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Sunday 30 October 2011

NaNoPLOT

As part of my preparation for starting NaNoWriMo on Tuesday, I have sketched out an outline for my story. This seemed like a good place to share it!


Ella Purnell would make a good Kira - short and slim, pretty (but desperately trying to hide it) allowing her to blossom when she wins her freedom. When the story starts Kira is pretending to be several years younger than she really is.

***SPOILER WARNING*** Well you never know - I might even finish it!

*Insert Title Here*

Kira is nothing, the most lowly servant, overlooked and insignificant – until now.

She has lived all her young life in fear of the abuse and corruption in the hall of the Loremasters, the (misogynist, arrogant and cruel) mages who rule Herendia. While the Lormasters’ greed plunges the country into the turmoil of war, an avalanche of events brings Kira to the unwanted attention of the Ruling Council. She resolves to flee, taking with her the Telling, the holy book and source of the Power of Herendia, in the hope that this would stop the war.

She is caught in the attempt and is excommunicated; a punishment worse than death. She manages to escape but her world continues to unravel. The Power is lost to the Loremasters, and without it, Herendia’s armies are routed. With the neighbouring countries intent on obliterating the Loremasters and taking the people of Herendia into slavery, Kira is crushed by a feeling of responsibility.

The only manifestation of the Power in the whole of Herendia seems to be from Kira herself, in the form of wild, uncontrollable bursts. She returns the Telling to the Lormasters, but they remain cut off from the power. In desperation she sets off to meet the advancing armies - one young woman against the hordes. Soon she discovers that the few who choose to follow her become emPowered. Together they re-take a castle captured by the enemies, in order to provide a refuge for the fleeing Herendian troops. As more and more soldiers join them and become emPowered, Kira finds herself with a small but formidable army. In a series of spectacular victories they beat back the invaders and forge a new treaty, sealed by the Power.

The Ruling Council pretend to welcome Kira back and renounce the excommunication. The Loremasters regain their Power, but in so doing, Kira loses it. She is taken and handed over to the guard for execution. The guard however secretly want to be emPowered and pledge allegiance to Kira, helping her to escape. In a flash of inspiration, she realises that the Telling is not the source of the Power, but a corrupt leeching of it. In a daring raid, under the very noses of the Loremasters, she seizes and destroys the Telling.

Kira realises too that the more people who are emPowered the weaker each person’s Power becomes. To prevent the Power ever being abused again, she encourages the whole population to pledge allegiance and to become emPowered. Without meaning to, Kira has become queen and we are left with a hint that life is not going to become any easier!

So there you have it. Lots of detail omitted of course.

My big problem right now is that a Title has not yet materialised out of the ether. How do you go about finding your book title?

Saturday 29 October 2011

Getting Ready

I'm back after a six week sabbatical and have a lot of catching up to do!

I find that I cannot spend a few hours a week each on a variety of different activities, such as blogging, contributing to forums, reading, writing, games, as well as the non-negotiable parts of my life, such as church commitments, family commitments, making a success of my business. So I rotate. I tend to pour all my spare time into one interest at a time and make a success of it, then when I start to miss the enjoyment I had in one of my other interests, I abandon the one interest in favour of the other. It's not an ideal way to live ones life, but I find that I cannot bear to be mediocre and that means dedication and practice.

So am I returning to my passion for blogging? Well, yes and no. Actually I am returning to my passion for writing and have decided to give NaNowriMo a go this year. That means every spare moment will be dedicated to writing. I do however intend to post here regularly to update progress, perhaps share a few snippets, share some plot dilemmas or beg for inspiration for that elusive character name!



So wish me luck (I'll need it!) and if you are also taking part (or know someone who is), be sure to leave me a comment. I am looking for people to share this adventure and with whom I can encourage and commiserate.