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!