ALYSSA LOST IN SPACE

I am just a little bit in over my head as we finish off week two.

I didn’t think this story would require as much pre-planning as it has. I wanted to write a really in-depth fantasy, because:

a) I love fantasy, and

b) I love world building.

And this story combines my favourite things! I had an unusual world as my playground! I have magic and monsters and all sorts of fun fantastical elements to play with!

And it has been so much fun, but this is also unlike any other fantasy story I’ve written, and I was so woefully unprepared for the amount of work it is going to take.

What’s so different about this one? Well, I think there are two things. The first, is that this is my first time writing what is truly an adult fantasy, where all of the characters are older and have very different goals and perspectives than I’m used to writing about.

Secondly, is that this is the most plot-heavy story I’ve ever written, and writing plot-first is hard. I’ve always had compelling characters at the forefront, driving the story and the momentum forward, and while that is still the case, my main characters are only a small part of a much bigger whole. Their goals and their actions are still important, but the impact that they make is just…quieter, I suppose. The world doesn’t revolve around them, or at least not this early in the series. There are much larger, much more complicated conflicts happening around them, and trying to keep all the moving parts in my head as I figure out an outline has been a struggle.

I spent much of the last week just brainstorming and trying to come up with scenes for my outline, and while I have enough to write the first couple of chapters, I kind of want to wait until I have a better idea of the story as a whole. Suffice it to say, Camp NaNoWriMo is at the half-way mark and I’m still sitting at a big ol’ zero for my word count.

I don’t really know what my goals are going to be over the next week. I’m going to keep working on my outline because I think that’s all I can really do right now. It might take some extreme word count days towards the end of the month if I continue to progress this slowly. I guess we’ll just have to see.

At least all of this pre-work can carry over to sequels I hope to write!

Let’s Chat!

How did the second week go for you? What are some of the writing goals you’ve set for the summer? Let me know in the comments below!