50,009 on Day 27.
Wow. And here I am. I didn't end with the goal I'd started with, but a whole lot of exciting stuff happened with the rest of the series while I was in the process of making a mess out of Triangle. :)
First, I think I've figured out what the end of Triangle II is going to be. It started with Janis, but then segues into Thomas getting himself introduced to the rest of the Fortress Launne Tainted. Now it has to end with Janis too. She's going to be setting up her cultural center, and Jacob is going to be the anonymous wealthy benefactor that makes it all possible. He does this without telling Thomas, or Janis that he has Thomas. It's a demonstration to Thomas that he can be trusted that Thomas will then discover by himself.
That was actually the plan from the beginning. But it's nice to see how it can actually fit into a story with a beginning, middle, and end. I'll have to reread both my 2006 attempt at Janis and my short-lived attempt at something called Taint that I wrote back in 2005 or so (it only lasted a couple thousand words), and then tackle the ending half of Triangle II.
Basically, in the middle of Triangle II I rewrote the opener that I'd planned for Taint. Only this time, with all the backstory buildup, and worldbuilding, and Amulet I having happened, and the plague introduced, and everything else since 2004: now it actually has context and makes sense.
And now I also know exactly what Felicia did when she stole the Golden Flame from the Mountain Pack in Temple (Nanowrimo 2004) and took it to the chantry. She basically destroyed Nathaniel's binding circle. The one that I just got done writing him laying down for Triangle I. Some major parts of Temple suddenly make sense. It's funny, but the binding circle had always been in the setting, even back then - I just hadn't worked out the details at the time.
And of course the absolutely pivotal moments where Aliacorba suddenly realizes the difference between who he was and who he is, and becomes fully Thomas Cougar. Even if I'd failed at everything else, just that one set of scenes made the month.
There's a lot of work ahead on this series, now that the basic groundwork has been laid out these past 7 years. I need to go over everything, take lots of notes, and then write the series second draft.
o.o
In a lot of ways, I think of writing this series like doing a gigantic painting. There are lots and lots of individual brush strokes that make up the whole picture. I apply some strokes to one side of the canvas, then other strokes to the other side, then discover that some of the first side should've been a slightly different color and have to go back and fix it. The whole Fortress Launne series has been slowly crystallizing all together at once, starting with individual "sketch it in" type scenes in individual stories to figure out where the structure is, and now I have to go back and figure out how to give it flesh and color.
Anyhoo. All in all, despite some really slow parts, it's been a great month. :)
2010/11/27
2010/11/15
Day 15
34,498 words and I have no idea what I'm doing next. So, obviously, the thing to do is blather about it in a blog post...
Triangle I
Well, the triangle is coming along nicely. The forest point is arranged and ready to go, more or less. They're in the middle of working out the details of the actual ritual, but I don't think there's any need to put any of those parts on screen. The next time I mention it, it'll be them carrying out the ritual itself.
The chaos mage has been arranged to claim the southwest point. Very straightforward how it worked out, too - it was actually her suggestion to come to Fortress Launne. Basically the southwest point is going to become a portal for the Drunin (which I mentioned during Fall of Myan I think it was), and so it was simple enough for her to a) want there to be a portal, and b) suggest it as payment for making Frank's new body. All that's left is details, which I don't think needs a whole lot of on-screen time either. She just has to see the spot and then choose it, and she's not all that picky so she'll just go along with Nathaniel's suggestion (since Nathaniel knows that Antoine would prefer the southeast point).
Then of course, Antoine is basically going to get stuck with the southeast point. He's turned into a more minor character during all this. Which is certainly not how I envisioned things when I started, figuring he'd be the main POV character. Oh well? Anyway, again, boring details I don't really feel like writing up.
I guess I just need one short scene to say which gets which spot. I've decided not to let Antoine and Lady Valdren meet each other, as I can't see that going anywhere useful.
So where do I actually go from here anyway? I guess I'm basically done with setup? I should just go ahead and write the ritual? Oh, and the ritual to install Frank into his new body too. And initiate the spirit wolves. Hmmmm.
Triangle II
Well, Thomas is about to enter the city for the first time. The obvious first thing to write about is his reaction to a city, especially after spending so long alone in the swamps.
Then he has to go solve the plague. I'm thinking he'll visit Janis's friend Michael in the Temple of Healing so he can see it firsthand. How exactly he'll come up with a cure though, with no labspace or anything, I'm not sure yet.
And after he solves the plague, that's when Stranahan will haul him into court and it can go on from there. I'm not actually sure there's a "The End" to this anywhere...
Triangle I
Well, the triangle is coming along nicely. The forest point is arranged and ready to go, more or less. They're in the middle of working out the details of the actual ritual, but I don't think there's any need to put any of those parts on screen. The next time I mention it, it'll be them carrying out the ritual itself.
The chaos mage has been arranged to claim the southwest point. Very straightforward how it worked out, too - it was actually her suggestion to come to Fortress Launne. Basically the southwest point is going to become a portal for the Drunin (which I mentioned during Fall of Myan I think it was), and so it was simple enough for her to a) want there to be a portal, and b) suggest it as payment for making Frank's new body. All that's left is details, which I don't think needs a whole lot of on-screen time either. She just has to see the spot and then choose it, and she's not all that picky so she'll just go along with Nathaniel's suggestion (since Nathaniel knows that Antoine would prefer the southeast point).
Then of course, Antoine is basically going to get stuck with the southeast point. He's turned into a more minor character during all this. Which is certainly not how I envisioned things when I started, figuring he'd be the main POV character. Oh well? Anyway, again, boring details I don't really feel like writing up.
I guess I just need one short scene to say which gets which spot. I've decided not to let Antoine and Lady Valdren meet each other, as I can't see that going anywhere useful.
So where do I actually go from here anyway? I guess I'm basically done with setup? I should just go ahead and write the ritual? Oh, and the ritual to install Frank into his new body too. And initiate the spirit wolves. Hmmmm.
Triangle II
Well, Thomas is about to enter the city for the first time. The obvious first thing to write about is his reaction to a city, especially after spending so long alone in the swamps.
Then he has to go solve the plague. I'm thinking he'll visit Janis's friend Michael in the Temple of Healing so he can see it firsthand. How exactly he'll come up with a cure though, with no labspace or anything, I'm not sure yet.
And after he solves the plague, that's when Stranahan will haul him into court and it can go on from there. I'm not actually sure there's a "The End" to this anywhere...
2010/11/11
End of Day 10 / Start of 11
23,530 words at the moment. I'm way behind where I need to be for a 100k month. On the other hand, the stuff I'm writing for Triangle II is outstanding.
Back when I first made Thomas for the IM game in 2002, I tried to write his story as a novel. It involved his great-granddaughter Janis coming into the swamps to bring him out, and him telling her his story. Well, I got about four pages into it. It was the best writing I could do at the time, and I really liked it - but the GM of the IM game that inspired Thomas's existence didn't, which basically stalled me out on the whole thing. It probably isn't very well-written either, I'm afraid to go back and look right now...
Anyway, here in 2010, after an enormous amount of continued character, setting, and plot development on all of Fortress Launne, I've gone all the way back around and now that whole thing is completely rearranged and a part of Triangle II. What I wrote on Day 7 was the first part. At the end of that scene - with one pivotal sentence from Janis - was when Aliacorba transitioned into Thomas Cougar.
And tonight I finished the transition. At the beginning of the chapter I was still calling him Aliacorba, because that was his name - but it didn't feel right to write it that way anymore. I wanted to write "Thomas" instead. But it wasn't his name until the middle, where he actually picked it out.
And now I'm like ... wow. I did it. And it's right. It worked.
To put icing on the cake, somewhere in the middle of the scene, I also worked out how exactly to continue forward in Triangle I. I'd stalled out on how exactly Antoine was going to get to Frank, managed to write that yesterday (they went back and forth across town in a carriage together, and I figure maybe there was something about the air in the carriage - I never spelled it out and don't really intend to). Then I wasn't sure how exactly to carry out the next part, where Nathaniel finds out about it, Frank gets looked over in detail and diagnosed, etc.
Well. Here we have this legend about Aliacorba the medicine man made immortal by the gods. And I need to mention this legend elsewhere, because so far I have Edward where he's just a normal regular guy, and then I have Triangle II where he's back to being just a normal regular guy, who's going to believe me about there being a legend if it's never on-stage?
Thus: mention the legend in Triangle I - which is the only novel I have in between those two. In particular: the Stranahans are going to fail to figure out how to cure Frank via standard Aunlanian medicine, so Frank goes to ask the native folk, whose legend it is. They then diagnose him, all the while talking about the legend, and voila, two problems solved! And furthermore, Frank can run into Allen in the woods while they're passing each other on separate agendas, Allen can get a close look at Frank too, which is how Nathaniel would find out about it. Third problem also solved!
So that's what I'll be writing next. :)
Back when I first made Thomas for the IM game in 2002, I tried to write his story as a novel. It involved his great-granddaughter Janis coming into the swamps to bring him out, and him telling her his story. Well, I got about four pages into it. It was the best writing I could do at the time, and I really liked it - but the GM of the IM game that inspired Thomas's existence didn't, which basically stalled me out on the whole thing. It probably isn't very well-written either, I'm afraid to go back and look right now...
Anyway, here in 2010, after an enormous amount of continued character, setting, and plot development on all of Fortress Launne, I've gone all the way back around and now that whole thing is completely rearranged and a part of Triangle II. What I wrote on Day 7 was the first part. At the end of that scene - with one pivotal sentence from Janis - was when Aliacorba transitioned into Thomas Cougar.
And tonight I finished the transition. At the beginning of the chapter I was still calling him Aliacorba, because that was his name - but it didn't feel right to write it that way anymore. I wanted to write "Thomas" instead. But it wasn't his name until the middle, where he actually picked it out.
And now I'm like ... wow. I did it. And it's right. It worked.
To put icing on the cake, somewhere in the middle of the scene, I also worked out how exactly to continue forward in Triangle I. I'd stalled out on how exactly Antoine was going to get to Frank, managed to write that yesterday (they went back and forth across town in a carriage together, and I figure maybe there was something about the air in the carriage - I never spelled it out and don't really intend to). Then I wasn't sure how exactly to carry out the next part, where Nathaniel finds out about it, Frank gets looked over in detail and diagnosed, etc.
Well. Here we have this legend about Aliacorba the medicine man made immortal by the gods. And I need to mention this legend elsewhere, because so far I have Edward where he's just a normal regular guy, and then I have Triangle II where he's back to being just a normal regular guy, who's going to believe me about there being a legend if it's never on-stage?
Thus: mention the legend in Triangle I - which is the only novel I have in between those two. In particular: the Stranahans are going to fail to figure out how to cure Frank via standard Aunlanian medicine, so Frank goes to ask the native folk, whose legend it is. They then diagnose him, all the while talking about the legend, and voila, two problems solved! And furthermore, Frank can run into Allen in the woods while they're passing each other on separate agendas, Allen can get a close look at Frank too, which is how Nathaniel would find out about it. Third problem also solved!
So that's what I'll be writing next. :)
2010/11/08
Flash Back to the Past
The Fortress Launne series originated as a World of Darkness setting based around the backstory of a character I made for an IM game in 2002. Back then, it was a place called Lauderburough, a fictional suburb of Fort Lauderdale, timeframe circa 1980s. I made a map of it:
Eight years later, it's a bit outdated. Some of the labels make no sense for the Fortress Launne world (mall areas, for instance). Also, north is now in the direction of where it says "Everglades." But the rivers, circle, triangle, and city boundary are the same.
Also, there really was someone named Frank Stranahan in Fort Lauderdale's local history. At some point before I try to publish all this, I'm going to have to change a bunch of names...
Eight years later, it's a bit outdated. Some of the labels make no sense for the Fortress Launne world (mall areas, for instance). Also, north is now in the direction of where it says "Everglades." But the rivers, circle, triangle, and city boundary are the same.
Also, there really was someone named Frank Stranahan in Fort Lauderdale's local history. At some point before I try to publish all this, I'm going to have to change a bunch of names...
End of Day 7
17,587 words. I only wrote 1215 words today, but they were very important words for an extremely difficult scene that was absolutely pivotal to all sorts of things. So all in all, despite the low wordcount, a good day.
Basically the scene was the one where Aliacorba decides to leave the swamps and go with Janis to Fortress Launne. Before that could happen, he had to decide it was a good idea, which mostly depended on Janis showing him why his reason for being in the swamps in the first place doesn't actually apply. Most of his thoughts were internal, which means most of it was completely over Janis's head (and if I ever want to explain it more explicitly, it'll have to be explained in Edward). But she did her part extremely well. All it took was one line to completely blow his mind and make him reassemble his entire worldview.
Basically the scene was the one where Aliacorba decides to leave the swamps and go with Janis to Fortress Launne. Before that could happen, he had to decide it was a good idea, which mostly depended on Janis showing him why his reason for being in the swamps in the first place doesn't actually apply. Most of his thoughts were internal, which means most of it was completely over Janis's head (and if I ever want to explain it more explicitly, it'll have to be explained in Edward). But she did her part extremely well. All it took was one line to completely blow his mind and make him reassemble his entire worldview.
2010/11/07
End of Day 6
16,372 words.
I went to a write-in this afternoon. It turns out that they're much better attended here than back in Savannah, with people coming and going and taking turns getting access to the outlets. They were also relatively serious about actually writing at the write-in, with much less chatter than last year in Savannah. I wrote 1200 words while there, and found out that I was actually in 3rd place for wordcount for Bloomington. Now I'm only a thousand words away from 1st, which hopefully I'll manage to come up with before going to bed. But it's a pretty close pack, with lots of other people with similar wordcounts.
At the moment, I've started on both Triangle I and Triangle II. I'm lumping all the words together, since they're in the same big document, though I should separate them out at some point. I've also switched back to using Jer's Novel Writer. Scrivener's lack of margin notes was starting to become a serious problem, though I hear it's a planned feature (that they may well already have, and I just need to upgrade).
Anyhoo.
Triangle I:
I went back and wrote intro chapters for both the Stranahans and Nathaniel, which are set before my original chapter that introduced Antoine. Basically I needed a way to get the phoenix from the Stranahans to Nathaniel. Well, it's been seen in the story now. The actual transfer hasn't happened yet, and I'm not sure when exactly to set it up for, but basically Nathaniel is going to track down some native folk art and trade for it.
I also decided that Nathaniel's problem needs to be on-screen, so his intro chapter is about the giant spell he's trying to plan. I've thought up more details that ought to be mentioned since then, so there'll have to be more Nathaniel-centric chapters in the future. There will also have to be more Allen screentime, since he's the only one in Nathaniel's camp that can actually talk freely with the native folk. Eventually there's going to be a big meeting where Allen, Nathaniel, Pedro, two shamans and a matriarch figure out a ritual to do with the cave. It'll seal up the leak into the Abyss, and it'll cleanse the cave, and (unbeknownst to the native folk) it'll also set up the spot as the anchorpoint for the citywide spell. Coordinating it will take some work on Nathaniel's part, since the whole thing has to happen in a single circle walk, which means the other two spots have to be ready to go too.
So I guess the next scenes to write will be: more exposition about Nathaniel's problem, a trade of native folk art for the phoenix (followed by / concurrent with Allen examining the phoenix and figuring out what it's good for), and Antoine... doing... something. Antoine is the part I'm stuck on at the moment. His planned actions in the story are pretty clear but I don't know how to get him there. Basically he has to complicate what Nathaniel wants to do in a major way, then get mad enough to hex Frank. I'm having some trouble with motivation at the moment.
Meanwhile, for Triangle II:
I basically went straight to the middle part, assuming that everything I wrote in Janis actually happened. There's a plague on, Janis has a friend who is dying from it, and she's been put in a position of wanting to help the native folk of the city.
So I opened with her grandmother telling her about the legend of Aliacorba, medicine man made immortal by the gods. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten some of the original details of this legend and I'm too lazy to look them up at the moment, but I remember all the important parts. Grandmother tells Janis about him, Janis goes looking. I racked up a lot of words describing her journey in the swamps, and then she found him, they had a fun intro conversation, and then she got to bumble around his house while he wasn't there. Now she's waiting for him to get back and they'll do a second fun conversation (I hope). I'm a bit stuck on how to get it started. It'll probably be the next thing I write, though.
After that, eventually they'll journey back out of the swamps and she'll take him to the city, and he can find a cure for the plague, then get in trouble with the king and so on. Still not sure whether that part is actually part of Triangle II or if it belongs in Amulet II yet. I might write it if I need the words (which I probably will) and move it later.
That's the plan anyway. I'm aiming for 20k by the end of the weekend. Hopefully more, since 20k would put me a bit behind for a 100k month. We'll see what happens. :)
I went to a write-in this afternoon. It turns out that they're much better attended here than back in Savannah, with people coming and going and taking turns getting access to the outlets. They were also relatively serious about actually writing at the write-in, with much less chatter than last year in Savannah. I wrote 1200 words while there, and found out that I was actually in 3rd place for wordcount for Bloomington. Now I'm only a thousand words away from 1st, which hopefully I'll manage to come up with before going to bed. But it's a pretty close pack, with lots of other people with similar wordcounts.
At the moment, I've started on both Triangle I and Triangle II. I'm lumping all the words together, since they're in the same big document, though I should separate them out at some point. I've also switched back to using Jer's Novel Writer. Scrivener's lack of margin notes was starting to become a serious problem, though I hear it's a planned feature (that they may well already have, and I just need to upgrade).
Anyhoo.
Triangle I:
I went back and wrote intro chapters for both the Stranahans and Nathaniel, which are set before my original chapter that introduced Antoine. Basically I needed a way to get the phoenix from the Stranahans to Nathaniel. Well, it's been seen in the story now. The actual transfer hasn't happened yet, and I'm not sure when exactly to set it up for, but basically Nathaniel is going to track down some native folk art and trade for it.
I also decided that Nathaniel's problem needs to be on-screen, so his intro chapter is about the giant spell he's trying to plan. I've thought up more details that ought to be mentioned since then, so there'll have to be more Nathaniel-centric chapters in the future. There will also have to be more Allen screentime, since he's the only one in Nathaniel's camp that can actually talk freely with the native folk. Eventually there's going to be a big meeting where Allen, Nathaniel, Pedro, two shamans and a matriarch figure out a ritual to do with the cave. It'll seal up the leak into the Abyss, and it'll cleanse the cave, and (unbeknownst to the native folk) it'll also set up the spot as the anchorpoint for the citywide spell. Coordinating it will take some work on Nathaniel's part, since the whole thing has to happen in a single circle walk, which means the other two spots have to be ready to go too.
So I guess the next scenes to write will be: more exposition about Nathaniel's problem, a trade of native folk art for the phoenix (followed by / concurrent with Allen examining the phoenix and figuring out what it's good for), and Antoine... doing... something. Antoine is the part I'm stuck on at the moment. His planned actions in the story are pretty clear but I don't know how to get him there. Basically he has to complicate what Nathaniel wants to do in a major way, then get mad enough to hex Frank. I'm having some trouble with motivation at the moment.
Meanwhile, for Triangle II:
I basically went straight to the middle part, assuming that everything I wrote in Janis actually happened. There's a plague on, Janis has a friend who is dying from it, and she's been put in a position of wanting to help the native folk of the city.
So I opened with her grandmother telling her about the legend of Aliacorba, medicine man made immortal by the gods. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten some of the original details of this legend and I'm too lazy to look them up at the moment, but I remember all the important parts. Grandmother tells Janis about him, Janis goes looking. I racked up a lot of words describing her journey in the swamps, and then she found him, they had a fun intro conversation, and then she got to bumble around his house while he wasn't there. Now she's waiting for him to get back and they'll do a second fun conversation (I hope). I'm a bit stuck on how to get it started. It'll probably be the next thing I write, though.
After that, eventually they'll journey back out of the swamps and she'll take him to the city, and he can find a cure for the plague, then get in trouble with the king and so on. Still not sure whether that part is actually part of Triangle II or if it belongs in Amulet II yet. I might write it if I need the words (which I probably will) and move it later.
That's the plan anyway. I'm aiming for 20k by the end of the weekend. Hopefully more, since 20k would put me a bit behind for a 100k month. We'll see what happens. :)
2010/11/03
End of Day 2
I have 5426 words at the moment. It was 5256 at midnight and then I kept going for a bit longer.
Antoine and Frank have visited the southeast site, which will end up being the actual site of the chantry eventually, but Antoine doesn't want to put it there. Now he wants to visit the forest to figure out where all the highly-pure energy is coming from.
Meanwhile, Allen got a look at the cave that Edward had been in. He reported on its condition to Nathaniel, and they were walking back to the city when they ducked into a cave with a bear in it. I now have to figure out what Allen's capabilities are before he can escape.
I also tried to start on Triangle II. That didn't get very far. I figured, start by having Janis's grandmother tell her about the legend. But the story isn't coming out the way I'd hoped. I'll probably have to scrap the whole thing (only about 200 words though, no big loss) and start over later.
I could've written more words today than I did, but procrastination set in with a vengeance. Tomorrow I'd like to be somewhere around 10k, so I'll have to actually focus. It can be done, though. I've written 5k words in one day before. Just have to make sure I know what I'm writing.
Antoine and Frank have visited the southeast site, which will end up being the actual site of the chantry eventually, but Antoine doesn't want to put it there. Now he wants to visit the forest to figure out where all the highly-pure energy is coming from.
Meanwhile, Allen got a look at the cave that Edward had been in. He reported on its condition to Nathaniel, and they were walking back to the city when they ducked into a cave with a bear in it. I now have to figure out what Allen's capabilities are before he can escape.
I also tried to start on Triangle II. That didn't get very far. I figured, start by having Janis's grandmother tell her about the legend. But the story isn't coming out the way I'd hoped. I'll probably have to scrap the whole thing (only about 200 words though, no big loss) and start over later.
I could've written more words today than I did, but procrastination set in with a vengeance. Tomorrow I'd like to be somewhere around 10k, so I'll have to actually focus. It can be done, though. I've written 5k words in one day before. Just have to make sure I know what I'm writing.
2010/11/02
End of Day 1
3557 total words so far.
Day 1 was a cakewalk. I got the first 1890 words within the first three hours (after midnight), then wrote another leisurely 700ish words in the afternoon, then finished up the rest in the evening. I could've written more but I was lazy and played lots of Facebook games. If it stays this easy though, I'd have time to write Triangle II too and aim for 100k words and possibly even reach it this year. That would be cool.
So far Antoine has arrived in town, met the Stranahans, met Nathaniel, and visited one of the two possible sites for his future chantry. Meanwhile, Nathaniel has gone up into the woods to talk the Speaker of the native folk into letting him use their most sacred place for his ritual. So far he's not having any luck, but give it another scene or two. Without interference from Antoine, at least, but Antoine is going to be making his own proposal soon (just as soon as he finds out about the place) to complicate Nathaniel's plans.
Next up: Antoine visits the second site and then I have to give him more key places to wander past and somehow get him to know about the native folk's.
And since all of that came out so smoothly and easily, I also started thinking about what to do with Triangle II if I do write it this year. A whole lot of Janis would be part of it, so technically it's already started. For this year's additions, I'd start with having Janis's grandmother telling her about the legend, and then go on from there to getting her to look for him. Depending on how things go tomorrow with Triangle I, I might start it tomorrow. We'll see.
All in all, a great first day. :)
Day 1 was a cakewalk. I got the first 1890 words within the first three hours (after midnight), then wrote another leisurely 700ish words in the afternoon, then finished up the rest in the evening. I could've written more but I was lazy and played lots of Facebook games. If it stays this easy though, I'd have time to write Triangle II too and aim for 100k words and possibly even reach it this year. That would be cool.
So far Antoine has arrived in town, met the Stranahans, met Nathaniel, and visited one of the two possible sites for his future chantry. Meanwhile, Nathaniel has gone up into the woods to talk the Speaker of the native folk into letting him use their most sacred place for his ritual. So far he's not having any luck, but give it another scene or two. Without interference from Antoine, at least, but Antoine is going to be making his own proposal soon (just as soon as he finds out about the place) to complicate Nathaniel's plans.
Next up: Antoine visits the second site and then I have to give him more key places to wander past and somehow get him to know about the native folk's.
And since all of that came out so smoothly and easily, I also started thinking about what to do with Triangle II if I do write it this year. A whole lot of Janis would be part of it, so technically it's already started. For this year's additions, I'd start with having Janis's grandmother telling her about the legend, and then go on from there to getting her to look for him. Depending on how things go tomorrow with Triangle I, I might start it tomorrow. We'll see.
All in all, a great first day. :)
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