Ramblings of a Samurai and his Duct Tape

Just another little stop along the epiphany train

When I was preparing for NaNoWriMo last fall, I did all I could to prepare. I joined a group on this site, did all the challenges, created what I thought was an appropriate outline, sketched out a few locations, and various other tasks to help me create that novel I so badly wanted, and still want, to write.


I may have detailed in an earlier post why I failed, how I didn't flesh out my outline enough or know my characters. That is all true. I took a class at "Invalid Item"  to help with creating characters, and I learned SO MUCH!


Not just about creating characters, but a few other things to help reduce, and one day eventually eliminate, passive voice from my writing. I created a few characters during that class, and specifically the start to what I was hoping to turn into a larger story, "Champions of the Astral Planes" . I absolutely love the character of Laura that I have here, and all the other things I've planned for fleshing out Kain will turn him into a great villain.


Someday.


I've written in a few other posts how I've been having trouble continuing that story from either Laura's side, or the companion Hero Anthony's side. I just don't know where to go with the story. Which brings me back to my other problem: Outlining.


I decided to take down my outline from that Nano project. I've had note cards taking up a wall and a half with the outline that I had created since the middle of October. About 8 months I've left those up there. I think it's been holding me back from moving on. All those note cards, and the few sketches I made, and I've just now taken them down.


The act of removing them from the wall has given me the chance to let go of it a little more, and look at it in a new light. I wasn't planning for a novel when I created that outline. I was planning for a SERIES of novels. That's the reason my outline didn't work, I did too much planning on the back end of the series, what would probably end up as end of book 2 or book 3, and not enough on where my hero grows up in book 1. I understand where I failed now. I'm going to file that project away, and maybe someday revisit it when I can feel like I'll have a fresh new perspective and give the ideas I opened there justice. Or maybe I'll just always have it there as a memory of a learning experience.


But I'm finally moving on. Right now I've been working on an outline for a new group of heroes. I was thinking about one of those contests I'm planning on entering this month, oh, in about a week, and an idea clicked into place. The addition of a Succubus. In the outline I'm working on, I won't even get close to revealing the Succubus for what she is, but it's there in my mind for when the story reaches that point. It's far after the point where my contest entry is going to have to end, but that's okay. It's a motivation for the bad guys, it's a reason that after a certain point my heroes won't be killed by the Dragon who, although he's quite fierce, is also very honorable. It's also a major changing point in the Status Quo of this new world that I'm going to create. It opens up worlds of possibilities just knowing this one little fact, that won't be revealed to anybody reading the story until much further along into it. And it's far less complicated than my previous novel ideas have been, which is what I need right now.