Let’s Talk Process: NaNoWriMo

Yes, I am doing NaNo this year.  Not all official like because 1) I’m lazy and don’t

image via variety.com

feel like filling out all the crap to make myself official and get a user name and 2) when I have money to punt for a good cause, it goes to Bikers Against Child Abuse and/or WYEP.  We all have our thing.  3) Life.  I have a goal of 50,000 in November but I may or may not make it.  Filling out all the daily goal stuff on NaNo is like Weight Watchers: effective, but also shaming, time consuming, and easily obsessed over.  I just want to have some fun and kick out a story I may be able to use for something someday.

So, yes, I do have a 50,000 word goal for the month of November and I need to get my ass in gear with the character sketching and the outlining, lest I be all over the place.

My plan is to break the 50,000 down into four, relatively length-equal pieces, a serial of a sort.  This means 12,500 words a week or 1,786 words (average) per day.  50,000 seems like a lot.  12,500 seems like a lot.  But when you break it down day by day, on days that I do get to write, I usually manage about 3,000 so maybe it isn’t so daunting.

Nope.  Still daunting.  Perhaps in a way that induces almost enjoyable roller-coaster stomach drop instead of actual nausea.

The story?  Damn it, I’ve told you a million times, I hate when people ask me what my story is about.  No matter what I say or how well I’ve prepped, the answer sounds stupid.  Though in this case, I’ll let you peek because I’ve floated it past a couple of writer friends and they seemed to think there was something in it.

Gotham actually gave me the idea for this not-so-little project and no, it’s not a Batman novel.  It isn’t even a superhero novel.  Well, it is.  A little.  But not really.  *ahem*  Okay, fine, I’ll stop stalling.

The Alfred in Gotham (played by the estimable Sean Pertwee) is the first Alfred I’ve encountered (and there may be more that I haven’t seen, I’m not Batnicient) who has a backstory.  We haven’t seen much of it yet, but it was mentioned in all the promo stuff.  Alfred is an ex-soldier, special forces no less.  Who is equipped to protect the family but in no way equipped to raise a traumatized young man.  Hence the brusqueness combined with genuine care and love.  Gah.  Cracks me up every time and also gives me feels.

So we know this.  But we still haven’t seen Alfred without Bruce.  Haven’t seen what he does in what little free time he may have, what happens when he stops for coffee, when he likes a girl.  What his room looks like, what kind of gun he keeps under his pillow.

You can see where I’m going with this, can’t you?

My plan for NaNo is to write a serial that gives the readers more than an occasional, brief glimpse of the Alfred character’s life (and no, his name isn’t going to be Alfred — I’m open to suggestions, by the way) but a story centered around the Alfred character.  What it’s like to try to date when you’re eternally on call for a hero who, while he cares about you and has good intentions, is a little wrapped up in his own crap.  What it’s like to read a book, to run an errand, to write an email, to visit your parents etc etc when you may be called upon at any moment for something that is both very important and often intensely irritating.  To want to have your own life while knowing that other people’s lives depend on you absolutely.

image via dc.wikia.com

I’m also going to try to apply some practicality for the characters: Alfred character (seriously, help me out here, guys) will have worked as a paramedic in college and hence, be qualified to do more than basic first aid.  His love interest will be a hero herself, which he won’t know, but will explain why she’s busy so often at night and why they’re each okay with the other being busy a good bit of the time even though they really like one another.  She’s going to be a roller derby girl by hobby, which will explain a variety of injuries that might pop up.  Etc etc.

Prose now, perhaps a comic/graphic novel later.  We shall see.

Wish me luck.

Thoughts?