Noveling Progress
To get in the mood for my 1960's hippie psycho-drama government exposé thriller (?) Far Out... The Journey To Oblivion, I bought a psychedelic-colored notebook to make my plans. In there I've got a few notes about getting the idea, developing the premise, and choosing the theme of honesty. My main character, Elaine, will have a slight problem with that issue at times.I've done some character development in my notebook. Rather than using the usual character sheets I decided to start by using the blog-inspired idea of writing 100 things about my character. Well, I got to fifty. Here's a sample:
Who Is Elaine Samantha Smith?
1. She loves Beatle music.
2. She has an older sister, Catherine.
3. She has a younger brother, Ronald.
4. The younger brother is injured in chapter one.
5. Her parents get divorced in chapter one.
6. Elaine has blonde hair that is long and straight.
7. Elaine wears glasses.
8. Elaine likes to cook.
9. She has a savings account with $55.23 in it.
10. Her favorite drinks are hot chocolate, red wine (marlot), and coffee.
11. Elaine dislikes spaghetti, potatoes, eggplant and meats.
12. Elaine writes backhand though she's right-handed.
13. Elaine doesn't know how to drive and is afraid to learn.
14. She plays the flute.
15. Her eyes are blue.
...well, you get the idea.
Also in my noveling notebook: A rough outline using Alicia Rasley's article, Outline Your Novel In Thirty Minutes... and a longer chapter-by-chapter outline up to chapter 12. I expect to have between 20 and 30 chapters and the novel will be between 100,000 and 150,000 words when complete (at least that's my goal). When I say I outline, I don't mean by using the traditional outline formula. My outline is just a page for ideas about what I'd like to see in each chapter, and what the focus for that chapter will be. Later I'll go back and write a more detailed scene list for each chapter.
More things in my notebook: definitions of some words I want to use in the text, and a list of sub-plot ideas.
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