Okay I think I have a premise and only the slightest glimmer of a hint of a whiff of a story idea so I am going to run with it and see what happens. Working title: Killian Kobayashi Gets Laid.
I’m going to start drafting in a bit but then come back here and answer some idea-generator questions I got from goteenwriters.com, a website I discovered when Googling brainstorming ideas. I haven’t explored it much, but it looks kind of interesting. Its about page has a misused it’s, though, which maaaaaaaaaay be a dealbreaker. Hey, it’s happens to us all, but on something as prominent as an about page, should there be some proofreading?
It’s 5:35 a.m. November 1. I got up at 3:30 to pick up some stuff for the NaNoWriMo kickoff Saturday morning. I had to wait around a little because I didn’t get what I wanted (although in fairness, I sorta got what I ordered), and the lady at FedEx Office was nice enough to redo the order while I waited.
So i’m off to a later start than I expected. I’m going to do some free-writing, then come back and respond to the questions from goteenwriters.
Don’t nobody go nowhere.
Okay, it’s 9:55 a.m. November 3. Here’s what happened between where I left off and where I’m picking up.
- I wrote more than 800 words Friday before a quick trip to the beach and then back to the office for real work. Friday wasn’t a great day at work — I pissed someone off and don’t know what I did, and my apology was clearly not accepted. It was barely acknowledged. Great.
- So I went to the boba cafe to continue the work. I was pretty spent by 9:00, the time for the online Oahu NaNo group meetup. Hung around and chatted a bit, but didn’t do any more writing.
- Woke up early Saturday for the annual Oahu Region kickoff. We had a nice group, and I had a nice time; I also got another 2476 words, then finally tried this new burger spot in Chinatown everyone’s taking pictures of for IG. It was good.
- Went home for a nap, thinking I’d hit the boba cafe for another evening push, but I got up, ate some leftovers, and pretty much went right back to bed. My body was telling me to cool it, so I cooled it.
- Woke up early Sunday for a swim, and to figure out what to do with my NaNo project now. See, I’m kind of bored with the premise already after only two days of work, and I don’t like it for the Hero’s Journey, which is my focus this year. I’ve already written the words and I’m not about to give them up for NaNo (every. word. counts.), but if I insist on staying wed to the premise, I won’t finish the month with a victory. And if I do, I’ll hate the process along the way, and that’s a loss, no matter how many words I crank out.
- Had a good swim, but already decided on a change in working title. It’s now Killian Kobayashi Gets Played. And I’m ditching the premise, but I haven’t quiiiiiiiite come up with a good premise to replace it. I’m going to do some brainstorming in a minute to see what I come up with.
- I also have some real work and some side work to do today, so yikes.
Although a lot of what i’ve already brainstormed is no longer relevant, I thought I’d post it here anyway, as intended. Didn’t get through the whole exercise yet, but I plan to in the next few days. Here’s what I have so far.
Character Questions (for major characters) •
Who is my character?
A fourteen-year old in the summer between eighth and ninth grades, a student at Pacific International School. He gets middling grades but doesn’t find school challenging, except for assignments he doesn’t see a reason for. His friends are the sorta alt crowd, kids who don’t listen to the popular music, who appreciate his not being like everyone else.
What is he named and why?
Killian Kobayashi. Killian for the Irish side of his heritage (his mom) and Kobayashi for the Japanese side (his dad).
If I had to describe him in one word, it would be:
Horny?
What’s his family like?
His dad is a Japanese American computer security guy, contracted by the military but not in the military. His mom is an Irish American restaurant manager from New York. His parents met when his dad was at a conference in Washington. His mom was there to visit a friend – they were both dining alone at the bar and struck up a conversation.
What does he value?
In others, he values intelligent people who treat him like he’s not an idiot. He values wit. He’s drawn to shy people. He admires people who work hard, even though he isn’t a hard worker himself.
He loves learning but hates schoolwork.
I need more here.
What lie does he believe?
He believes a lie he’s told himself – that the raging hormones in his body demand he have sex, as soon as he possibly can and with as many people, and that if he doesn’t get laid he’s going to explode or die.
Why does he believe that lie?
A steady diet of guy talk, longtime exposure to porn, lots of talk about it from grownups in his life telling him not to do it. And his own hormones.
What happened in his past that caused his to believe it?
Ooh, I think I just answered this.
What is his main goal in the story?
Externally, it’s to get laid. He doesn’t know that it’s really for nice female companionship. He’d also like to pass his summer typing course but he’s not stressed about it. He might find out that a passing grade (that is, even a D-minus) will be as good as an A, since only the credit transfers to his school.
Why is he ideal for the journey and why is he not?
He’s pretty typically a horny teenaged young man, and he’s motivated by a stupid bet and his distaste for the guy he’s betting with. He’s also kind of daring, but still a wuss about certain things. Like, he wants to get laid but when he hears about some friends who did it in the McDonald’s bathroom he’s horrified.
Who are his allies and who are his enemies?
He has two friends in his typing class, a guy from his own school who sits next to him, and a girl from another school who he’s just getting to know, who sits at the desk behind him.