more like 9,000 words over 2.5 chapters.  A chapter a week is a good pace with me what with helping MIL, tending to stuff at home, and working.  I'd like to do more than that, sure, but 1100 or so words a day most days seems to be where my brain is geared. So I'm going with it.

Basically, Nano and I are not getting on this time around, but it is okay because my story and I are getting on, and that's what is important, right?  My dear German sidekick on the other hand is right on track with Nano, writing a wonderfully gritty mystery that I am so excited about.  I have wanted him to write a mystery FOREVER, and he finally is, and it is pretty much knocking my socks off.  And I am going to kick him in the pants if he lets it slide away, unfinished.  He prefers writing short, but this has such promise!  So yeah.

So much has fallen into place with this book over the last few weeks, but one area I am still unsettled about is the level of technology.  I have a canalship that runs on steam, but this is not a steampunk, not by a long shot. There are gas lamps that sputter merrily,  My peoples will be headed into a country that was once quite advanced, but has deteriorated since becoming occupied. It is fantasy, and other-world fantasy, but I can't help but eyeball Syria as an appropriate setting.   Grim, huh.  Damascas, really, before Now.   Definitely not medieval, which is how it started out originally.  Man has this story evolved in unexpected ways.

This picture, de-modernized, is what I envision the big city to be like.  This is Hama.  I love those water wheels, known as norias.  Once over 30 were active, pushing water over Hama through aqueducts.  Reading about Hama of the near-past compared to now is pretty chilling.  

I'm still not 100% sure how I'm going to pull off what I want to pull off at the end, but I'm not overly concerned, either (mostly because if I freak out too much, I will never let myself get there, and that would be silly. Gotta trust the process, yes?).

The other thing? This book feels very stand-alone to me, though the world itself is not.  Once I'm done with this, I'm done with the main character, I don't picture needing or wanting any more story from her, at least not as POV character. But I wouldn't be done with this world - it is MY world, and I love it and don't intend to leave it.   I already know what I want to write next - the next MC will be a boy (this one's is a girl) and the seeds will be planted for his story in this one.  And then after that I have another idea for another story...with yet another different MC.   This is how this is playing out, but I wonder, will not doing a 'normal' series be shooting myself in the foot?

And just like that, PING!!! an idea of how to tie all of them together despite the different main characters bounced into my head.  Ha.

SERIAL - anyone here listening to that?  If you are,  WHO DO YOU THINK DID IT? Did Jay? Did Adnon?  Does Adnon belong in prison, in your opinion? *tears hair out*  AHHH!  This is a real-life situation, with a man who may, may be innocent, spending years in prison, put there for reasons that now, 15 years later, seem...wrong. Enjoying the fire out of this, always remaining aware this is real life, someone's real life.  This is why i am in civil, not criminal law.  It would tear me apart.  Yeah.

THE CHAIR - finished, the person won who I thought would, and I can't bring myself to watch either movie, but it was absoutely fascinating to go on the 'how to direct a movie' ride.  (Most fascinating to me was the bits with the writer of the script - man, gotta have guts of steal to be a screenwriter and witness your precious words torn to bit and put back together again - no thanks. Also, Zachary Quinto?  *shakes fist*).

Wrapping this up - work tomorrow, yet another doctor's appointment for MIL, I have Wedneday off again yay and I am likely to spend it at Starbucks unless it is cold.  I really do like sitting here at my table to work because my dogs can be with me, and I have the little heater blasting at me.  Plus, no bra required. LOLOL.

Current read: STRANGER by Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown.   I started it on Friday but put it down to get stuff done so am looking forward to getting the 3rd dog walk of the day done for MIL (sigh) then coming back and crawling into bed and reading the rest of the evening, cozy and warm with my puppies.  Winter is here too finally and it is cold and I REALLLLYYY prefer warm, thank you very much.  Meh.  Grumble.  LOL.

My daughter has a Ron Weasley sweater on it.  Big R (for our last name too - convenient!).  I want one!!!

Comments

[stargazer60.livejournal.com]

Thanks for understanding! I have no desire to publish anything. (although I shared some work years ago on LJ).

I enjoy writing, and that's what it boils down to!

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

I do hope someday to publish what I'm working on now, but I am trying to concentrate on just having fun with it. I do long sometimes to have readers like with fanfiction as man, that was always so nice, but I don't want to write fanfiction. :) I used to only write for me, and I lost that. Sigh.

And now i am waiting for my daughter to leave so I can get some words down. :)