Success: Win Or Lose by Angie Richmond

(rylanclayne)

I’d like to say that the idea for my NaNo story came to me in some brilliant fashion. An epiphany that shone down upon my unsuspecting brain like a ray of light from the Heavens above. Time and space slowing, almost standing still, and a chorus of angels singing “Ahhhhh” around me.

Truthfully, I can’t remember how I came up with the idea. 

What I do know is that:

a)   It came to me many months ago.

b)   It probably has something to do with my…ummm… completely healthy and absolutely normal obsession with Britain.

c)   The story has been gnawing at me since.

Though I do recall, as I was blow-drying my hair one afternoon, part of the plot worked itself out. A ray of heat from above instead of light? Close enough!

 This story has been hounding me, begging me to start it. And why haven’t I started it? I’m glad you asked!

The plot is tricky. Well, tricky for me anyway. It spans hundreds of years. My focus will be on three specific centuries in British history: The 17^th century during the Plague, the 19^th century focusing on Jack the Ripper and the 20^th century focusing on WWII.

Oh and here’s the kicker. It takes place all in the same house and is based on actual facts. That’s right, I’m attempting to tie fact with fiction.  Scary, I know.

You see I am a stickler for facts. I enjoy historical fiction but I’m rather hard on the author. I once started reading a novel about Mary Queen of Scots and in her dialogue she used the word cool.

Okay, I admit I am no historian, but I can GUARNTEE Mary Queen of Scots was unlikely to say something was cool unless she was referring to the weather. And even then I’m not 100% sure.  Needless to say I never finished the book.

Note: If you have read anything by Diana Gabaldon you’ll understand she has ruined me for substandard historical fiction. And I love her for it!

So writing a historically accurate novel is, in fact my biggest challenge to date. It’s the reason I haven’t started it. I fret that I’ll become so bogged down in the facts that I’ll be paralyzed by them and unable to proceed.

But then I stumbled upon NaNoWriMo.

NaNo is perfect! I’ll have to keep writing no matter what to reach my 50,000-word target. There won’t be time to stop, stare off into space and ponder whether or not I’ve captured Just the facts Ma’am!

With that said, I’m not going in blind either. I’m doing my homework and researching as much as I can before I start. This way I can satisfy my internal critic just a little bit.

This will be my first NaNo. The first year I’m attempting to finish something in a month. Kind of a big first time goal. What have I got myself into?

Of course I hope to win. Complete all 50,000 words before the looming deadline approaches. Oh and did I mention I want to finish with time to spare? Yeah, I’m ambitious and perhaps a little insane.

Do I think I’ll succeed? Only time will tell. I’m a writer not a fortuneteller!

But even if the 50,000-word target escapes me, I’ll still be pleased. It’s the satisfaction of starting this long awaited story that I’m searching for.

Success, in my humble opinion.  

How do you measure success? Are you aiming for the win or just the fun of NaNo?

A 30-something part-time writer, full-time corporate droid born in the Great White North - a.k.a. Canada - living in a city known for its unpredictable weather. Angie Richmond (@write_Me_happy) grew up playing puppet master to her Barbie dolls, putting them in all sorts of terrible, life-threatening situations just for her own pleasure. As an adult, she realized it would be in her best interest to pack up the dolls and write. Her characters, like her dolls, have hard lives and terrible decisions to make. Her writing has been described as dark yet comical, which suits her just fine. She’s currently working on her second novel, The Reaper’s Bride.