Fairly Normal - A Camp NaNo Tale

[insanepurpleone]

So I don't really have a proper plot yet, but I have an idea that I'm excited about, and some characters. So. That's totally enough for a novel, right? XD

SPOILER: Click to show

Here’s the thing about life. You’re never going to have someone come along and save you from yourself because you’ve been living a dreary, quiet unfulfilling life. No one is going to knock on your door and tell you you’re secretly a wizard. You’re not going to accidently stumble upon some magic artifact or dragon’s egg in a creepy little shop. No one’s going to whisk you away in their spaceship for amazing adventures. That’s just not how things work in the real world. Now, I’m not saying you can’t have incredible, terrifying, memorable adventures doing and seeing things you never thought were possible. I’m not saying that some parts of the stories - the magic and the secrets and the discovery - aren’t real. I’m just saying that if you want it to happen, you’re going to have to get into trouble all on your own.

SPOILER: Click to show

My main character, who is tentatively named Sam, is a fairly typical young twenty-something, maybe a college student? She's also a little too nosy for her own good.

Chelsea ("Chel") is an acquaintance of Sam's, though I'm not sure how exactly they know each other yet. Chelsea is also a werewolf. Sam discovers this and through this discovery the existence of a whole realm of things previously considered fantasy. Sam is utterly fascinated by this, and therefore disappointed to discover that Chelsea has absolutely no interest in taking part of any of that - she'd be perfectly happy if everyone just thought she was normal forever.

Gareth is half Selkie. He has been so entrenched in the world of the fantastic for his entire life that he's become pretty much desensitized to the excitement Sam finds in it.

Basically, Sam discovers all of this because she is nosy and shoves her way into Chelsea's business. XD ((Oh, I just realized how Gareth gets pulled into this! See, Chelsea takes sedative medication when she transforms so that she won't do anything crazy or lose control of herself. But the stuff she takes she can't get legally - so she turns to Gareth, who supplies things of this nature to her and other fantastic beings. So. Um, yes. That basically means he's a drug dealer, but a well meaning otherworldy drug dealer! Really.)) Anyway.. once Sam figures out that this stuff is out there, she can't let it go, no matter how much Chelsea tries to convince her otherwise. And basically she is too interested for her own good and gets herself into some serious trouble with some otherworldly people, and manages to drag Chel and Gareth into this with her.

Yeah. XD So that's pretty much it so far. Basically I really liked the idea of someone who wasn't really special in any way, didn't just stumble upon some magical realm on accident, but went and made her own trouble and adventure. And then of course the idea of side characters who have knowledge of all this fantastical stuff and really don't care. And they're the ones who get dragged unwillingly into the mess and adventure. Unfortunately I still have no idea what trouble Sam is supposed to be getting herself into. :/ Should probably figure that out soonish.

I'm excited for this story, though! I'm also thinking of all the outdoor places I can try to write to go with the whole Camp Nano theme. I mean, since it's summer and all and no one wants to go outside here in November.. xP

[insanepurpleone]

More things I figured out about the story today! Mostly about Gareth. I rather like him, I think.

SPOILER: Click to show

So Gareth is half Selkie on his father’s side but he can’t change form. All he gets is fantastic swimming skills and the chance to joke about how the only time he ever gets to see his father is the family reunions at Sea World, which Sam can never quite tell if he’s joking about or not. (I'm pretty sure he is joking - it seems like a very Gareth thing to do something like that, although the idea of a Selkie in captivity falling in love with a zookeeper or something rather amuses me.)

Gareth isn’t a drug dealer of the super-creeper LET’S MEET IN AN ABANDONED PARK AT MIDNIGHT variety, which is why Sam doesn’t figure out what he is at first. (Also that's not all he does.. I think he might be involved in the medical profession? The drugs-thing is really just because he can't help werewolves and the like normally without people finding out who they are. And he figures that what he does is a pretty noble cause and all that and might have a wee bit of an ego.) Anyway, Sam just thinks that Chel has gotten into a bad relationship with a sketchy guy or something of the sort, as she’s seen them together but Chel won’t talk about him. So Sam tracks him down to figure out what’s up, which becomes borderline stalking and how she finds all this stuff out.

At first, Sam is really turned off by him and the whole illegally selling drugs thing (Really, WHO WOULD GUESS), but Gareth is actually a relatively nice guy, and she finds it all rather off-putting that she's not sure what to make of him.

Gareth on the other hand is totally entrenched in this fantastic culture and has been all his life. He loves the excitement and newness with which Sam sees all the things he takes for mundane, against his instinctual want to dislike her for being so nosy.

Sam likes using nicknames almost exclusively; she’s the only one who calls Chelsea Chel. She tries to use nicknames on Gareth, but he won’t stand for it.

I feel like the way I'm writing about the story isn't very cohesive, so I don't know how clear things are to other people, but this is pretty much the way I plot and plan, so that's just what it's gonna look like unless I rewrite it. xP

*must figure out more characters and stupid things for Sam to do before Friday*

[Rikku]

... Well-meaning half-Selkie drug dealers? =D Awesome.

And, I mean, the whole 'find your own adventure!' theme is also definitely an excellent one to work with, but. C'mon. <3 Well-meaning half-Selkie drug dealers!

(... And you have nothing on how horribly I lay out my idea-rambles. xD Really, at all.)

[Kathleen]

I can't quite believe how much fun this sounds like. xD The whole premise is gleeful. There are not enough people who make their own adventures. =D Seriously, nosy character worming her way purposefully into trouble with fantastical people bored of fantasy = instant win.

[Tam]

=D I love that idea. It feels kind of fresh and quirky in all the right places, but thoughtful and sincere where it matters. And. I am so very up for anything involving well-meaning slightly-egotistical half-selkie drug dealers. That. Is kind of the most brilliant thing I've heard all day. Really.

[Jayeee]

I must echo what's been said before me. This sounds like such an awesome and original idea! =D
And of course, Gareth sounds like an amazing character!

[insanepurpleone]

Eeep. <3 You guys are gonna give me a big head about my story! XD I would respond more properly to your lovely comments, but it's nearly 2 am and I should really sleep before class tomorrow.

And, y'know, I just spend between midnight and now writing just over 1,000 words. Huzzah! And learned that for such a busybody, Sam has a pathetically small sense of subtlety. xP

[insanepurpleone]

Just over 4k on the first day! I am rather impressed with myself, though I don't suspect I'll do so well again.

I'm still not really through the introduction, which in this case might actually be a good thing considering I don't really know a lot of the details of the story yet. I do know that somewhere along the line we'll meet another werewolf named Alexander, who's had a mildly creepy interest in Chelsea after discovering that they were bitten by the same werewolf. (Not entirely sure where that came from, but every story needs a mildly creepy yet handsome werewolf, amiright?) I need to figure out some more characters, though. If anyone has suggestions for mythical-type beings they think I should use, fire away! I'm sure there's something cool out there I haven't even thought about yet.

Also I love when I have no idea how a scene is going to go, jump in, and then the characters just kinda take over for me. Gareth is turning out to be the right combination of everything I wanted him to be in my head. He is also a nurse which is totally not because I'm in love with Rory.

Also I don't have a proper excerpt I want to post yet, but a line I kind of liked-

Ideas were peeling apart and pieces were coming together as the things they had been saying began to settle in Sam’s brain.

[insanepurpleone]

I wrote more! Not as much as I wanted to today, but I'm still above quota.

I am trying very hard not to let True Blood influence me too much. XDD It's not my fault I started watching that show a couple days after I got an idea for a story with some similar themes..

Alexander tried very hard to steal the show (and Sam) but then I had to remind him that you are a jerk, Alexander, this is not allowed. He can be very good at talking his way into what he wants. xP

I've kind of hit a wall right now though. Basically it's all "Sam knows about supernatural beings! Sam is poking her nose around! Sam does.... something that will keep the plot going?" I was hoping I would have figured that out by now. :/ I'm thinking she might offend Someone Important or otherwise get on someone's bad side, but I don't know who or what. I'm not used to writing with no real plot!

[insanepurpleone]

I wrote nothing at all yesterday. I guess that's what happens when you leave the house at 7am, get home 11 hours later, and then fall asleep at 7pm because you're so tired from doing that after 3 hours of sleep?

BUT it's okay because writing went better than expected today. Still don't know exactly where the story is going next, but somehow that seems to be working so far. XD So far Sam has only offended a fairy who put a mild curse on her. xP WHAT WACKY HIJINKS.

Anyway, yes. Above quota, a little over 11k, which means I am officially ahead of where I gave up on my last NaNo. So that's a small success right there, I suppose. Still no excerpts. This is because most of my writing is kind of crap. XD I'm okay with that, though. The thing is that I'm very good at writing something and saying to myself "this would have to be totally edited in a final draft but right now it's okay for moving the story and getting wordcount so let's leave it for now", which is all fine and dandy for getting out the 50k but less so for sharing story fun with people. But perhaps I'll take a bit more time on some of the next bits since I don't have to be quite as concerned with wordcount numbers. Ah! I also just realized that one of the next parts I want to write is about Chelsea's mildly tragic background and why she hates being a werewolf. When in doubt, make a character suffer, apparently.

[insanepurpleone]

Hit 15k! Whoot. I'm definitely in the Week 2 slump as described by No Plot No Problem. XD Seriously, I have no idea how I managed to write nearly 3k today because I did almost nothing to move the plot along at all. Except discover that there is Sam/Gareth shipping-ness that I didn't think would show up so quickly. OH WELL

I think Sam will at some point try to convince Chelsea to come to terms with her inner werewolf or something and somehow that will lead to disaster? I dunno, but that sounds like Sam.

I was gonna post an excerpt but then I kept trying to edit it so it would be better and that's not what I should be worrying about right now. :/ Merh.

[insanepurpleone]

WHOAH I think I might have some plot here! And a side character who was randomly tossed into the story has suddenly become terribly important to said plot!

And I definitely have a bit of writing I actually like enough to post a proper excerpt! Yaaay. I like this character. He's fun to write. XD

SPOILER: Click to show

When Sam woke up, she was in a small room, hands tied behind her back. The only piece of furniture was the slightly battered chair she was sitting on, though the room itself was almost eerily immaculate. The only other item of note in the room was a window letting in enough light to tell her that it was probably around midday, but the frosted treatment on the glass prevented her from getting any other worthwhile information from it. “Hello?” she called out, wincing at the stripe of pain that shot through her head when she spoke.

She waited in strained silence for the ten minutes it took for anyone to come check in on her.

“Hello, you’re awake,” said a man as he opened the door. His face seemed to buzz in front of her eyes. It was enough to make Sam feel like vomiting. It was not enough, however, to keep her from recognizing him.

“I know you,” she murmured, head pounding too much to dare speak more loudly.

“Know me?” He frowned thoughtfully. “Well, I wouldn’t say you know me, per se. You’ve met me, yes, glad to see I’ve made an impression.” He smiled vaguely, giving Sam the sense that he was looking through her, not at her. She wondered briefly if the buzzy face made it hard for him to see things, too. It was something she had never gotten around to asking Gareth about. “Anyway, I was supposed to ask.. something.” He chewed his lip, looking lost for a moment. “Oh yes, how are you feeling?”

“Like crud.”

“Oh dear.” He frowned. “Could you.. elaborate on that?” He stepped closer, looking at her inquisitively. The nausea that Sam had been holding back suddenly shot through her and she vomited on the ground between them. The sight of it splashing onto her legs and pooling around her shoes was enough to make her vomit again.

The man stepped quickly back, deftly avoiding either primary or secondary contact with the vomit.

“Like crud,” he said, grimacing. “Got it.”

Sam spat in a futile attempt to remove the taste of bile from her mouth. “You seem to have that effect on me.”

“Hm?” He cocked his head to the side in thought. “Ah, yes, I recall now. Sorry about that, really, I may have overreacted a bit, hm? But, well. You came out of it fine, now, didn’t you? I mean, aside from this nasty bit of business..” he gestured vaguely at the room in front of him. “Not my idea, in case you were wondering. Well, not that I.. well. Well. Well, well, well.” He shook his head, blinking. “Where were we again?”

Sam stared at him, trying to decide whether this was an act or if there was something seriously wrong with his head. “I was going to projectile vomit on you if you kept talking,” she said.

“Right!” He stared at her nervously, rather doubting that it was a threat she could follow through on, but not really willing to take the risk. “I’ll go get you a nurse, then.” He paused for a moment before turning and leaving the room, muttering to himself, “I wonder if we have a nurse?”

EDIT: Working title is now "Fairly Normal" because it popped into my head and I think it kinda fits and I like having a title for the story. It's probably subject to change at a moment's notice, though. xP