As many of us plunge into the frantic creation of stories during National Novel Writing Month, there are those who pre-planned, and whose who did not! Most of you will know I am a panster, and let my characters guide me on their journeys. I don’t always ‘see’ my characters, but rather ‘feel’ their emotions. As I was trying to explain to a reader at a recent event, there are multiple characters in my head at any given time. Yes, it gets crowded, but once a characters has landed on the page, their story told, they tend to fall into the background of my mind. As I explained, it’s like remembering old school pals, childhood neighbours, and distant family. They are ‘there’ but not in the forefront.

My project for NaNoWriMo this year surrounds a bus stop and the character’s that use it. In essence it is a collection of character studies. As I write, I am finding ways to merge several character’s lives through chance meetings, or some other vehicle. Mostly, I have some idea of what everyone’s personality, age, looks, and status is, but I was pleased to find a this image. It is on a colouring app on my cell phone. She is just like one character called Zoe. It was kismet, or something finding her image.

How is your NaNo project coming along?