NaNoWriMo Has Arrived!

My new computer is working great. The transition came just in time too, because this month is NaNoWriMo. Now, I'm editing on paper this year, but that doesn't mean I don't use my computer. I still have to log in my word count. And if I need to look up something in the manuscript I'm working on that might be found hundreds of pages apart, I can quickly open the computer document and do an easy search. Plus, there's research that needs to be done along the way to make sure that special layer of atmosphere satisfactorily saturates the reader in the world my MCs (main characters) are living in.

The story I'm working on is one that's been in the works for over a decade, first as a screenplay and more recently (since 2012) as a manuscript. I would, of course, love to see both the book and movie versions come to a reality that readers and viewers could enjoy at their leisure. But this writer's got more work to do on them both first.

Things I might be researching while I edit this baby:


* boxing terminology
* color of dirt in Gabon, Africa
* intricate braid hairstyles
* construction site tools
* if New Yorkers say "soda" or "pop"

Let me tell you, I've found some interesting tidbits already. I'm hoping they add that little something that will have my readers coming back for more stories. Even quick searches on Google can produce fantastic results that give me lots of story fodder to work with.

And these characters! Oh, y'all, I have loved them for so long. They're like family to me now. The tricky thing this time around -- besides making sure those missing bodyguards get layered back into the plot in the best possible way -- is making sure the baddies are complex enough to satisfy even the toughest critic. They started out as such two-dimensional creeps when I wrote the first draft all those years ago. I feel like it's only in the last handful of years that I've come to understand their backstories and goals well enough to give them some meat on their bones and some shape to their characters. Now they are much better bad guys, because they actually have reasons for why they do what they do. Not saying they're good reasons, but, you know, even baddies have to have motivation that makes logical sense to them.

It'll be tough not crying while working on this book, because I let loose every time. Seriously. Buckets and buckets of tears in a few certain scenes. I know tissues will be needed, and, trust me, honey; I've got plenty in stock. That's the first thing I make sure I have enough of when it comes down to NaNo prep in October. Another thing that I currently have in abundance is Halloween candy. No trick-or-treaters means that the bucket of goodies just became my NaNo go-to snacks (in moderation, naturally).

What projects are you working on this month?

What snacks do you have close at hand?

Do you cry when you read a good book or watch an emotional movie?

(Please tell me I'm not alone in this!! LOL!)