Time to feed my mind...

So after feeling a bit lost, I decided to do some reading. Part of me has been nervous about reading again because I kept comparing my novel to other ones--mine always ending up as the stupid one. I began with Tales with Beedle and the Bard, which was really nice.

And now that my appetite for literature has awoken, I decided to take a little trip to the San Francisco Public Library. Anyway, I came out with a couple books (all under my required reading for my hiatus from novel writing):

Research
1. The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England by Kristine Hughes
2. Food and Cooking in Victorian England (A History) by Andrea Broomfield
3. Inside the Victorian Home (A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England) by Judith Flanders

Steampunk
1. Larklight (A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space) by Philip Reeve
2. Homunculus by James P Blaylock

Add to this (what I already have)
20,000 Leagues under the Sea [which I'm in the process of finishing]
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Plot & Structure
Characters & Viewpoint
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler
Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K Hamilton


January and February should be pretty busy. All in all I'm excited for my adventures of the literary kind.

Yes I delve now into the steampunk world...

So that last post was bunk. Sort of.

Anywho, in light of the very fast approaching November and the Nanofest it brings, I must buckle down. So Bloodstone is on the back burner. If ideas come to me while I plot for this next one, then so be it.

But now onto newer things.

All I can say is that it will be a steampunk story...or gaslamp fantasy [as it may be an AU or original world]. There are two potential stories fighting for my attention. One that is hella complicated and another that is a bit simpler and confined to a single novel.

My goal for next Nano is to not only win but to finish the novel, so that any extra work is rough drafting and finalizing.

So what does that mean? Well it means that I need to get all my planning and plotting down. This is best shown with a list [as I like lists], see below:

THINGS I NEED TO COMPLETE [AKA FINISH THE DAMN THING] A NANO THIS YEAR:

1. A complete cast of characters [with traits, backgrounds and such]:
Last Nano I got to know most of my characters as I went along--for some that was good, for others not so good. Really bare bones others were flat as paper.

2. An opposing force [for each character]:
Every one has a conflict. Some are the focus of the plot, while others are small and personal. Don't forget them.

3. A working knowledge of my world [maps, lifestyle, history]:
Might not be as necessary for this story, but it is still helpful.

4. A well written plot outline [summary, timeline, key character actions]:
I wanna know what is going to happen before I start. Not all the nitty gritty, but at least an idea. And of course, how it ends!

5. Sketches [of machines, characters, places, etc]:
While imaginative, I can have a hard time describing things. This time I need those images in advance, so the descriptions seem real.

6. Know my villain:
This has got to be the one thing I've had the most issues with. The motivations, goals and desires of my villain or antagonist always seem to fail me.

7. Reference information [historical, scientific, anatomical]:
Since I'm doing Steampunk there needs to be a degree of accuracy in period elements and machinery, so this will be handy.

8. Novel title/cover art [for fun]:
Completely unnecessary, but it would be a nice little project to do.

9. A Nano timeline:
Worked for me last time, it should work again.

10. A lot of patience and a good headstart:
I plan to write a bunch on day one and two as they are on the weekend.


And I need all this before Oct. 31 11:59pm!

We'll see how that goes.