NANOWRIMO 2023 PROGRESS REPORT
NaNoWriMo 2023: The Plot Thickens!
I’m under the gun. The month is a quarter gone, I’ve not even reached two thousand words, I have eight “difficult” days left in the month (when I have other responsibilities), and 48 000 words to write.
No problem!
I have my plot.
Okay, so I’ve started a little slow. I have been working out my methods, letting my subconscious joggle all the characters and motives into place, and I’m advanced enough to have a red herring thread going.
I’ve just this moment completed an outline of who did it, how they did it, why they did it, and what necessary steps Holmes must take to solve the puzzle.
It’s not going to be beyond the capacity of a reader to follow in Holme’s footsteps but there are (so far) fourteen characters, each with different stories, and they are an interesting bunch. ‘Nuff said!
Most likely things will become even more complicated as I progress.
My modus operandi is becoming clear. I will have a series of chapters, each of which offer various choices to lead the reader on and so long as the reader follows these choices, everything may be regarded as factual (subject to characters lying their socks off etc.) and they will eventually reach a satisfactory conclusion.
If, however, they cheat by just scrolling through the stories in the publication, they will encounter “stubs” which although they feed into the main narrative, are not chapters that can be reached through following choices given in other chapters.
These are “unofficial” and may contain untruths to throw the reader off. There will also be several false endings full of nonsense. And, to prevent the reader from solving the case by merely following every lead — the equivalent of reaching the centre of the maze by keeping one hand on the wall and simply walking down every possible corridor, there will be a few “circles” where one enters but cannot leave. In that case, the only way forward will be to return to 221b Baker Street and try something else.
Possibly worth keeping notes on which chapters are good places to return to.
As for writing, now that I know where I’m going and how I’m getting there, it is a fractal business. A sentence in the outline becomes a paragraph of steps that Holmes will take and each step is a chapter. Just expand until I’ve got everything and a bit extra to the tune of 3 000 words a day.
Easy, right?
Here’s another clue for you all:
