A Universe In A Grain of Sand - Last Year's Nanowrimo Novel

As promised on yesterday's post - top tips for Nanowrimo - I *was* supposed to be blogging about my plans for this year's nanowrimo novel. However it occurred to me that I should probably do a short post about last year's first......

Um, so I dreamt the plot of last year's novel. Farcical as it sounds I really did. I woke up one morning at the end of August thinking huh, I just dreamt a novel idea. After not ever having one before, it was kind of exciting (a novel idea that is, not a dream, i have a lot of dreams - the less said about them the better). So the novel idea kind of percolated round in my head for a bit, I attempted to draft a few sentences, jot down a few notes etc but didn't really do much about it.

"Let's do Nanowrimo" says @aliamck
"Huh, wtf is Nanowrimo" says I.
@aliamck sends me a link
"Hmmmmmm" says I, "you may be on to something here what with this book plot thingummy I dreamt up"

After agreeing to partake in the madness that is Nano, I felt I was off to a good start as I had a title. Oh yes, a title - before I'd written a word. That title is/was Condemnation. I have yet to come up with a better one. Husbando thinks it's naff, cheesy and obvious. (It's a dystopian novel set under a totalitarian regime Con Dem Nation.....) I could also summarise my novel in less than 10 words: Dystopian love story in which everyone dies. Also impressive I think you'll find.

Certainly both of these were a hell of a lot easier than writing and structuring the damn thing. So for your convenience, here's a summary, a character guide and a chunk of the book itself....

Summary
Lotte is trapped in a life serving a man she is ambivalent about, living in a house with a woman who hates her and a society that condemns her very existence as a government prescribed sex slave. Taken from her family as a young woman to be trained into a life of servitude, the best she can hope for is to keep the same master until she grows too old be of any use. When Gideon walks into her life, will she learn what it really means to love someone - and then risk everything for it? Defying her training, her security and ultimately, the government of Condemnation, Lotte finds out how far she will really go to achieve a life she'd never even dreamed of.

Main Characters
Lotte - sex slave and around whom the book revolves
Michael - Lotte's master
Evy - Michael's frosty wife
Gideon - Lotte's love and Michael's colleague

Key Facts
Condemnation - a totalitarian government that has divided the united kingdom into tribes depending on wealth and education, and renamed them all by colour.
The Black - slang for the main city in Condemnation
A Breathless - what Lotte is, a sex slave (I'm thinking of changing this name, but to what, I don't know)

Chunk of book
"I was seeking comfort more often now, a sense of belonging – I thought it had been triggered by seeing the man on the Omnibus. The attraction I had felt for him, even for just a few seconds had been a reminder of a feeling that I could not name precisely, but even so was tugging at the edges of my consciousness, a sense of belonging to someone or something. I knew that I had felt similarly at The Convent but I could not quite place a finger on when the feeling had gone away – and how. 

I was doing my utmost to conceal this during my day-to-day activities and behaviours but when alone I was spending a lot of time thinking; about my current situation, about being a Breathless, about escape even and most importantly about the man on the bus. These thoughts themselves concerned me, I felt powerless to do anything about them but I worried away at them in my mind, like a dog chasing its tail." 

What Next

So I've not done anything with last year's book. I wrote my 50k words but it's nowhere near finished let alone edited. A couple of friends *have* read it - and asked me what happens next and suggested I finish it. I don't know if I will or not. I love the story and the characters but it's just so hard with so many plot strands and bits + pieces. Any comments welcome, I'll try not to cry :P

Anyway tomorrow I'll be posting about this year's Nanowrimo book idea!

Thank you and good night

Stupidgirl has left the building