One Small Step....

Shorter update, but that's because I'm busy tweaking out the last of the roughest of outlines before I call stage one finished. I have the protagonist, the antagonist, the story question and the climax. I have the beginning, the end, and the ... well the defining moment in the middle.

I know how Sarah (the MC) becomes a Gryphon Rider, and I know at least three of the major supporting characters. The antagonist is a charming cad who I'll love to hate most likely. Here's the synopsis.

On her fourteenth birthday, Sarah Greenwood had expected the rest of her life to end up pretty much the same as it started: as a stonesinger for the small riverside hamlet of Goodsprings tucked up against the border of the Black Forest. Unfortunately, a bar brawl turned massacre found her fleeing for her life, before she could even make the yearly wish, into the depths of the forest.

Now, Sarah Greenwood has to come to terms that the rest of her life is now devoted to the fading order of the Gryphon Riders, an ancient order that has served the kingdom since the throne was established and dragons ruled the sky. This alone would be more than enough to throw her off-balance but toss in another attack in the middle of the night and a second flight for her life through a dark unknown wilderness and Sarah's not too sure she can handle rebuilding her life a third time.

In a world were the old ways are being replaced with new ideas, where magic is no longer a commonplace sight and the Elder Races are withdrawing into obscurity, four children must find their new place in a war-torn land as they hunt down the very enemy that first forged the first Riders into taking flight...

And I have to say, I'm excited for November. Cerberus, while a story I was interested in, I could never hammer down the middle and the end. Gryphon's Lament, on the other hand, was already decided by the time I put down Sarah's name.

Sexuality as one of the themes?

I could have added this in the latest post but, I felt it needed it's own space.

I'll say the dilemma now: I'm torn between writing the book with a 'queer-lit' vibe from the get-go, or to just leave everything so ambiguousness that no one can ever tell. I mean, it's a YA book geared towards teens moreso than elementary-school yards AND there's a big void for LGBT(andalltherest) fiction that really needs to be filled. I think I want to go this route, but you know how it is with social bias and all the unnecessary focus on who's sleeping with who and what gender they both are.

I'm debating this, because... let's say I finish the book and I spend all of December/January editing and revising it. Would I be all right with submitting this to a publisher as my first work? I mean, it'd be somewhat original -- there's not much fantasy in the LGBT fiction world last I checked.

Anywho, food for thought.

Characters, Plot, Setting oh my!

So I have the roughest of all rough sketches in my head. I know what one of the defining... things about the story is and I know, at least by name, who my main character will be. I've read a few YA books, both fantasy and contemporary and I know which side of the spectrum to avoid writing about (*cough*Twilight*cough*) but beyond that, she's not flesh-and-blood yet. Sure, she's got her basic set-up,and maybe a character trait her and there but I'm not seeing her yet, and she doesn't have her own voice. I think I might have to do a few freewrites -- just stream of consciousness it all until the vibe's there.

I also need to lower my sight from the heavens, so to speak, and not worry so much if the plot's grand and epic and everything I've ever wanted in a book. It needs to stay simple, following the Hero's Journey template (because, really, that's one of the best outlines you could have for a fantasy novel) and I think I'm there ... sort of. Argh, this is both fun and frustrating all at the same time.

I do have some setting fleshed out. I know there's gryphon's in it *shifty eyes* and dragons, perhaps. I know that the order of the gryphon (to.be.changed.later) is a dying relic of an older time, a ... display, so to speak, for nobles to send their non-heirs to for acclaim and prestige even when they all agree there's no longer any true need for the Riders. I know there's betrayal in the works for someone down the line --and no, I can't say for who or when, even if I wanted to!

I need to sit down and think through how... well, the one thing that really draws me to fantasy novels is their religion. I'm debating if  I want to worry about a metaphor for the Catholic Church (like The Chantry in Dragon Age) and go from there, or have multitude of gods. I know humans aren't the only sentient beings in the world, so maybe I'll have a pantheon and go from there.

Someone remind me why I always start projects long after I should have? Oh right, it's because I enjoy the pressure.

New year. New novel. New everything.

It's that time of year again. The trees are pulling out the last-minute splashes of vibrant color, the wind is becoming crisper by the second, and the year turns towards another ending. Oh, it's also one of the periods in life that carries the most stress, the most fun, and you find you don't have enough hours in the day to do everything you want? That's right; I'm talking about Nanowrimo being just around the corner.

This year I'm trying something new: young adult. I also seem to be the last person have been notified to the memo that 'this year's genre is fantasy'. So, here's my dive into the deep end, folks, the big sink or swim moment for me. I'll be taking inspiration from the Pern series along with a dash of the delightful author Tamora Pierce. Alana was my first real foray into fantasy, and I think my first serious book should be a homage to that spark of creativity.

I still have a few things left before I can feel comfortable writing it out:

-A map. I need to plot out a map of this world or I'll be lost and that's never good for a main character!
- Chart out the socio-political lay of the land. Probably won't have to go too in-depth with this, but being prepared never hurts.
-Outline! Right now this idea is just a small synopsis and a few " ...hmm, that sounds about right."
-Character names, relationships, and the whole kit-and-kaboodle!

So, here's luck to me and hope that I can make it through another blustery November.