NaNoWriMo stuff

So I started my Nano novel yesterday. Got off to a good start; wrote nearly 1700 words! Woo-hoo!

As the story unfolded, I was grateful to see how my character is not so much like me. That is something I was really worried about. You know, people would read it and say, "This character is too similar to Dawn." I guess the reason why I thought that would happen is because the fact that she's a single mom with a daughter made me recall when I was divorced and how it was just me and my daughter. And a dog. (My character's daughter has a dog, too, but the dog dies in the first chapter, the poor thing.) We were on our own for 7 months before I remarried a year after the divorce.

The only way my character is similar to me, though, is that she texts her sister every day. I do that, with one of my sisters. (Hi, Millie!)

But, my character is definitely different from me. For one thing, she only has one sibling. (Ooh, how I envy her! LOL Just kidding.) For another, she is an attorney. I know there is no way I could ever be an attorney. I just don't have it in me to be a lawyer. (Yesterday, I spent my visit at the bookstore surrounded by books on being a lawyer, legal terms and everything to do with the law she specializes in. I took a lot of notes!)

And because my character is an attorney, I am going to have to watch a lot of reruns of Law & Order: SVU. The character on that show, Alexandra Cabot, is in practically the same role as my character. (My character is a prosecuting attorney.) So I have an excuse to watch more TV. Hooray! (Good Lord, I have hardly been able to watch any TV lately because I have been so insanely busy with the writing! And especially working on my last book.) I am already a fan of this show, so it's all good. I have watched many of the reruns but now I need to pay extra attention to them. Get a feel for the stuff my character will be doing.

And speaking of TV shows, there are others that I'll have to pay closer attention to, as well.

My story is set in Chicago. When I first started this, I kept thinking, Chicago? No way! I've never been there! (My novel, November's Child, is also set in a city I have never been to. I did a lot of research and stalked, er, bugged my relatives for information about Washington.) I was able to pull off writing a story in a city I have never been to once. I didn't think I'd be able to do it again. But I knew for a fact that I am not writing another novel set in Eugene. (My last Nano novel is set in Eugene.) My muse, however, was insistent about this. So insistent that, had she been an actual person, she would've grabbed me by the collar and screamed, "CHICAGO, DAMN YOU!!" LOL

Sooo, okay! Chicago it is! (I have actually thought of visiting there one day.) I guess I could stalk, er, bug my Chicago friends for what it's like out there. And my father-in-law, as well. Not only did he live in Chicago once upon a time, but he also walked the Chicago beat. (Which is helpful. There will be police officers in this story and I will need information about certain police procedures since there is a murder in this story.) I know another Chicago cop and I might ask him for info, too.

I will also have to pay closer attention to TV shows such as Married...with Children and Chicago Hope. And, um....any other TV shows set over there. At least, on a fictional level. :) (Hm, I am going to have to rent Chicago Hope off of Netflix. Yay! More TV to watch!)

To wrap this up, here is the teaser for my story, as posted on the NaNoWriMo site. My story is called Person of Interest. (My ID on there is Writeswithwolves. Be my buddy!)

When Beth Brown takes pity on Doug Walker, a homeless man viciously attacked, friends and family question whether this is a wise move. Once homeless herself but now a successful single mother, Beth is a survivor and fighter. But after Beth's body is found and the man she welcomed into her home becomes a suspect, things take a serious turn for the worst. It doesn't help that Doug's history harbors a dark secret, one that could ultimately prove whether he is guilty or innocent of Beth's murder.

Coming soon...