On Nano prep…

So my life right now is all about the YA chicklit fantasy which now has a tentative and somewhat cheesy title, The Girl Who Called Squid. The one sentence synopsis is: Skeptical villagers dismiss imaginative acolyte’s warnings until danger looms. Not only have I thrown out pretty much everything I worldbuilt in August when the idea first ambushed me (and the outline I made then which was too predictable and over-done), I may have just tossed out the secondary characters that waltzed through my life last week. I’m quite thankful that the story spark that attacked with a vengeance was the opening scene, so it means the story can change quite a lot and still have the original spark.

I’m eyeing the calendar which says I’ve got three weeks to get this all in place, though I scared the heck out of both me and Maripat today when I looked wrong and thought it was two weeks. Sigh.

The secondary characters don’t really fit because Krin is younger than I thought she was and because her problems are of a slightly different nature. I’ll save them, though. They may come in handy on some other project.

In my panic to figure out what story really wants to be told here, I’m giving Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake method of plotting novels a try. Previously I haven’t managed to align my ideas to Randy’s method and I’m not sure I’m going to make it all the way through the Snowflake this time either. Still, so far so good. Nailing down that one sentence is, in itself, a huge milestone.

The problem with Jhonal (from the 2yn Puppet Prince) is that he isn’t demanding enough to get his story told. He’s going to have to smarten up sooner or later or keep drifting in nether land. He’s too easy going. Come to think of it, that may be a problem for him in the story, too. Needs to act more instead of reacting.

Hmmmmm.

No, Jhonal. You had your chance. Now you have to go away and wait your turn. Shoo.