Hey there. Long time, no post.
I've been busily prepping Mender for NaNoWriMo-- or I was until last week, when I realized I was in danger of over-prepping and spending all my enthusiasm for the book before I start writing. It's tricky, because there is so, so much research to do-- it's alternate history, but I feel like I need to know as much as possible about the real history, culture, and customs of the period so that all my deviations are intentional rather than the result of ignorance. Add to that the pressure of writing non-white main characters for the first time, and writing a polyamorous romance when I have no personal experience with it, and I know I have a lot more to read and learn and ask about.
But I also know I need to get a draft of this story down while the heart of it is still beating, if that slightly melodramatic metaphor makes sense.
A week ago, feeling myself starting to get overwhelmed and fatigued by all the prep, I actually forbid myself to do any more of it. Instead, I've been reading a ton*, searching for old paintings and maps of Boston, and picking songs for the book's soundtrack. So far, the songs I've picked are selections from the soundtracks to the movies The Last of the Mohicans, Lincoln, and Belle, as well as the miniseries John Adams, plus a bunch of Chieftains tunes. A pretty good reflection of the mood I'm going for.
*including The Compass Rose by Gail Dayton, a Fantasy/Polyamorous Romance that I thought was amazing. It was like Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses series, but if the six main characters were in a group marriage.
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