I was up late last night working on the outline, going through character plot summaries for the NaNo novel, and I asked myself... what am I doing this for? Not as some existential crisis of "why do I write" or "why am I here" but moreso, "What will this novel say?" I noted that in the outline I haven't written much in the way of character development nor any kind of thematic character arcs. The flourishes are there, but I haven't delved into it yet, which is odd for me for writing an outline, so it got me thinking about the details of development.
I've noted this back in the character development blog, but it is worth saying again that character development is the best plot driver. A series of events simply happening for the sake of happening don't mean squat if you're not invested in the characters they are happening to. Usually when I'm outlining a novel, I am outlining the thematic arc for the character first. IE, what are the themes I'm shooting for in the story and how will X, Y, Z character tie back into those themes? I peg the bigger themes first, and typically, I have every character in the story tied to at least one or two of the main themes so that, even if it's not a major arc, everyone has some stake in the themes of the story. I start with the biggest stuff first- the world-changing, life-affirming arcs. The MACRO arc, as I like to call it. Then I'll work to tie every character into that arc in some way or another. Which end will they lie on? How will this affect and change them?
I just thought it was odd to note that I hadn't done that this time around, yet. Which doesn't bother me, I just thought it was worth noting. I think I know why I changed that method for this story, though. The screenplay that the original story is based on only fleetingly mentions the developments that will occur in this story. There is next to no development in terms of what happened before the beginning of that story, and I had this idea in my head of exactly what that story would be and I didn't want to lose any of it.
So now that the character plots for the major characters are set in stone, I need to set about writing the main themes down based on that plot and look at anything that may need to be added or subtracted from it ahead of the start of actual writing for NaNo. This weekend is looking to be packed full, so I've really only got today and Monday to get ready for the biggest writing challenge I've taken on in a very long time. But that's no problem! I'm already 7,000 words more prepared than I have ever been for NaNo, so I'll take it. Have a good weekend, everyone!
Nicholas Haskins
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