T-Minus Fifteen

The only fact my brain seems capable of processing at the moment is that I only have to wait 15 more days until NaNoWriMo. Another year has passed. I used to count the years by my birthday or by New Year's Day, or both. Now I count them by the 50k word novel I write in 30 days or less. I am so excited I have almost nothing to say. Of course, this being the final days before I become a recluse I should work harder at writing some interesting posts. We will see.

So, this year I am doing a rewrite of a fairy tale which no one reads. Hence, there's not point in me telling you what it is. It reminds me of Robinson Crusoe in that things keep happening which add to the plot, but there is not a central fantasy plot so to speak. It is a story of events and characters. There is no main bad guy or evil thing that the main characters have to overcome. This is mainly because I think books like that are kind of stupid. Not all of them, but I am rather tired of the Evil Overlord trying to destroy the known world for no reason whatsoever. At least no reason that said Overlord is capable of describing. I am also tired of the Perfect Hero saving the day by being more powerful than the Evil Overlord. Where is the suspense in that? However, I do like big battles at the end. So maybe I can throw in one of those.

I have no main Evil Overlord and my story will be from the point of view of what should be a side character. For the bad guy I just have an ambitious guy who made a mistake. The only way out of the mistake is to conquer the kingdom. Oh yeah, and there's some magic, a witch, a pair of brothers and some weird animals who can talk. Not sure what to do about the animals yet, they frighten me with their cliche-ness. I am writing the story from the point of view of the bad guy's girlfriend. I thought it would be fun to write a story with a female lead for once. A new step for me. She's not a bad person either. Yes, I have a hero, or a couple of heroes. The focus is not on the heroes nor is it on the bad guy being bad. It is on the development of the main character and the events that occur to change that character. The story is the journey. In a way it is my own journey as well. I learn as I write.

After all, there are two main points to NaNoWriMo. The first is to write your heart out. The second is to try something you have not tried before. I will employ both this November. Wish me luck!