What's It All About, Arlee?

         As promised on my previous post, today I will reveal the synopsis of my NaNo novel as it currently stands.   Things could change since for now I am just writing the story as it comes to me.   I have written the last paragraph to have a sense of where the story is going to end up, but what happens between my opening and that ending could certainly change course as I write.  Already in the initial stage I have shifted my intent from what it was when I started.

        The novel is to be called Time Light.  It is a science fiction that will be more fiction than science.  In other words, the story will be character driven with roots in science fiction premises, but not focused on scientific details or technology.  The setting is Chicago in 1965.  The plot device will relate to time travel, however the reader will probably not see much time travel in this first installment.  

        Yes, I said first installment, as I can already see the potential of a series stemming from this story.  I intend to leave my options open.  When I wrap this up at the end of November I may wish to never speak of it again.  I think some of you know what I'm saying.   For now I feel enthusiastic and I do see potential.   Read the blurb and let me know what you think:

Time Light

John Proffitt is losing it. First he lost his job, then his house, and now his marriage is in jeopardy. Could he be losing his mind too? Increasingly obsessed with the suspicious activities in the abandoned building across the street from his apartment, he tries to unravel the mysteries of the sounds and lights that come from the building and the men he sees leaving each night. Are they visitors from another planet or something else? In his investigations he uncovers not only the identities of the strangers, but also the secrets within himself.

      I will gladly accept any suggestions on this synopsis and would love to hear any other thoughts you might have about my story idea as it stands at this point.

       How about you?  Have you posted your synopsis on your NaNo profile?   I plan to put up a word count widget on my site once I can catch the NaNo site working properly.   Do you have a word count widget?   If so, does it work okay for you?    Have you been having difficulties with the NaNo website?

       And by the way, I don't intend to post about NaNo every post day during November.  Next Tuesday be here when I host Stephen Tremp on his Virtual Tour.    I will also be having some other surprise topics so fret not non NaNo-ers.


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Whoops!

           First day in and NaNo has already started to take it's toll.   Okay I did also get distracted with a few other things as well.  Being the faithful blogger that I am, I realized as I was starting to go to sleep that I had forgotten my Tuesday blog post.   Can't let that happen can I?

            So for the sake of sleep and sanity I will keep today's post very short with an initial NaNo report..

            Name of my intended novel:    Time Light

            Genre:   Science Fiction

             Synopsis:   I'll tell you later

            Number of words on the first day:     1450

            Now I can go to sleep and dream about where this novel is going to go.  At least I have an opening scene.

            For those of you NaNo-ing, how'd your first day go?   And if your not, whatcha been up to?

Beginnings: NaNoWriMo Starts Today

          If you're doing NaNoWriMo I'm sure that I don't have to remind you that it starts today.  For those of you who have no idea what a NaNoWriMo is, it's a personal challenge to complete 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November.

         If you've ever thought about writing a novel this is a great way to start, or at least try.  Setting boundaries gives the impetus and pressure that some people need to get something like writing a novel done.  You may not write a masterpiece--you most likely won't--but if you manage to meet the challenge you've taken a step.  Even if you don't make the 50,000 words you will have something to gauge yourself.  So what if you end up with 50,000 words of crap--it's better than words that were never written and a challenge that was never attempted.

      You can find out more about National Novel Writing Month at their website.

      I'm basically jumping into NaNo nearly blind just like I did last year.  I've gotten a few ideas together, but no real story yet.  I got my opening scene decided, but haven't really formulated where it's going from there.  I have, or am getting ready to gather, my sources of inspiration that will guide the story I devise.  Like I did in 2009 my inspirations will mostly come from:

• Bible Verses
• Inspiration from the most recent sermon and Bible study at my church
• Random clippings from the October 31st edition of my local newspaper
• Any ideas from my dreams that might apply to my story
• Whatever else happens to flow from the previous idea generators

       Lest there be any misconception of what kind of novel I'll be writing, it will not be a religious or Christian novel specifically.  It could go in that direction, but my plan is to write a science fiction novel dealing with time travel.   I like to get inspired by Biblical themes because I believe the Bible offers so many themes that can influence other stories.  I am certainly not the first writer to be inspired by the Bible and I'm sure I will not be the last.

       A current newspaper likewise can offer many concepts and story ideas that can be woven into a story.  A current events story shaped by Biblical themes and colored with dream imagery can turn into a very interesting story.   This has frequently been my approach to writing fiction.

         I'm looking forward to this month's challenge.  Who knows--I might even finish up last year's NaNo novel while I'm working on this new one.   Watch for details of my progress in the days and weeks to come.

        If you're doing NaNo, how prepared are you?   What do like to use to help you generate ideas?   Anyone have a brief synopsis yet that they'd like to share?

        For those of you who follow Yvonne at Welcome to My World of Poetry, in case you haven't seen her post of Friday October 29, she's saying that it is her last post.  If this is the case, I'm sure many will miss her faithful comments and her wonderful poetry.  I was pleased to be part of Your World, Yvonne.