Nano Update: 38637 words (77.27 %) with 15 days left
Highlander :: Evolution is rated PG-13, due to acts of violence and some instances of bad language. Feel free to read it and give me your thoughts. |
In my plan I had given over 12,500 words for Act I, set in Paris initially and moving to Geneva. I thought that it would begin with Duncan dying, then slowly recovering and conclude with a fight between a soldier (Conwel) and the hero (Duncan MacLeod) that ends with a twist. It started OK but he stayed dead. Act I concluded with them reviving him.
Act II shifts the focus from Geneva to northern Iraq. In the original plan, the show-down between Conwel and MacLeod should have resulted in him needing to leave the country and Iraq was a convenient opportunity. I had some writing to do! He got shipped off in a hurry and my inner editor (that I tricked and subsequently locked in a cage back in October) has been screaming to rework that entire section. Ive resisted so far. Wordcount for Act II was planned to be 25,000, concluding Act II at the 37,500 word mark. The plan, such as it was, included running an extended flashback all in 3rd person concurrently with Duncan in present day Iraq. Characters didnt cooperate (Grrrr) and it took a Vindaloo curry, plenty of beer and some fine brandy before one was drunk enough to start telling the tale of what he’d done bck in 720BC. What was planned to be 3rd person became 1st person monologue. (note: I was very temped at that point to serve the character a Phal curry, but relented at the last minute) So, where are things at? Right now Im at 38,637 words and the show-down between Conwel and MacLeod is finally happening. What should have ended Act I is finally on the page as the conclusion of Act II (25,000 words late, no less!) Everyone who has read the story to date has hated a particular secondary character, and she has just died a tragic death while saving someone else (and I heard cheers of “Finally!” from someone already). It looks like the Nanowrimo goal might actually be achievable, but there’s still a lot of story to tell! |