Today I had the realization that a few days had passed and I literally planned nothing for my NaNoWriMo efforts this month.

Not a word.

Not an idea.

Nadda.

Ziltch.

Zippo.

Then at 8 pm, I grabbed everything I thought I’d need and I headed upstairs to listen to some music and write my face off while my lovely girlfriend subjected herself to Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I’ve seen a few episodes, even chuckled aloud to a few of their jokes, but it’s definitely not a show I’m eager to watch. Especially when there’s writing to do.

From 8 pm until 11:30 pm, I wrote like a madman and although one of the rules that got me through one of my successful NaNoWriMos is don’t delete anything, I found myself editing the first bit. The start of my novel surrounds a boy who is traumatized by the same nightmares over and over again. While the nightmares themselves are rather tame, their frequency puts a strain on Gabriel and he’s wetting the bed into his teens.

The start of my novel surrounds a boy who is traumatized by the same nightmares over and over again. While the nightmares themselves are rather tame, their frequency puts a strain on Gabriel and he’s wetting the bed into his teens. His adoptive father is convinced the boy just needs discipline and a stern hand, and the first 3500 words I’ve written are mostly detailing Gabriel’s punishments. These are putting pressure on him until he snaps and finds himself surrounded by flames and both of his adoptive parents are dead.

The best part for my character’s development now is how he will play jump rope with the fine line between hero and villain as the story progresses. He is the first one to tap into magic in this world and the forbidden arts and much of this story will be around developing magic and him trying to figure out the rules around it. Considering Jefferson’s three novel series is supposed to have parallels to Gabriel’s development, I already have a premise fleshed out in my mind which is more planning than I’ve done for any novel anyway. The best part is I was able to reshape a scene in Jefferson I was really proud of to repurpose as a part of Gabriel’s origin. Really happy with how it’s starting out!

Anyway, hope everyone else is going well with NaNoWriMo and I wish you all the luck in the world! See you again soon!