And sometimes the plotbunnies just stroll up and bite you

[slipjig3]

I don't usually report on my dreams in this journal, because they're usually so random that the telling is boring: "...and then Cab Calloway came up with a bag of salt and some toothpaste and told me that Carthage must be destroyed," that sort of thing. But on Friday, in the middle of a bunch of randomness, I had a dream-moment—just a moment, mind you—that is doing a serious number on my psyche.

I was female, in my mid-20s, flame-red hair, weather-beaten leather clothing, journeying along a country hillside on a gray afternoon with a man, older, bearded. I was apprenticed to this man, studying to be...a knight? A warrior? Nothing so simple, but much along those lines. I don't recall the conversation that led to this moment happening; all I remember is the man turning to me on the road, reaching behind my neck with his knife, and cutting away a few hairs from the nape of my neck, which he then held up before my eyes, short copper strands pinched between his finger and thumb. I understood what this meant: he was sealing our contract. I wasn't expecting this, not then, in that place. And not with him—my fate was supposed to be elsewhere. But I fell to my knees, eyes closed, arms spread ever so slightly as I pledged my subservience, not to him, but to the path I would follow. Not submission, but devotion and obedience to that which I must do. And in that rush, I truly understood that which I was surrendering, and that which I was giving myself to, and the risk I was facing, and that my life was now in the hands of something far larger and greater than me.

I hadn't had an epic dream like that in a long, long time.

First direct result is that I got gobsmacked into my annual AutumnWeird two and a half months early, dammit; I had to go into work still in Mythic Quest mode. The second effect was trying to process Anna's interpretation of the dream, which I won't get into, but suffice it to say, it broke my little brain. The problem I'm dealing with now, though? A plotbunny the size of Manitoba. I still don't know the backstory, or even the frontstory, but this is begging, begging to be written. I've never done straight fantasy before, but I very much want to try on this one. And even better, I think I can sneak in all the other orphaned plot details I've been saving since God-knows-when.

The problem? NaNoWriMo is still over four months away, and I don't want to go into it without an idea. I now have an idea, but I Don't Want To Wait. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

*grumble* Okay, help me out here, guys.

[Poll #1009758]

Comments

[nonethewiser.livejournal.com]

With a caveat!
Do your groundwork now! Some character studies, a bit of world-building... outline, all that good stuff. Scribble down scenarios...

And THEN write it for NaNo.

I totally have to skip this year - I will be hard on the road in Bolivia and Peru in November.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I'm liking this idea; goodness knows, there's a ton of planning to do. I may get stir-crazy before then and dive in prematurely, but we'll see how it goes. I'm sorry that you'll not be joining in the soul-crushing nightmarte fun, but given what you have planned, writing a novel seems so...ordinary. *grin* When do you ship out?

[nonethewiser.livejournal.com]

October 3 ... I think it's something like 97 days, now.

[spoothbrush.livejournal.com]

Are you allowed to go into NaNo with an outline?

[nonethewiser.livejournal.com]

yep - you can write around things as much as you want!

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely: outline, timeline, character sketches, research, maps, recipes, death threats—whatever you like, as long as it's not the novel itself.

[lbitw.livejournal.com]

Dude, write it and if it gets in the way of NaNoWriMo, skip that.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Y'know, that's a sensible way of looking at it. You're quite right.

[aki-dreaming.livejournal.com]

"...and then Cab Calloway came up with a bag of salt and some toothpaste and told me that Carthage must be destroyed..."

I don't know how I missed this line on the first read through, but it's the first real belly laugh I've had all day. I LURVE those kinds of dreams because they're so bizarre and hysterical.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*laugh* *bow* Strangely enough, that's actually a multi-part in-joke that exactly one person reading this journal is going to recognize. When I need something random, I just need to go back to pretty much anything my friends and I ever uttered out loud in college, and we're golden.

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Both. What they said:D. Write! Write!
Or those little details may escape you later:)!
A good outline loaded with tons of aside scribble never hurts.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I'm writing! I'm writing! (You would not believe the amount of side-scribble I've already got on this, and I haven't even frickin' started yet.)

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

NaNoWriMo gives you support???

Hell, I'll support you now. Grab that muse and run it ragged.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

NaNoWriMo gives you support???

Well, there's that cool website, not to mention my trusty copy of No Plot? No Problem and the 39,261 people on my f'list who participate, too. But your support now and anytime is more helpful than you know. I'm on it.