Nanowrimo

So the last few days have been dominated by the prospect of original writing. With November fast approaching, The National Novel Writing Month rears its' head once again. Nanowrimo, as it is known, is a challenge whereby thousands of people across the world attempt to write a 50,000-word novella within the 30 day month of November. Derided for not actually having a reward other than the satisfaction of completing the challenge, the upside is a more informal attitude in the absence of monetary gain, and the sense of community and support fostered in the forums. For the last two years I found out only during November itself and was, consequently, too late to get involved, but this year I was prewarned and have been considering my contribution ever since.

My initial idea, now discarded, was a science-fiction piece called Remus Restored. The plot concerned a youth on a distant planet 600 years from now, colonised by a group of pioneers from Earth from the settlership Remus, who is desperate to return to the homeplanet (now abandoned). Raised on old, traditional stories about the Blue Marble, this youth escapes the drudgery of his backwater world and embarks on an adventure, encountering space pirates, slave ships, and ambitious interplanetary empires. Upon encountering Earth, my character was to discover that the planet was under strict quarantine, enforced by a rouge AI-controlled missile silo on the Moon that had systematically destroyed all inbound and outbound traffic (initially to stop the spread of a real contagion), but which had never been deprogrammed after its controller's own demise. After besting the missile silo, the character was to then return to Earth, and discover the remains of humanity.

To hell with that, I thought later. I'm an archaeology graduate, and qualified to write much more than that. Thus I am proud to present my next idea, the provisionally titled An End To Eagles.

While this is so far a very briefly sketched-out option, the plot is as follows:

The protagonist is an auxiliary in the militarised zone around Hadrian's Wall towards the end of Roman rule, patrolling and pacifying the northern tribes. After a succession of ambitious generals drain the army of manpower, crisis erupts. The Picts beyond the border are beginning to break through to the north as the Roman forces are starved of manpower, law and order in the cities is beginning to lose out to civil revolt, and Gaul has been overrun by foreign forces, cutting off contact with the rest of the Empire. As the new military chief Constantine proclaims himself emperor of the west and departs to take the imperial throne, the protagonist begins to feel the strain of being Roman in a new world where being Roman isn't enough anymore. As the Picts, Saxons and rebels start to rise, the walls of empire are soon to cave.

As the point is not quality but quantity, hopefully I'll be able to draw on enough material with this to hit 50,000 words. Research is going to be necessary, but since making it perfect is of secondary importance having a coherent plot will be key.

In other news, today's Sunday Song is In An Aeroplane Over The Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel (the lyrics are published in my Facebook Notes). A stream of consciousness, the lyrics appear not to fit together and seem dream-like. The strange noise that occurs both on the track and throughout the album, made as far as I know from feedback produced by playing a violin directly into an amp, resembles the ghost of Anne Frank. This overall dream-like effect makes the track singularly brilliant and endlessly listenable, with bittersweet lyrics drifting between happiness and sorrow. Best of all are the skilfully delivered one-liners like 'how strange it is to be anything at all' (the song's final line) that define feelings previously thought to have been too vague to put into words.

Also, it's very easy and satisfying to play on guitar.