Introducing “One Time” - NaNoWriMo Update #1
Wow, time flies when you’re writing a bunch!
This past week, I consolidated feedback on Land of the Elements. I read through what beta readers gave me, identified common threads, and grouped issues to better understand the weak points of the story. Most of the feedback centered around the secondary characters and their decisions, which is not a surprise to me. Character development is my weakest skill, and one I actively work on when I write. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about how when characters’ actions and decisions don’t have the proper consequences, it makes the story harder to enjoy. I don’t want Land of the Elements to fall victim to this, so I’m taking time to make sure each character—no matter how prominent their role—feels cohesive and realistic. It’s always a challenge to face the shortcomings of something you’ve worked on for a while, but I want this story to be the best version of itself.
As of this point, the final draft of Land of the Elements is 5% complete.
During NaNoWriMo, I wanted to have something more relaxed and fun to work on when I needed a break from fixing and finalizing LotE. Editing can be a frustrating process, and I have a whole folder of undeveloped ideas that call to me, begging for more. It was a hard choice, but there was one that I ultimately kept coming back to. Imagine if every person on Earth had a single-use power that allows them to do exactly what needs to be done in order to achieve something they really want? Imagine a world where every human could make one thing go perfectly right for themselves. Imagine if everyone had a One Time.
I’m really excited about this one. One Time is going to consist of several short stories exploring this concept and the consequences that come along with it. When I write, I often focus more on the big ideas I have for a world and plot than I do on the characters. This time, I wanted to create something where I had to put the focus on the characters. It’ll be a fun change of pace from editing when I need it, and it should help me improve my character writing skills. At the end of the month, I hope to have a good number of the stories done or drafted. I will also be posting one of them here!
As of now, One Time has two stories written with a grand total of 11,286 words.
Not bad for week one of NaNoWriMo!
