Little flippin', a little floppin' and a whole lot of cameraderie

Just back from our kick-ass kick-off meeting. Lots of folks, including hatchlings. People getting ready to write for their first, forth, tenth time. Published writers seeking new genres and first-timers with not much more than the curiousity to try us out. Young reporters, receptionists, programmers, project managers, stay-at-home moms, professional travel writers, younglings. I drank in the creative passion of so many people in one space. Some of the proposed stories included: a cancer comedy, werewolves and the complications of modern life, a male-written romance novel.

Some of the writers had characters, plot lines, stories and time lines. Others had nothing but a title. I don't know many of these people at all, and those I know, I don't know well. But I love them; they're each and every one a sign that the amorphous, vapid American is not a pre-ordained destiny; that people thrive despite our educational and economic shackles.

Getting up to say my piece it all clicked. Insurrection is the name, the plot is as I'd indicated in my last post, and it is the third book in the series. It may not have many, if any, of the original two novels, but who's to say what's right? It'll work out. I'm worried about a 100,000-word novel count, but I'm determined, at least for November, to lovingly describe every scene, every meal, every person, every change in the weather. At the very worst it'll give me plenty of scrap to re-use somewhere else once I'm finished writing the novel in the way it was intended.

Rethinking some more

Nine days to go and I'm editing the premise (there not being any text). We still have the trilogy, but the NaNo book this year will be "The Proposal," and will not be part of tht trilogy. It'll stand independently, theoretically before or after the trilogy.

Think Jonathan Swift, but on a larger, and corporate basis. Without the Soylent Green literalness. I propose, gentle reader, that if Africa has become an insolvable mess, that the United Nations, and international corporations, might find better ways to employ the inhabitants and make use of their resources.

Starting some serious think

NaNoWriMo Novel for 2004: Induction
NaNoWriMo Novel for 2005: Infection
NaNoWriMo Novel for 2006: Insurrection (working title)

Induction introduced the main characters, and tracked the MC's path from a man in control of his life to a fugitive from unknown but well-organized enemies that destroyed his life and captured his girlfriend. He is at the mercy of mysterious a group, a splinter group, it seems to him, of the very people trying to capture him.

Infection follows the MC's new life with the Thippah, leveraging his knowledge of history and cutting edge computer hacking skills to keep the Thippah hidden from the world, while still fighting other groups that would reveal The People as the world's true masters.

Insurrection pits the MC against both Thippah'n and human world powers. At stake is the fate of a continent: and possibly of the entire Thippah'n race!

At this point, Induction is in final edit, and should be ready for submission for publication by late spring (I've got NaNo, then other, writing commitments throughout the winter and spring). I've procrastinated on the editing, despite wonderful comments and suggestions from JNE (thanks!).

Infection will need a lot of work once I'm finished with Induction, but I plan on having it ready for publication by the end of the year: this next two years is writing/editing prime time for me.

Insurrection may be able to stand on its own, and will not need the same kind of editing as the other novels, as I'll be building on an "alternate universe" instead of pulling characters through 1,200 pages (!!!). It will start, I hope, at around 500 pages before editing and fleshing out. Previous experience has showed me that, for example, Induction went from 50,000 to almost 118,000 words from initial NaNoWriMo to (almost) finished piece.

I'd love to go into more detail on the story lines. However, my work and writing are somewhat at odds, and getting dooced is not high on my list of desired life experiences. These books will be published, probably under different titles and certainly not under my name.

Stretch

That feeling you get when you're just waking up, and every muscle wants to pull taught...

That delicious sensation in the act of love when you know that one more caress will pull the whole wagon over the cliff...

Sitting down with a crew of writers determined to write more, faster and better than last year, all for the fun of it...

Yay!!!! NaNo's back in town!