NaNoWriMo 2010 Novel Cover

So I've been in the artsy sort of mood lately, and since it's October that means NaNo prep time. And artsy + NaNo = Novel Cover.

I ran into a few problems with this, though. Mostly that I've only got about one paragraph of plot, meaning I don't know much about what's going to happen yet. So I had no idea about what the rest of the plot was. Thus, I had to figure out characters.

I already had my MC figured out. I just had to name him. While I drew him I decided his name was Bob. Then because of his background, it's actually short for Roberto, and sometimes he goes by Bobby. And he's a cop, hence the shirt.

To the right is Bob's younger brother Donato. I think I've decided he's the villain of this piece. Hence why he's a little darker coloured and disappearing into some sort of vortex. No, I don't think this is sci-fi, so he won't be disappearing into any real vortexes in the story.

To the left is Bob's wife Selene. I'm not entirely sure what she has to do with the story yet, but she's his wife so I figure she'll play an important role of some kind. Note the glow between the married pair. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have them stay together during this story.

So now while I try to figure out what actually happens in the story, I'll have this lovely picture to look at... which will also help when I'm trying to physically describe them.

Dichotomies

Our story begins with the old Gallant Pantaloon finishing a story about Belted McFly, a modern day sort of superhero... or post-modern since we're post-apocalyptic.

We're contrasting him against the old-fashioned, stupid sort of hero in Vitis Trousers, who succeeds despite the fact that he shouldn't - he's mainly lucky.

I think the older girl, Polly Esther Leggings, is more into the Belted McFly stories. She's more realistic, and appreciates McFly's message of being able to accomplish whatever you like if you put your mind to it. The younger boy, Short Pants, prefers Vitis' more fantastical tales.

Where does this take me? No idea at the moment.

Vitis Trousers, our Hero

Our hero is introduced on page 3 of the script, a.k.a. the page that I am currently writing.

He's a pair of trousers made from sewn together vine leaves, which is how he gets his name, Vitis.

I imagine him as a Bacchus/Dionysus like character. In his introductory panel he's seen running down something like Mount Olympus from Zeus in Pants form, toward Hades (the god in the fire).

Essentially, he's the one who gets into the fable scrapes. He's a fool, enjoys drinking (or whatever the pantish equivalent is). He never learns his lesson. He runs away from his father, Pants Zeus, and that's where the stories begin.

Kids in Terry's Class

Their teacher is Mr Vispi. Why yes, I did steal most of the following names from my Gmail Spam.

Terry Archer
Hilary Cahill
Noreen Kyle (that was two different names that I changed the spelling of an chucked together)
Victor Orr
Jennifer Burgess
Jay Reba (a boy)
Chantelle Anabelle Lewis
Abraham (Abe) Cole
Michael Chrysler - known badboy
Jerome Bagwell - known badboy
Kenneth Roland

The other class is taught by Mr Ian Woon.
Nancy Cahill
Charity Cahill

Dancers

a.k.a. People likely to turn up at Terry's dance school (... I don't remember if it has a name)

Tappers
Terry Archer
Harriet Archer (though she quit)
Jess (Harriet's friend)
Marie Baxter (in Terry's class)
Brittany Morgan (usually paired with Terry)

Ballet Dancers
The Cahill triplets: Hilary, Nancy and Charity

Jazz
Jess (Harriet's friend)

Salsa
Jess (Harriet's friend)

Teachers
Miss Mary Anne

The Church Group Kids

Because I keep forgetting their names. Although now, I'm nearly done with them so probably won't need them.

1. Charity Cahill
2. David O'Neill
3. Hilary Cahill
4. James Ellis
5. Jared Malubay
6. Katerina Malubay
7. Nancy Cahill
8. Sam O'Neill
9. Terry Archer

Also present are Harriet Archer and the group leader, Rowena Sarai

Characters (sort of)

So I still don't know whether to give my hygenie a name, or if his name is Hygenie... again, like Genie in Aladdin, now that I think about it.

Him aside, the main characters are:
A boy aged somewhere between 10-12 who is having trouble with his identity because his father died when he was really little so his main influences are:
his mother - a forty-something running for local council
and his sister - 17-18 years old, sensible arty type who probably has a less than sensible boyfriend that her mother does not approve of

I don't think I'm actually trying to write anything other than a cliche. I think the hygenie stretched my imagination to the limit.

The mother probably has a love interest too, who is probably either a construction worker or a police officer.

The sister knows what she's doing, even if her mother doesn't think that she does. But that leads to conflict and the boy getting worried and eavesdropping on them sometimes. He's possibly a hypochondriac... or OCD which is totally why his best friend would be a hygenie.

And I've decided that this story is for young-ish kids so nothing too bad is going to happen. So I probably won't deal with the complicated issue of OCD which if I wrote it would probably offend someone... not that I'm censoring myself, I'd just rather not.

I still don't have a plot, or an idea of how he meets the hygenie and I don't really care. This year I'm winging it... ish.