Stephanie's writing journal

My book-in-a-box novel has been taking shape in my head these last few weeks. I now know that it's going to be set post-disaster Ukraine, with the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster as a key backdrop.

I've had an almost-morbid fascination with Chernobyl for a few years now. I blame the Kid of Speed website, but more recently I've read Voices from Chernobyl, and the Wormwood Forest, and images from thisi amazing book just haunt me.

I'd decided on today as the day to start my novel - mainly because on the novel_in_90 schedule, I'll reach my target word count by the day before my wedding, and I liked that neatness of timing.

On the long ride home yesterday I was planning out my first scene, and went to bed thinking about the story and what I wanted to do. At the time it was still very much a tale of love and death, disaster and regeneration, loss and hope.

I was absolutely stunned to see this link on dreamattack's feed this morning...

http://mostinterestingblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/ghost-of-chernobyl.html

And oh boy does that give me some more ideas to work with.

Especially



and


Those little grafitti'd devil-children - I want to know who drew them? Why? I love the second one there, sitting as if waiting for someone to come to the window. And the screaming child face at the top of the building - that set the hairs on the back of my neck tingling.

Synchronicity. One of my very favourite things, and oh, so timely just now.

I'm off to write my first 750 words now. BBIAB.

These are all terribly unformed, just things that floated through my head.These are mainly autobiography ideas, with points where the real memories stop and ideas for how they can be turned into stories start.

I've tidied these up this morning, and cut-tagged them to spare my friends list. I hadn't realised I'd got so wordy!

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I had a half-formed idea of keeping my writing going after NaNo by doing a story-per-month writing with a seasonal theme, but I've kind of missed January! Still, nice idea.

Done! Done! DONE!!! 50,020. Without a shadow of a doubt, this has been the hardest NaNo I've ever done: I didn't like my story, it wasn't what I wanted to write from the outset, I felt like I was just making characters jump through hoops and it never really went anywhere. But that in itself is probably useful experience. And anyway, who cares? I'm DONE!! I'm going to have a very large gin and tonic, and do anything but write for a day or so. See you next year :)