Thoughts about Amulet I

Now that i've just reread all the trials and tribulations involved in writing three drafts of Amulet I, I've had some more ideas about how to proceed.

1. It might actually be possible to adapt the original D2 amulet story to the beginning of Edward. That is, instead of having the war be Lucien's, maybe Edward brought it on himself - by sending a friend to buy magical amulets from someplace that he couldn't go himself (such as the druidic peoples), then refusing to give a particular amulet as a gift. Friend becomes mad, sabotages him elsewhere (for example at a ball where he was trying to attract the attention of a lady), they have a fallling out that leads to him becoming kidnapped and etc.

2. It's probably possible to use all of the good parts of both 2nd and 3rd drafts, if I revise the starting premise for Part II yet again.

The Duchenes arrive and set up in the old abandoned fort. First few scenes show them settling in and getting the basic history of the place from the locals already there. Edward is seriously ill, and their main goal is to find a way to make him well. The locals talk about the native shamans. They go actively seek out the native folk because they're desperate.

That would have the native folk come visit the fort, which would use the parts from Draft 2. Then, later on, they're still going to have to go to the Hall of Trees, so there will be scenes in the villages too (Draft 3).

Possibly Moraina has a larger role in all this, since she's most likely to be able to relate to the natives, given her background (descended from the druids of the old land).

3. In Draft 3, there was a part where Edward basically gets hurt irreparably. This was caused by the native folk not understanding his condition. Well, I'd like to ditch that. Instead, there are missionaries that periodically go into the forests to try to convert the natives (or convince them to abandon their lands, or spy on them). They generally are never seen again. Well, one group of missionaries stop to try and "help" Edward - only it backfires.

So with that in mind, I'll do a Draft #4. But not for Nanowrimo. It'll be more of a massive revise rather than new.