Words Since Last Update: 11 610
Completed Chapters: 1, 2, 3
NaNoWriMo has begun! This time, I'm re-creating an old project from scratch, using what I've written previously as a scaffold for this year's project. So far, I've discovered a few new things that I hadn't realized before. Let me introduce the characters first, though.
Rhiannon: Originally meant to be the sheltered daughter of a noble, she's not as sheltered, despite her parents best efforts. She's taking charge early, though she is stepping up as the new heir to her father's duchy.
Lars: The local boy, big and brawny. He's naive compared to Ric, below, but he's got a good head on his shoulders. Lars is also now the squad's medic with first aid training, go fig. He also already understands the basics of the Centurion training mecha, since his father's heavy farm machines have similar controls.
Ric: He was meant originally to be the anime-style ace pilot. Now, he's chatting up most girls his age, having hit on a barista in his first scene. Successfully. He's also planning on help Lars in that area. But before pegging Ric as an MRA-type, his big asset is that he /listens/ to the women he talks to, and he's doing the same with Lars. He's not bi, but if /Mecha Academy/ ever gets a visual treatment (TV, film, live action or animated), I do expect Ric and Lars to be shipped.
Miyami: The underaged student and hacker of the group. She still has that element, but she also wants to puch people. In the junk. Who am I to disappoint her?
Dusty: The atoner, returning to the Empire after her parents defected. She and Rhiannon have a history, which has come out already. Some of the details I need for later scenes came out as well, so go me?
The big changes are that Ric and Lars have a proper intro and that Miyami wants to punch someone in the junk. It's not that Miyami is a nasty person. She just doesn't believe in a fair fight.
Chapter 1 is complete and was longer than expected. I gave each of the main cast a scene of their own before bringing them together. The cliffhanger I figured out about halfway through writing the chapter. Chapter 2 is complete, though I had to end it before I wanted because of how long it got. Chapter 3 focused on the big inter-character conflict, but let me sort of explore the main location; emotionally, it's not a happy chapter. Chapter 4 got started and features the first slap. It looks like Rhiannon and Dusty are going to have a rougher relationship than in the original plans. Speaking of, I think I've veered off those, with only the general gist remaining. The fun of being a pantser.
The writing process feels more natural now. Okay, /my/ writing process feels more natural now. I don't recommend my process to anyone, but it works for me. The flow feels better, I'm not stopped for long for a direction, and I can get far more output than I could in 2006. What has changed? This is my twelvth NaNo, so I have a writing method that works for me. I'm also writing more over the year, thanks to blogging here and to Lost in Translation. Even the latter's 1000 words a week, typically done in one sitting, means I get regular writing done. Fiction or metafiction, it's still writing. Add in the commentaries for the weekly fiction posts and having to write an ending to The Soul Blade; the act of writing feels more natural now. Not quite second nature, but I feel like I know what I'm doing now. An added bonus, I'm not wincing at what I write anymore. Sure, I find a few clunky lines, but overall, the writing is far more solid than with Lethal Ladies from 2006.
My goal for the coming week is to just keep adding to my word count. NaNo is a marathon, not a sprint, and the more I can get done now, the more buffer I have if I stumble on the way.
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