Day 1 - It begins
Well, after a very slow start to my NaNoWriMo novel (I fell asleep on the couch at 11:50 last night and woke up shortly after nidnight and then just went to bed instead of trying to write. Today, I wrote about 300 words, then decided to switch from 3rd person to 1st person, then had to go back and re-write/add a bunch of stuff to the first 300 words to make it work in 1st person. Then SNL was on (see previous post), so I was sitting at 478 words for a couple of hours.), I have 1356 words. Not quite the 1667 word daily minimum, but good enough for me, considering that I have about 500 less than two hours ago and I kept going back and re-writing and trying to figure out my character's voice.
So, I realize that I never actually mentioned what my novel is about. For those who are interested, I've included a short synopsis and my character sketches below the cut.
Synopsis: Two teenagers, Roz Alvarez and Eric Jacobsen, have grown up on the same street and are best friends, practically like brother and sister. For Eric's high school graduation, his parents give him two tickets and itineraries for a six-week trip to Europe for him and a friend. He asks Roz to go with him, which she gladly agrees to. While they are in Italy, one of their many stops, they meet a woman in her 20s named Amber (she doesn't have a last name yet). She's an artist, and she reawakens the dormant love of art and dance in Roz.
I'm hoping to explore the relationship between life and art and the artist in the story, though I'm not sure how well that will come across in the end. The story is told from Roz's perspective.
Character sketches, not yet complete:
Eric Jacobsen
Age 18 (just-graduated high school senior)
Thick, short, jet black hair
Short-ish (about 5'9")
Jewish
Drives a 2-person pickup truck
Really smart - valedictorian of his class, full ride to Notre Dame in the fall, AP classes, on the nerdy side, etc
Plays baseball for the school team (the Lions)
Wears glasses, hates contacts but wears them for games because he has to (his eyes are irritated when he wears contacts too long)
Hannah Jacobsen
Age 13 (8th grade)
Long, fine, brown hair
Friends with Roz
Feels a bit overshadowed by her big brother's achievements
Plays flute in her middle school band
David and Sarah Jacobsen
He's an engineer for the water company; she's an RN and, as a result, is overprotective of her children's health
Upper middle class, but living below their means, preferring to save up for retirement and their kids' futures (which turned out to be halfway unnecessary because of Eric's full ride) and came to live two doors down from the Alvarez family
David is allergic, so they can't have a dog; Eric really wants a dog, but enjoys Frankie's company all the same
Rosalind (Roz) Alvarez
Age 17 (just barely, high school junior)
Wears her brown hair in a shaggy bob with subtle reddish highlights
Olive-toned skin because she is ¼ Mexican
About 5'6", lean and fit, though not as fit as she was when she danced; she gained a bit of weight when she quit dance and hated the feel of being out of shape, so she started to work out enough to keep herself in shape (though she does secretly wish she could still jump and spin and have stamina like she used to)
Only child, but treats Hannah like a little sister
Doesn't drive; Eric gladly takes her everywhere she needs to go; she, in turn, buys him food
Danced (mostly ballet, but other forms as well to round out her skills and knowledge of dance) from age 4 to age 15 and gave it up because her teacher told her she couldn't go much farther unless she tried to get into Julliard or some sort of dance school; since she never wanted to be a dancer in the first place, she decided to quit
Taught dance to little kids at her dance school, now helps out at her dad's bank over the summers and on the weekends to make extra money
Frankie
The family dog, a golden retriever, which they've had since he was a puppy
Thinks he's a lap dog, but likes to wrestle with Eric when he visits
Mindy
Roz's pet rat who likes to ride around the house on Roz's shoulder
Buddies with Frankie, she runs around in her ball and he chases her
Donna and Steve Alvarez
He's a bank teller at the Bank of Albuquerque; she's the co-manager of the Hyatt Regency
Middle class
"Steve" is an Americanized nickname for his given name "Esteban" - he is half Mexican; Donna sometimes calls him Esteban when they are alone
A bit nerdy, they named their only child after a Shakespearean character. Rosalind is not terribly happy about it, and prefers Roz to her full name. Donna always calls her Rosalind, a source of tension between the mother and daughter.
Amber LASTNAME
Age 23
Shoulder-length, wavy, red hair
Tall (about 5'10") and thin and a bit bony, but not too the point of looking like she just needs to eat a sandwich, for crying out loud
Graduated college with an art degree and is spending a couple of years in Italy and France to learn about fashion design, hoping to break into the industry
Passionate about art, thinks art should be a major part of everyone's life
Very open-minded, liberal, and feminist, but cautious because she is a woman traveling alone
Almost waif-like in her lifestyle, flits around Europe and lives wherever she can find a place
Other friends and classmates (may or may not actually appear in the story)
Tori (short for Victoria) - Hannah's best friend, who plays saxophone in band with her
Adam, Tyler, and Tomas (to his family, Tom to his friends) - Eric's friends at school; they are all in AP classes together and spent time on campus together, but don't hang out a whole lot outside of school, just rare weekends when an action movie that Roz doesn't want to see comes out
Julia - Roz's friend (and former co-worker) from the dance studio; Julia still dances. They don't live very close, but talk on the phone a good amount and get together when Julia can drive over
Carmen - Roz's friend and confidante at school and the girl she tends to hang out with when Eric is being stupid with Adam, Tyler, and Tomas
P.S. I promise that I won't be doing daily posts (in fact, I'll probably post about NaNo more over at my writing journal, crazylikealice), but I wanted to at least talk about the first day over it. I'll probably also have a mid-month post on or around the 15th and an end-of-the-month post.
So, I realize that I never actually mentioned what my novel is about. For those who are interested, I've included a short synopsis and my character sketches below the cut.
Synopsis: Two teenagers, Roz Alvarez and Eric Jacobsen, have grown up on the same street and are best friends, practically like brother and sister. For Eric's high school graduation, his parents give him two tickets and itineraries for a six-week trip to Europe for him and a friend. He asks Roz to go with him, which she gladly agrees to. While they are in Italy, one of their many stops, they meet a woman in her 20s named Amber (she doesn't have a last name yet). She's an artist, and she reawakens the dormant love of art and dance in Roz.
I'm hoping to explore the relationship between life and art and the artist in the story, though I'm not sure how well that will come across in the end. The story is told from Roz's perspective.
Character sketches, not yet complete:
Eric Jacobsen
Age 18 (just-graduated high school senior)
Thick, short, jet black hair
Short-ish (about 5'9")
Jewish
Drives a 2-person pickup truck
Really smart - valedictorian of his class, full ride to Notre Dame in the fall, AP classes, on the nerdy side, etc
Plays baseball for the school team (the Lions)
Wears glasses, hates contacts but wears them for games because he has to (his eyes are irritated when he wears contacts too long)
Hannah Jacobsen
Age 13 (8th grade)
Long, fine, brown hair
Friends with Roz
Feels a bit overshadowed by her big brother's achievements
Plays flute in her middle school band
David and Sarah Jacobsen
He's an engineer for the water company; she's an RN and, as a result, is overprotective of her children's health
Upper middle class, but living below their means, preferring to save up for retirement and their kids' futures (which turned out to be halfway unnecessary because of Eric's full ride) and came to live two doors down from the Alvarez family
David is allergic, so they can't have a dog; Eric really wants a dog, but enjoys Frankie's company all the same
Rosalind (Roz) Alvarez
Age 17 (just barely, high school junior)
Wears her brown hair in a shaggy bob with subtle reddish highlights
Olive-toned skin because she is ¼ Mexican
About 5'6", lean and fit, though not as fit as she was when she danced; she gained a bit of weight when she quit dance and hated the feel of being out of shape, so she started to work out enough to keep herself in shape (though she does secretly wish she could still jump and spin and have stamina like she used to)
Only child, but treats Hannah like a little sister
Doesn't drive; Eric gladly takes her everywhere she needs to go; she, in turn, buys him food
Danced (mostly ballet, but other forms as well to round out her skills and knowledge of dance) from age 4 to age 15 and gave it up because her teacher told her she couldn't go much farther unless she tried to get into Julliard or some sort of dance school; since she never wanted to be a dancer in the first place, she decided to quit
Taught dance to little kids at her dance school, now helps out at her dad's bank over the summers and on the weekends to make extra money
Frankie
The family dog, a golden retriever, which they've had since he was a puppy
Thinks he's a lap dog, but likes to wrestle with Eric when he visits
Mindy
Roz's pet rat who likes to ride around the house on Roz's shoulder
Buddies with Frankie, she runs around in her ball and he chases her
Donna and Steve Alvarez
He's a bank teller at the Bank of Albuquerque; she's the co-manager of the Hyatt Regency
Middle class
"Steve" is an Americanized nickname for his given name "Esteban" - he is half Mexican; Donna sometimes calls him Esteban when they are alone
A bit nerdy, they named their only child after a Shakespearean character. Rosalind is not terribly happy about it, and prefers Roz to her full name. Donna always calls her Rosalind, a source of tension between the mother and daughter.
Amber LASTNAME
Age 23
Shoulder-length, wavy, red hair
Tall (about 5'10") and thin and a bit bony, but not too the point of looking like she just needs to eat a sandwich, for crying out loud
Graduated college with an art degree and is spending a couple of years in Italy and France to learn about fashion design, hoping to break into the industry
Passionate about art, thinks art should be a major part of everyone's life
Very open-minded, liberal, and feminist, but cautious because she is a woman traveling alone
Almost waif-like in her lifestyle, flits around Europe and lives wherever she can find a place
Other friends and classmates (may or may not actually appear in the story)
Tori (short for Victoria) - Hannah's best friend, who plays saxophone in band with her
Adam, Tyler, and Tomas (to his family, Tom to his friends) - Eric's friends at school; they are all in AP classes together and spent time on campus together, but don't hang out a whole lot outside of school, just rare weekends when an action movie that Roz doesn't want to see comes out
Julia - Roz's friend (and former co-worker) from the dance studio; Julia still dances. They don't live very close, but talk on the phone a good amount and get together when Julia can drive over
Carmen - Roz's friend and confidante at school and the girl she tends to hang out with when Eric is being stupid with Adam, Tyler, and Tomas
P.S. I promise that I won't be doing daily posts (in fact, I'll probably post about NaNo more over at my writing journal, crazylikealice), but I wanted to at least talk about the first day over it. I'll probably also have a mid-month post on or around the 15th and an end-of-the-month post.