The Real Treasure Was the Novel We Wrote Along the Way

All right, we're back for the post-NaNo wrap-up. I didn't mean to wait quite this long, but here we are. So… oh boy, where do I begin?

I guess I'll start with point of view, because that's what I talked about at the beginning of November. I did keep up the system of alternating between the two siblings (with a couple exceptions, I'll get to that in a bit). It was interesting to decide which point of view a scene should be told from. Some were obvious, because only one or the other was present, but some had both characters present, so it was not so clear. I did find that ending the chapter and switching POV in the middle of those scenes worked pretty well to give both perspective on whatever was going on.

But then there were a couple of scenes that really needed to be from a third POV, so there are also two short chapters that break the alternating pattern. They are from the POV of a character who can see the future. Which brings me to the next thing: tense. Now, I'd say the majority of fiction is written in past tense ("She baked a cake"). There are also books written in present tense ("She bakes a cake"), often Young Adult fiction. But you never really see things written in future tense ("She will bake a cake"). And what better time to try out future tense than in a chapter in the POV of a precognitive character? It was fun. I would definitely never write a whole book like that. But it was a very interesting thing to try. Especially as the future comes to them in a big jumble, and not necessarily in any order. It works fine for a short chapter, but would be infuriating (to both reader and writer) in a longer work.

Now, let's talk about treasure. I said at the beginning of last month that the characters were on a quest for some mysterious treasure. Then I spent the whole month, basically up until they find the thing, trying to work out what it was. Here's the thing. I've known what it was, the whole damn time. I just thought, surely, I'll come up with something better. But, you may recall I made a big list of things that inspired me. Tropes, character archetypes, settings… and random song lyrics. This list was started on the 14th of September, and the third thing on the list is "Here's to the fire that raises the dead." And I have known, yes, since September, that this is probably what they're after. I just didn't know how it was going to manifest. Turns out, it was a literal ball of fire. Maybe I shouldn't overthink things so much.

For the record, I had 46 items on the list. About 23 of them made it in. A few others were sort of hinted at, but I didn't really embrace them to their full potential. I will certainly be referring to this list for future projects as well. It's a pretty good list, full of things I like, and more importantly, like writing about.

Now, here's some things I was surprised to find myself doing:

• Telling part of the story via census records
• Drawing a map of a dual-layer labyrinth
• Writing riddles in iambic tetrameter
• Subtly implying that John Quincy Adams (as well as many other Boston Brahmins) was part of a secret society bent on resurrecting the dead
• Including a romantic subplot
• Not naming the book until the very last day of November

So that's how my NaNoWriMo went. I'm not sure what my next project will be. I may return to my vampire novel. I've had an idea or two to fill in the blanks on that.

Regardless, when I return, it will be the new year. I wish everyone the happiest of holidays, and I'll see you next time.