NaNoWriMo Survey ganked from sailorvfan10!
Working Title: HOWL. Johnny Gruelle named Raggedy Ann after two poems by James Whitcomb Riley ("The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphant Annie") Likewise, the novel's initial plot was inspired by my all-time favorite poem, "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg. Since then, "Howl" has stuck when I'm not referring to my book as "the novel."
Projected Word Count: 20184 last year. This year will be significantly less, BUT WE SHALL SEE.
AT THE START DO YOU:
Have an outline? Sorta. I'm mainly a seat-of-my-pants writer, mutha-fuckah. XD
Scene-by-scene? Do major scenes count?
Know how it starts? I'm not even sure anymore. *sob* Though I've contemplated starting it with Raggedy Ann waking up at Dr. Medlock's lab. (Reader Reaction: "Well, this should be your cutsey little--okay, that's actually kinda creepy. 'Prolly unintentional... wait, they mean it. Nah, the author wouldn't go there--HOLY SHIT.")
Know how it ends? Much more then I do the beginning. :P 90% 99.98% Yes.
Have your climax in order? It's all in my head, but it's there! :D Buwahahahaha.
Know your main characters yet? Raggedy Ann and Andy, Dr. Medlock and later Marius. I don't know everybody Andy befriends yet, but we're on our way to getting a complete crew!
IS YOUR WORK GOING TO BE:
Funny? God save us all. We gotta have some comic relief. :o Mainly in the form of snarky dialogue, nom. ♥
Serious? Yep! Just 'cause it's a book about living toys doesn't mean it can't be taken seriously. 'Cause it does. And it can get downright horrific. <.<;;;
Sad? I figured out the perfect title for my book: H/C: The Novel. One minute, it's cute and heartwarming, the next it's scary, then relaxing, then it *rips your fucking heart out* and stomps on it while laughing, then it's sweet and adorable and consoles you all over again. It's that kind of book.
Semi-Autobiographical? The little girl who used to own Raggedy Ann & Andy is based off me as a kid and how I played with my toys growing up. In that aspect, yes. What happened and will happen to the other characters in my book, like Ann & Andy? Thankfully not. :P
Based on another story? IT'S A DECONSTRUCTION OF RAGGEDY ANN & ANDY: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE (hell, a deconstruction of the Raggedy Ann & Andy books and cartoons as well) AND LIVING TOYS BOOKS/MOVIES IN GENERAL. It also gets its inspiration from Nightmare Fuel in children's films, from the creepier scenes in Disney and Don Bluth to obscure classics like Unico & the Island of Magic and Ringing Bell. :o And deranged animation like in Pink Floyd's The Wall. :o
HOW MUCH HAVE YOU PLANNED? HAVE YOU USED:
A paper journal? Yep!
Multicolored pens? Yep!
A computer? Definitely.
Index cards? Yep.
Bulleted lists? Yep. I think.
Plot Charts? Not really.
Character Charts? Do biographies/profiles count?
Character formulas? What the heck are those? My characters form in my head, not from an Edgar Wallace plot wheel device. >(
Favorite writing resource? Google. Wikipedia. Internet. Certain non-fiction books at the library. Baby Name/Name Meaning sites. little_details. writing_sex. The Kink Bingo Wiki. :o
ODDS AND ENDS:
A line you would like to use: "Thank you and fuck you." No idea where the hell I could use it though, and it probably would turn up in another book instead of this one. :P I also have lines that I'm absolutely forbidden to use, lest I should be smacked to the other end of the universe. Do you really want to know? <.<;;;
A scene you would like to include: So many. Andy interacting and developing friendships with his party, Ann & Andy sibling cuteness (like at the end of a masquerade scene), Ann befriending R.O.B. (yes, that R.O.B. ;D), etc. Consensual light bondage between Andy and Marius, but that's probably never going to happen. *sob*
A concept you would like to explore: The whole idea of the novel is having heartwarming and horror together in equal parts. Raggedy Ann & Andy--typically the subject of children's books--are kept completely IC in an adult, darker setting, which gives me a lot of curiosity and creative fuel to work with. :o
A cliché you would like to avoid: So fucking many, especially regarding individual characters (namely the Raggedys and Marius) and the Andy/Marius romance. Like...
A. Raggedy Ann being a Purity Sue.
B. Regarding Andy? Generic Idiot Shounen Hero is banned. Shotacon/Moe Shotacon is also banned. (While toys and dolls tend to be ambiguous about "age" in my novel (with the exception of Ann being two days older than Andy), both Raggedy Ann & Andy have "grown up" with their owner and don't think with the mindset/"maturity" of a permanent child)
C. Rape Is The New Dead Parents.
D. Letting a character's "issues" be their characterization. Dal brought an interesting discussion of this on one of her plurks, so it's influenced me to think carefully about how I handle my novel's characters. Marius falls in danger of this, so I'm rectifying it and treading carefully.
E. Andy/Marius is meant to be an aversion/subversion of common stereotypical yaoi. No abusive rapist semes, no weepy spineless ukes, no seme/uke formula at all. Having it be h/c without Magical Healing Cock. Having more to their relationship than just ANGST ANGST ANGST. Basically showing them as individuals rather than slabs of steak disguised as "ZOMG HAWT BISHOUNEN!!1!11" :P
A character you would like to use: I've been thinking about my pink Easter rabbit lately. She keeps appearing to me in the form of "Gretchen", a grumpy pink rabbit with a rabbity-face aka Disapproving Rabbits. Her ears and ribbons predate Madoka's pigtails and look even cuter! :o
FORWARD THINKING:
Do you expect to be able to complete it? Yes.
Do you intend to complete it? Yes.
Would you ever try to publish it? FUCK YES.
What do you expect to get out of this month of frantic writing? Progress. And writing samples to be shared on my LJ. /challengeaccepted.jpeg.
Projected Word Count: 20184 last year. This year will be significantly less, BUT WE SHALL SEE.
AT THE START DO YOU:
Have an outline? Sorta. I'm mainly a seat-of-my-pants writer, mutha-fuckah. XD
Scene-by-scene? Do major scenes count?
Know how it starts? I'm not even sure anymore. *sob* Though I've contemplated starting it with Raggedy Ann waking up at Dr. Medlock's lab. (Reader Reaction: "Well, this should be your cutsey little--okay, that's actually kinda creepy. 'Prolly unintentional... wait, they mean it. Nah, the author wouldn't go there--HOLY SHIT.")
Know how it ends? Much more then I do the beginning. :P 90% 99.98% Yes.
Have your climax in order? It's all in my head, but it's there! :D Buwahahahaha.
Know your main characters yet? Raggedy Ann and Andy, Dr. Medlock and later Marius. I don't know everybody Andy befriends yet, but we're on our way to getting a complete crew!
IS YOUR WORK GOING TO BE:
Funny? God save us all. We gotta have some comic relief. :o Mainly in the form of snarky dialogue, nom. ♥
Serious? Yep! Just 'cause it's a book about living toys doesn't mean it can't be taken seriously. 'Cause it does. And it can get downright horrific. <.<;;;
Sad? I figured out the perfect title for my book: H/C: The Novel. One minute, it's cute and heartwarming, the next it's scary, then relaxing, then it *rips your fucking heart out* and stomps on it while laughing, then it's sweet and adorable and consoles you all over again. It's that kind of book.
Semi-Autobiographical? The little girl who used to own Raggedy Ann & Andy is based off me as a kid and how I played with my toys growing up. In that aspect, yes. What happened and will happen to the other characters in my book, like Ann & Andy? Thankfully not. :P
Based on another story? IT'S A DECONSTRUCTION OF RAGGEDY ANN & ANDY: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE (hell, a deconstruction of the Raggedy Ann & Andy books and cartoons as well) AND LIVING TOYS BOOKS/MOVIES IN GENERAL. It also gets its inspiration from Nightmare Fuel in children's films, from the creepier scenes in Disney and Don Bluth to obscure classics like Unico & the Island of Magic and Ringing Bell. :o And deranged animation like in Pink Floyd's The Wall. :o
HOW MUCH HAVE YOU PLANNED? HAVE YOU USED:
A paper journal? Yep!
Multicolored pens? Yep!
A computer? Definitely.
Index cards? Yep.
Bulleted lists? Yep. I think.
Plot Charts? Not really.
Character Charts? Do biographies/profiles count?
Character formulas? What the heck are those? My characters form in my head, not from an Edgar Wallace plot wheel device. >(
Favorite writing resource? Google. Wikipedia. Internet. Certain non-fiction books at the library. Baby Name/Name Meaning sites. little_details. writing_sex. The Kink Bingo Wiki. :o
ODDS AND ENDS:
A line you would like to use: "Thank you and fuck you." No idea where the hell I could use it though, and it probably would turn up in another book instead of this one. :P I also have lines that I'm absolutely forbidden to use, lest I should be smacked to the other end of the universe. Do you really want to know? <.<;;;
A scene you would like to include: So many. Andy interacting and developing friendships with his party, Ann & Andy sibling cuteness (like at the end of a masquerade scene), Ann befriending R.O.B. (yes, that R.O.B. ;D), etc. Consensual light bondage between Andy and Marius, but that's probably never going to happen. *sob*
A concept you would like to explore: The whole idea of the novel is having heartwarming and horror together in equal parts. Raggedy Ann & Andy--typically the subject of children's books--are kept completely IC in an adult, darker setting, which gives me a lot of curiosity and creative fuel to work with. :o
A cliché you would like to avoid: So fucking many, especially regarding individual characters (namely the Raggedys and Marius) and the Andy/Marius romance. Like...
A. Raggedy Ann being a Purity Sue.
B. Regarding Andy? Generic Idiot Shounen Hero is banned. Shotacon/Moe Shotacon is also banned. (While toys and dolls tend to be ambiguous about "age" in my novel (with the exception of Ann being two days older than Andy), both Raggedy Ann & Andy have "grown up" with their owner and don't think with the mindset/"maturity" of a permanent child)
C. Rape Is The New Dead Parents.
D. Letting a character's "issues" be their characterization. Dal brought an interesting discussion of this on one of her plurks, so it's influenced me to think carefully about how I handle my novel's characters. Marius falls in danger of this, so I'm rectifying it and treading carefully.
E. Andy/Marius is meant to be an aversion/subversion of common stereotypical yaoi. No abusive rapist semes, no weepy spineless ukes, no seme/uke formula at all. Having it be h/c without Magical Healing Cock. Having more to their relationship than just ANGST ANGST ANGST. Basically showing them as individuals rather than slabs of steak disguised as "ZOMG HAWT BISHOUNEN!!1!11" :P
A character you would like to use: I've been thinking about my pink Easter rabbit lately. She keeps appearing to me in the form of "Gretchen", a grumpy pink rabbit with a rabbity-face aka Disapproving Rabbits. Her ears and ribbons predate Madoka's pigtails and look even cuter! :o
FORWARD THINKING:
Do you expect to be able to complete it? Yes.
Do you intend to complete it? Yes.
Would you ever try to publish it? FUCK YES.
What do you expect to get out of this month of frantic writing? Progress. And writing samples to be shared on my LJ. /challengeaccepted.jpeg.