Wednesdaily with More NaNoWriMo thoughts...

[ellenmillion]

I sat down with the Upheaval idea for NaNoWriMo, and wrote out the questions I have about this time period. No answers, to speak of, just questions. And BOY are there a lot of them. Primary among them is the challenge of creating a fictional, advanced-technology, science fiction society of humans that isn't on Earth and somehow doesn't read like a Star Trek ripoff. How did they get here? Do they have space travel? What happens to the other planets during the Upheaval? Are there humans on other planets now?? Or then???

While I was doing that brainstorming, the illusionist aliens from a completely separate plotline said 'HELLO,' and dropped, fully-formed, into the plotline.

I do not know, right now, if I am going to let them settle there. I keep trying to shoo them away, and they say things like 'Yeah? What if we did THIS or gave you a convenient explanation for THAT." And I do one of those round-mouthed OH things and have to think about it longer.

It is possible I write all month and decide the twists are too much of a stretch. But at the worst, I end up with a lot of non-canon words and have some fun; I can go back and pick out the bits that work later. If wasted words are a crime, I'm already owing a life sentence.

Next? A title. The Upheaval sounds very dry, but that may be because it's one of those words that's losing it's meaning to me. End of Time? Last Days? Anticipating the Apocalypse? I want something very end of the world, but nothing reliant on Earth mythology or fiction (Pandora's Box was something I discarded, as well as a host of quotes and song titles). Day's End? Time's End? Time's Ending? The Last Somethings? Death of Something Else? Help me LJ! I suck at titles! (Where's haunted_blood when I need her? :P)

I also need to narrow down my timeline. Am I tackling the several thousand years of history and events that have started to coalesce in my notes? The very narrow window of the final days of the Upheaval? Several months on either side? A few generations? Do I get all the way to the Last War? Or start back at the origins of human life on this planet?? The end is in the middle of it all.

Characters! I need to collect my characters! And draw a pre-Upheaval map, because it was Very Different.

If you wanted any tea... it might be too late. They are selling out like crazy - I am updating the clearance page every few minutes: http://fantasyartshop.com/clearance.php ...Which is excellent - I want to get them all shipped off before NaNo really begins.

Webwork to do! Trip to the gym! Snack before that! Look at the clock!

Comments

[ladyqkat.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking not an ending, per se, but a change. Change, whether negative (death of a loved one, house fire, tornado) or positive (marriage, receiving a legacy, birth), is always unsettling as it is an upheaval in one's routine. Even something as minor as going from Daylight Savings to Standard Time can mess you up for a bit.

So, with that as a perspective, Change of Time or Changes in Time might be a way of presenting the upheaval history.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is a good thought! *stews further*

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

I suck at titles, too! :D

Minor point: If you don't want real world mythology in there, you could lose any idea including "Apocalypse". It's a reference to the Book of Revelation.

[jenny_evergreen]

I second that note!

In my case, I think titles often come after the thing is written, or somewhere in the middle. A working title can be helpful in clarifying the story, but it sounds like you've got a lot of figuring to do before you get close enough to a storyline to have any idea.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I usually start from a title, but not always! This might end up being a 'name it at the end' novel. And the storyline needs some serious boxing before I'm there!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Excellent point. *crosses that off the list*

[mathhobbit.livejournal.com]

I think using the word "torn" in the title would be clever.

[marina-bonomi.livejournal.com]

Something with 'shredding'or similar words maybe, to play with Torn World? 'Shredding Time', 'Splintering Unity' 'Shattering/Shattered Times'?
Probably because in canon I've seen a lot of reference to 'shards' inprisoned in their own time bubbles, my own 'mind picture' for the Upheaval is a crystal ball shattering...

[kelkyag]

How did they get here? Do they have space travel? What happens to the other planets during the Upheaval? Are there humans on other planets now?? Or then???

I have been wondering these things for rather a long time. :)

I also need to narrow down my timeline. Am I tackling the several thousand years of history and events that have started to coalesce in my notes? The very narrow window of the final days of the Upheaval? Several months on either side? A few generations? Do I get all the way to the Last War? Or start back at the origins of human life on this planet?? The end is in the middle of it all.

While you may want to reference those thousand years of history -- possibly as the characters are doing some research of their own? -- I doubt you want the novel to cover all that time in any sort of detail. I'd suggest sgarting with either the discovery/development of the appropriate tech, or not more than a long lifetime before the Upheaval. Much as he irritates me, The Very Obnoxious Scientist might be a good focus/frame, though perhaps not the best viewpoint character. Or maybe you could pull that off ...

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

Mmm, how about Shattered (something)? I like the idea of a cataclysmic title, though I suppose you wouldn't want to run the risk of sounding like a disaster movie. *g*

I seem to always need a title before I can work on something; it helps the idea crystallize for me.

Anyway, this sounds very cool! I think that my own preference as a reader would be to constrain it to, at least, one person's lifetime, rather than covering thousands of years of history -- but I tend to be a character-oriented reader. I don't know if you've read any Asimov or Iain Banks, but both of them come to mind as authors who do a good job of conveying the scope of huge, star-spanning empires with thousand- or million-year histories while still pinning the events of the individual books down to a few months/years/decades.

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

I like "The Last Somethings" ;)

Main Entry: upheaval
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: major change
Synonyms: about-face, alteration, cataclysm, catastrophe, clamor, commotion, convulsion, disaster, disorder, disruption, disturbance, eruption, explosion, ferment, flip-flop, new ball-game, new deal, outbreak, outburst, outcry, overthrow, revolution, shakeout, stirring, switch, temblor, tremor, tumult, turmoil, turnaround, upturn

Antonyms: stagnation
Main Entry: agitation
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: shaking, mixing
Synonyms: churning, commotion, discomposure, disturbance, rocking, stirring, tizzy, tossing, turbulence, turmoil, unrest, upheaval
----
I know, you could call it "The Big Tizzy" :)

*crossing her fingers for the last peppermint tea*

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

When Time Snapped