Oh, the Places You'll Go

This was one of those days where I wrote a good chunk of a post, before deciding it was no good and starting over. I also had to make time for Lego Jurassic Park and at least two naps, and well, here we are.

I have a week left before Camp NaNo begins. Which means I need to get my ass in gear, regarding an outline. Now, I've determined that the first chapter or so should establish these characters on their road trip. They'll make stops, fight over snacks and music, and just… do things young 20-somethings do. The problem I've run into, is that I don't know where they should be stopping. Initially they were going from Massachusetts to California, for no real reason other than I needed two points on the map. I tried to track where they'd be after a given amount of time. And then, I don't know, hope there was something worth stopping for there.

This is not a good way to do it. Rather, I think I need to work it backwards. Find interesting places they'd intend to stop, then figure out the route to take them through there. The only part that needs to be in a particular location is the weird town in the cornfields. Which just needs to be somewhere they grow corn. Which, let's face it, is pretty much anywhere.

But, in order to know where each character would want to go, I'll need to better develop them. I'll have to do those stupid questionnaire things where it asks every single detail about their childhood, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams. Ugh. There was one I found recently that was part of a longer outlining process. Essentially, it said that when you go to fill out these questions, you should already have a firm grasp on the characters, because you've already outlined their character arcs and the plot as a whole.

You know, that plot that's dependent on where they would want to go, based on what kind of a person they are. That I won't know until after I know the plot.

So I guess I just need to magically know everything all at once. Clearly I have a lot of work to do in the next week.

I'll see you Wednesday.

Oh, and if you have any suggestions for cool places to stop in the US, please leave a comment. I have some vague ideas, but I'll always take more.