Good Chaos

Sign from Nauvoo, Illinois

I found this sign many years ago in a small town in Illinois.  I had to take a picture of it because it made me laugh.  But at the same time, there’s a lot of truth to this small sign.

And it’s how I feel right now. 

In just two days, NaNoWriMo starts.  For those of you who don’t know what that means, November is also known as National Novel Writing Month, a time when hundreds of thousands of people around the world gather to write entire novels.  The challenge is to write 50,000 words before the month is up.  Of course, during the month of October, I was busy working on finishing up the Orphans of Jadox and outlining/planning my new novel.

And my entire brain has been in a state of chaos, though it’s definitely an organized chaos.  I’ve got plot lines, side plots, new characters, settings and powers floating around inside.

I’ve written novels before, but not in such a short time period.  From start to finish, idea to conception, it’s going to be less than two months.  And it’s going to be quite a journey.  So I thought I’d share it with you, showing how I create a novel, and what kind of chaotic thoughts go through my brain.

So of course, this novel couldn’t have started without the idea.  And I’m not sure that I could have even considered participating in NaNoWriMo without the idea.  I’m not a pantser.  I’ve tried it and I didn’t enjoy it.  I have to have a roadmap. 

This particular novel (which will be assigned the color yellow for now) is the story of a young boy named Rowell.  He’s the son of the main characters from the Orphans of Jadox.  So I guess you could say this is book three in what is quickly becoming a series.

Here’s the blurb that I put on the NaNo website:

Rowell never quite fit in his family, and it's all his mother's fault.  If she'd just stuck with her own people, then maybe Rowell would have the same abilities as the rest.  When Rowell accidentlly spills his close friend's secret, he realizes that he can't go on blaming everyone else.  It's his turn to make things right.

The idea came to me when I finished the last scene of the Blue WIP.  Something about it stuck with me.  There was a little boy in the corner with a story to be told.  And I’ve already fallen in love with him.

So come with me on Rowell’s journey!  I promise it’ll be a good one!