NaNo thoughts begin at three in the morning

[shadowtricker]

Roughly two hours ago I woke, a dilemna of research for NaNo swirling in my head like something approaching critical mass and about to explode into a new solar system. Round and round in the blankets I spun, until tangled up and suddenly far too hot, but after laying a moment exposed, much too cold. I found I could doze, but my mind continued to

Comments

[janewt]

You would certainly not be the first author to append a minor structure to an existing city, for the purposes of story-telling. Heck, Dorothy Sayers gives Oxford a whole extra school in Gaudy Night. It strikes me as something a brief authorial note would take care of. You know, "For the purposes of this story I've given [City] an airport it didn't have until twenty years later; I hope the inhabitants don't mind this slight alteration to their history."

My mom is currently writing up several short stories that are based on events of her and her mother's life. One thing she's found is that letting herself fictionalize them has been very liberating: tricky to give up on "oh, but that's not exactly what happened," but in the long run allowing for a better story.

By the way, I'm reading the draft you sent, and very much enjoying it.

[shadowtricker]

I've considered that route... you'll just have to ignore the city name in the copy I sent you, if there is one. I might have used Corumba, which looks ideal and has an airport of the proper age, but seems to be largely surrounded by a marshland and farther from the mountains than I initially realized. Curitiba is another possiblity in the right location, but their airport is newer and quite large. Apucurana was another possibility of questionable location, and by this time I've researched so many cities my head has begun to swim with an overload of information.
It's likely I'm being too much of a perfectionist, as the story is a work of fiction. I'm going to try writing without the aid of any research today, as i may have hit the point where it's distracting rather than helpful.

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I meant to e-mail you back to say take your time.

[the_wugglyump]

I think Janewt's right. I'm throwing out random buildings left and right in Boston and Philadelphia. Probably in Cincinnati, too, when I get there. One little airport won't hurt anyone.

[shadowtricker]

She probably is, or I ought to simply work up my own nonexistent city, although that might be tricky since most of the city names are based on words in the native tribesmen's language. I am also hoping, of course, to avoid the issue of the majority of the local population speaking Portugese.
Individual buildings do strike me as less noticeable changes than an entire airport, but... yes...
I'm dizzy and I may have just lost a train of thought.

[dragonwhishes]

Oh, Shad.

First of all: The fact that you care so much on putting them in a lot of reality is awesome. The second is that you can make an airport if you want to. The third is this: Research goes whizzing out the window when you do NaNo. Ignore it.

[shadowtricker]

I realize you're not supposed to research for it, or you're supposed to do the research before you start, but up until this point it really has been supplemental and inspirational. I hit points where I simply could not go on without researching a little into this or that, and then what I learned fueled greater narrative and ideas I wouldn't have come up with otherwise.
I think I've simply hit a point where that's no longer the case. It's a hard habit to break. ;-)

[silverton]

Hi! I found you on the nanowrimo region page (Yay Richmond!!) so I thought I'd look you up. You seem to be getting along pretty well with your story, judging by your wordcount and disregarding your current dilemma. I actually woke up at 5:30 to write this morning, though I don't know why. Anyway, good luck on your story!

[shadowtricker]

Thank you, I've fallen terrifically behind this weekend due to distractions that kept me out of the house and unable to write. I'm hoping to catch up during the week, which is when I actually tend to find more time to write. I suffer insomnia regularly and a friend told me that other people doing NaNoWriMo would love to have my insomnia for this month. ;-D