NaNoWriMo - Status Update

Yeah, so somehow this got posted before I wrote anything. Hang on a minute. Words will appear here.

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Ok, words. In the past four days I've written 1,723 of them. That's an average of 430.75. That average is inflated by one day with more words than all the rest of them combined. Or, in other words, I'm somewhat stalled here. I was pretty far ahead and that aheadness has been snuffed out, if I don't get back into the swing of things today I'll be behind.

Some of this is stuff that I do have some idea about, but I just haven't written yet because I haven't been in quite the right frame of mind. Some of it is because things are jumbled and I haven't quite figured out what order things go in. Some it is because I've got stuff that goes beyond not knowing the order, I don't even know how it fits in at all (see footnote*) and some of it is because I know what happens but not how things get there.

For example for the plot to work out at all at some point after they break up Erin, Ryan and the superhero to be in the same general place at the same time. That time being when the superhero is chasing Ryan through the city and pretty much everyone else has already made their way to safety. In the original concept Erin was a reporter. It wasn't hard to find out why she was above ground. She was reporting. You can't very well report from inside of a bunker, you've got to be where the action is.

That's gone now, Erin is an engineer. Her job will take her to places where things might go wrong, and where things have gone wrong, but there's not a lot of call for her to be there while things are going wrong. I've already used Erin is in the middle of a, "Things could go very, very wrong here," presentation when things go very, very wrong there. So that's taken.

So what the hell is she doing there? I have no idea.

But, generally, I'm simply stuck. It's not specific problems, it's just general trouble producing words. Words do not go on page.

Though I think the jumble is a real problem. Jumping around was the only way I was able to write what I've already written, but it also means that there's no one place where I can pick up and write from. And a lack of clarity on the order of events isn't helpful.

I've been considering, against Firedrake's better judgement, just throwing up much of what I have, rough and drafty as it is, in hopes that someone will say something that will give me that little bit of inspiration needed to actually, you know, write.

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* For example:

“People of the city, your attention please,” I said. “I feel like it's been a while since we had a chat with each other. That's a shame. What's happened to us that we can't find a little time to have a friendly conversation?

“These days it seems like I rob a bank, or steal a Picasso – by the way, how is it that you convince people to send expensive works of art to our museum in the first place? If I were in charge of keeping something safe this is the last place I'd want it to be. Even if the Museum is built like a fortress.

“Sorry, I got distracted. It seems like there's no communication any more. I do what I do and you do what you do and we never really say anything. I think it's time that we change that. That's why I've taken the time out of my busy schedule to talk to you today.

“I think it's time that we get back to the old days. Theatrics. Cackling evil genius stuff. Except, as you know, I can't cackle.

“I figure we'll start small. Remember that time a few years back when the whole city lost power for three days? It was annoying as all hell but hospitals and so forth kept their power going on generators so no one was hurt. Remember how much it cost the city?

“I've placed explosives in various substations throughout the city.

“What I'm thinking is this. You can pay me a modest fee, say a mere half what that time cost our economy, or I can detonate the bombs throwing the city into darkness. Insert cackling here.

“I know, it's not much, hardly the most evil thing in the world, but like I said, we'll start small.”

No idea where that goes. I'm not even sure if it's a part of the story, it could happen in flashback or be some kind of epilogue, or it could go right in the middle. No idea at all.