So I'm thinking about doing NaNoWriMo again this year because I REALLY need to get back into writing and the accountability plus the little "Yay! You're a Winner!" screen you get when you upload fifty thousand words has been a real motivator in the past.
I've been thinking and thinking and thinking about what to write and nothing. For weeks and weeks... NOTHING.
And then a couple days ago I have this half dream, half vision, half revelation -- oh wait, that's three halves, but I digress.
I hear a man's voice saying, "Look, __________. I don't care that ___________ is your old boyfriend. You're broke and you can't afford to turn down this job. So put on your big girl panties, and--"
_____________ storms out, remembering a time she and __________ were together and he removed her panties with his teeth.
But who is ___________ and what does she do? Who is this man telling her she can't turn down the job? And who is her old boyfriend? I swear I have the vague picture of a man in my mind (he's an actor) but other than the fact he has dark hair, I can't describe him and I sure as heck can't remember his name.
What does he do that he needs her to work for him? And what's the story behind their relationship and break-up? And who is the man telling her she can't turn down the job?
That's an awful lot of questions, and with just a month before NaNoWriMo starts, I'm not sure I can answer them all.
I just hate when that happens. I should have done this blog on "Talk Like a Pirate Day" because then I could have really said, "ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"
Any ideas? Suggestions? Brainstorm away cause my brain seems to be fried.
11 comments:
Maybe you shouldn't answer the questions until you start writing. I know you usually plot...but have you tried just winging it and seeing what you get? For me, part of the fun of writing is finding out the answers to those kinds of questions along the way. Sure you might make a wrong turn at some point but that's something you can fix after you've got all the answers.
And I love past relationship stories. I'm intrigued by what you've already got. :-)
Instigator
Don't answer them. Just start writing and the answers will turn up.
I thought it was another woman telling her she couldn't turn down the job.
Oh. I just read Kira's answer and she basically said the same thing. Well. I'm posting it anyway because I wrote it before I read hers.
Great minds think alike, Jean :-)
Insti
I'm a plotter so I have to know. But to me, that's part of the fun. Thinking and talking and working through it until you come up with something great. That's the fun of plotting. There's million possibilities. You should be excited, not daunted by it. Maybe if you start typing out some ideas. Come up with a few blurbs of the story going in different directions and see which one excites you. What would this be for? Special? Super? Has she inherited her sister's child just as she loses her job? Maybe she's a banker and there's only two banks in town - the one that laid her off and the one owned by the guy she dated forever ago? The one that never wanted kids and now she's got one? Just start playing with it and try not to put so much pressure on yourself.
I'm in the just start writing and wing it camp. And I thought it was a woman talking to her too. How about a best friend telling her she has to take the job?
I find that answering too many questions about my story before I begin means I can't write because I've already told the story. Give yourself the freedom to dump it on the page and see what happens. :)
I've had a few more half dream/half revelation/half visions and I think the heroine is an image consultant and her last name is Sharpe, so her company can be called "Look Sharpe."
And maybe the person telling her to take the job is her accountant, who'd definitely know her financial position. Her accountant could be her sister (like mine is). Still don't know who the hero is, but if she's an image consultant, he's got to be someone whose image counts and whose image needs improving.
I winged last year's NaNoWriMo far more than I've ever winged anything before. But I still need a better idea of the characters. Kinda hard to strap wings on nameless, faceless, backstory-less characters.
So I shall be pondering all these things.
What line? Darned if I know. I'm just going to write, I hope.
Usually seeing these type of half-visions is the start for me. I'm a plotting, so I do all that fun stuff before the hard work starts. I picture the scene over and over in my mind until the details start to fill out (like figuring out her name, business, etc).
Trust me, its started. Do a happy dance!!!!! It will continue if you invite your creativity to give you the rest. Whatever you do, don't ignore it!
A woman?!?! But I love the idea of her remembering him removing her "big girl panties" with his teeth. :)
Angel
People would say an alpha hero doesn't need an image makeover, so that may narrow your target lines a bit. I'd think maybe a local polititican facing a scandal at relection time might need a image makeover. No underage hookers or anything, but something that looks bad for his campaign.
That's actually quite a bit to get started from... at least for me :-)
Politicians just LOVE image consultants -- some years ago a candidate for state office in my district had a consultant advise him to quit chewing tobacco -- and he did -- and he won!
Personally, the best friend should be her childhood friend who is gay...that way, the hero isn't threatened by their close relationship...or her brother...the hero could be a sports figure that possible got caught DUI from some black tie event, and it had MAJOR publicity...and she HAS to take the job because of the recent economy!! Anyway, these are things that popped into my head when reading your fill-in-the-blank part!! =)
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