#11 That time of year again

Once more NaNoWriMo rolls around and I return to this blog. Hmm. Getting pretty bad at posting here. I've had a lot going on, but this sort of keeps me writing and thinking about my writing. The fact I haven't posted here probably explains some things.

Anyway, NaNo. This year's plan is to tackle my EpicWIP. Finally. It needs a complete rewrite from top to bottom so this seemed to be a good opportunity. It's almost certainly going to be longer than 50K, but this will be a good start. I've had it in my head for such a long time. It'll be weird when it's gone and all down on paper. Although I have so many funny extra little skits that I play with, there'll always be something to add.

Hmm. Don't want to talk about it too much just yet - I'm sure I'll get into that once NaNo kicks off. But it is funny how things work. It's evolved from a relatively simple story into something so complex I'm not sure how I can convey all the nuances of it. And I've been looking critically at it for a couple of months, trying to condense a sequence of events into something that will work in a more concise way. I've spent ages trying to hammer it out and make it work. And then I get what I will call the Voice of Experience in my head. Something that comes up just occasionally when an idea comes completely out of nowhere, like it's been handed to you. And it pats me on the head and says "Very nice. Three acts, I like that. But you know... It would make more sense if you did it like this..."
And I look at the rearranged pieces and it works. Sure, a few other things get screwed up along the way, but I'll fix 'em. Little epiphanies are nice, but so frustrating after so long. I just wish they'd show up sooner.

I think once NaNo is done (since I'll probably be sick of the sight of the NaNo project) I might start my reading for my next project (Editing? Hahaha... Yeah, right. Still haven't finished NaNo '06 so I have no unrealistic expectations of leaping into editing...).

I have this thing that I've written the beginning for. There's a plot with it now and I think the idea is really interesting. If I can do it right, that is. It starts out and feels like something approaching high fantasy (not medieval though, a little later in technology than that) but as things go on, it becomes clear that things are very very dark. It has layers. Some characters know much more than others, but none of them are really aware of exactly what's going on. For sure, at least one main character is going to die, but I'm not totally sure which one yet.

Let's try for a synopsis. It might help my thought processes. There are three countries, each with their own god, although the all nominally worship all three. They just pay special attention to their particular deity. Travel and trade between the three is severely restricted (thriving black market though), though the clergy and those high up have access to what they want. Money and power can get you anything. The clergy don't rule, but wield enormous power within the structure of each country. Belief is more or less compulsory, and in any case, no one would question it because the gods actually appear in the temples frequently.
Into this, my little revolutionary, Oona, is born. She gets inducted into the priesthood. It could be a path to greatness, to power and wealth and secret knowledge. It also comes with institutionalised child abuse of the worst kinds, unknown to most of the population (those that guess don't care). Oona manages to get out of it after many, many years and plots her own revenge, against the priests, the politicians and the system that let it all happen.
She knows the gods aren't real, but smoke and mirror creations. She gathers people to her and has a plan to bring everything crashing down, but makes discoveries along the way that make it untenable. There is a fourth country, with a god of its own, that has a part to play. And while the temple's deities are illusions, there are real gods and they are the last thing that Oona expects.
Oona isn't the first revolutionary. Not even the second. There have been many before her, all children who initially wanted to bring the system down. But you kill a god and you take its place. Once you're a deity, the last thing you want is to bring down the system that sustains you. Power corrupts.
She's in a spot, unable to kill them but unable to let them go. I'm not entirely sure what happens here. There are a few scenarios and they all involve dead people. Hmm. Decisions. But this should serve to prompt my memory come the end of November.
*pats Oona* She's a bit of a pyschopath but it's not exactly her fault.