It’s Day 3 of NaNoWriMo! Today I’ve chosen to work at Blue Owl, at least for my first writing session. I’m 4 pomodoros in at the moment and taking a little break. I’m a little behind on my daily goal; yesterday the words seemed to be flowing pretty effortlessly, but I’ve slowed down today. ~1,000 words to go.
So, I guess I haven’t said anything about the story I’m writing yet. It’s a horror story based on a dream I had earlier this year. this was one of the dreams where I was an observer and not actually “in” the dream, myself. When I told my partners about this dream, they immediately said, “This would make a great scary movie!” Apart from the terrible and frightening details of the dream, what really struck me was the “main character.” She’s a survivor, but not the kind that sacrifices others to survive. Her presence is quietly commanding; she’s not a girlboss. And she’s become the main character of my story.
Yesterday while I was writing, I noticed that my inspiration to keep writing even when I was feeling stuck on the details of the plot came from my curiosity about this protagonist. I’ve often hear writers talk about getting to know their characters, as if they’re not simply writing other worlds into being but writing a bridge that lets them peak in on other worlds that already exist. Ursula LeGuin wrote about Earthsea in this way. After many years of publishing stories of different realms, she would occasionally pop back to Earthsea to check out what its inhabitants were up to, and sometimes what she found surprised her. I’m allowing myself to be surprised by the protagonist of my unfolding novel; she is about to tell me her name (which was not revealed in the dream).
Okay, I’m getting a refill on my Chinese Gunpowder Green, and then it’s time to get back to pomo-ing. Wish me luck!
the skyride season 