05 October, 2011

NaNoWriMo

Alright, you may recall my post here about my two song-inspired ideas for National Novel Writing Month.  While both are supremely awesome, I am drawn more toward the Ghost Rider idea.

Here are my thoughts so far:  (the rules state you can plot and character develop all you want before 11/1, but no writing).

  1. The Ghost is a cowboy who had been hanged for murder.  Whether he actually committed the crime...I haven't decided and I want it to be ambiguous anyway.
  2. During a particularly nasty thunderstorm somewheres in CO/UT/NV/WY/SD/Central Plains, he gets chucked out of limbo into modern times.  (I just groaned.  Am I seriously going to write a paranormal/time travel book?  Seriously?  *sigh*)
  3. He is found by some woman, who happens to be a descendant of the person he supposedly killed (?)  Or maybe the woman he loved back then or something.  Some sort of connection to make him want to hang around her while she's like...er, who are you strange dude?
  4. The murder and his subsequent execution flared up an old blood feud.  The families basically killed each other off until some moved away.  A few 'old timers' still remember their grandfathers talking about.
  5. Ghost has to find what really happened to set himself free.  Time limit?  I dunno...something to make it imperative.  Maybe he has from the anniversary of the murder to the anniversary of his own death to solve it.  Yay for arbitrary rules of the cosmos!
  6. There needs to be a big hush up scandal about it.  Maybe the real murderer killed the victim because they caught them stealing silver or something from a mine.  The 'richest person in town' is their descendant and enjoys their ill gotten gains or something.  If this is so, maybe it needs to take place in a bigger city?  Not a CITY but a larger town.
  7. But why would this descendant not want the truth to come to light?  Did the real murderer also get sent back?  Is this dude trying to take control of the city or something?  Hmmmm...motive, always a good thing to have.  Or maybe the descendant is embezzling or something as well and Ghost stumbles across it.
  8. Also a good question:  What happens when Ghost solves the mystery?  Does he die?  Or does he stay and live out his life, since his was taken?
Any suggestions?  I have a notebook I'm scribbling ideas in.  We'll see if I can make some sort of coherent sense of them come November!  :)

2 comments:

Megan (Best of Fates) said... Reply to comment

Should totally get to live out his life - that's the kind of ending I'd like!

Elisabeth Treble said... Reply to comment

I think so, too. It makes Husband roll his eyes, but all of my stories have an element of romance in them, so of course Ghost has to hook up with the female lead. :)@Megan (Best of Fates)