Seven Days

It's a week until the madness of Nano begins. I've no doubt that there are people who are feeling just a might anxious. I know I am. I still have a bit of world building to do.

Yep, world building. It's all very well to write this book sans outline, that's doable; it is not okay to write without having some idea of what your world looks like.

I need to find things like weather, topography, recreational activities, abnormal psychology, firearms, and a few other things I'm mulling over.

Being a freewriter doesn't mean I'm lazy. I prepare as much as possible for challenges like this. If I don't know my world, my characters, their motivations, how it starts and where it finishes, things will very quickly fall apart and be disjointed. That makes editing a real bitch.

By researching the topic, you can avoid the hunt for information while you're writing. I have to be prepared for this book, it's out of my usual genre and I'm going to hard pressed not to incorporate any mythology, any science fiction or supernatural aspects. It's a straight up thriller. To avoid that trap, I have to steep myself in this real world.

I have my protagonists - the secondary characters will appear as needed - I have my end game, I have main events. How they join, how they interact, that's the challenge. That and writing until it is finished. I don't know how long it's going to be; my second Nano finished two chapters into a second book. I don't want this to be a tome, I don't want to end up with 200k, that is too long and I'd have to spend a lot of time taking stuff out. There will not be a sequel, it's a stand alone.

So, I'm almost ready. The world building is going well, the characters are at the starting blocks in my head, ready to play. What more do I need? The patience not to dive into this before November begins. The best thing about the wait is that the story, the images I'm getting, is becoming more solid and that can only be a good thing.