Adventure Ends Beginning

And another nanowrimo ends barely begun. Next year I aim to try my absolute hardest to start in October. Part of my problem is that I don’t

remember nanowrimo until November and I spend the better part of the first half preparing for it, waffling over ideas, and all that other good procrastination stuff.

I finally decided on a project idea. In truth, a new idea sprung to mind that I actually tied to another idea on the list and after a talk with my writing buddy, Kyrias, it brought me full circle to a story I felt lost its original atmosphere and intent. My story, Water, has its original vibe back thanks to this circular link to the new idea. Other connected posts, if you’re curious are Meet the Arashanti, Reflections, Tarnished, Ocean Gypsy, and Shinal Kana. Tarnished is a direct continuation of Water (with some stuff skipped between the two).

In short, nanowrimo ended for me before it really began, but I’m still hungry for this new adventure. We lead back to the title beginning. I am still in research stages. I know I should just write the story and research later but I want the atmosphere right from the first words set in Arashanti past. I want to know the various settings inside and out. Anyone know some good websites or books to check out on Indian (as in India; yes I know it’s big and very varied) architecture, gardens, villages, and more that might help inspire some settings?

My son’s adventure with is nanowrimo novel has only just begun as well. The workbook they provided for print out provides lots of classroom time that he enjoys. We’re only halfway through it and with each completed page he gets more invested in his Warriors fanfic novel. Heck, I’m interested in the story as well. He created his own characters and an alternate version of an existing clan for it that lives beneath River Clan in the underground. The underground is amazing, very much like the sort of settings you’d find in the Brendan Frasier Journey to the Center of the Earth movie rather than merely a bunch of carved out caves and tunnels filled with cats. You can bet your kitty, Boots, that once River Clan finds out what amazing lands lay beneath theirs, they’ll try to wrestle it away from the rogue clan living within.

Long post short, we both continue to work on the ideas we began for nanowrimo, and we both find the adventure enjoyable. Final note for Water: I again changed the main character’s name (was Shaunna). It’s now Naliyah and I messed around with a sari (saree?) maker to create a “dolled up” version of her when I was calling her Kaia.