Hey guys! Well I am very excited to tell you I finally have an idea for this years Nanowrimo challenge! This is the National Novel Writing Month and the challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. This will be my 4th year participating and honestly it kind of crept up on me. The previous years I had an idea ready to go I had been thinking about all year but this year with my job, 2 blogs, and youtube channel I kind of forgot about Nanowrimo. There was a side of me wondering if I should even try to do it this year, but a friend of mine encouraged me to give it a go so I figured why not! But I still couldn’t think of a good idea…
Then last week I was watching the show American Greed about ponzi schemes and swindlers and I got the elusive idea. The show was profiling a man who ran a ponzi scheme and got kind of exposed throwing a lavish party for his daughter on the show My Super Sweet 16 on MTV. While watching the thought occurred to me ‘what must it be like to be that girl?’. To go from your father throwing you this insane party with rockstars performing and Mercedes to drive to not long after it aired your father getting arrested and convicted for fraud. In addition, many people saw her throwing away their money they had invested with her father. I’m sure there must have been a lot of anger and outraged at the daughter since she was the one the show focused on. It struck me as an interesting character to write a story about.
Again I asked the question “what must it be like to be that girl?”. I wonder if she hates her father or maybe she always hated her father and he made her go on the show? Maybe she just went on the show to spend time with him since he was always at the office? Maybe she got caught up in it and had a change of heart after seeing the suffering? Maybe she lost friends. a boyfriend, over the whole thing? I just feel like there is something to talk about and will make for a good book.
What do you think of this idea for a story? Do you have any suggestions for the story? I would love to hear them. Are you guys doing Nanowrimo? What are you writing about? If any of you are in Utah I would love to a do a write in or meet up.
Last year my book ended up being very intense and it was kind of tough to write but I learned a lot as well. Hopefully this story is more inspirational but we will see where the words take me!
This is the girl on the Super Sweet 16.
Here’s a little thing about the Dad
Rachel's Musings 
The story of a pampered, spoiled brat who gets pulled down to earth and has to live in the “real” world may have been done before, but this idea certainly provides opportunity for a fresh take on it. The girl’s probably going to go through a lot of turmoil: if the character you create also appears on a similar reality show, that makes her easy to make fun of – some might argue that’s what those shows are for. Plus she’ll be getting a lot of hate when it was her dad who committed a crime. Her frivolous behaviour isn’t commendable, but as the Oompa-Loompas say about Veruca Salt, it’s her parents who made her that way.
So besides all that, what’s the girl going to do about this? Try to distance herself from her father and strike out to forge her own identity, perhaps?
My initial thought was she would be really angry at her father and that he had kind of sucked her into the whole thing but I’m not 100% sure. I think I may just start writing the character and see where it takes me. The ultimate in pantser I guess for this years Nanowrimo. Can you give me an inkling on what you are writing about?
My novel (set in a fantasy universe) is about a princess named Fortunata who is dissatisfied with her life: she doesn’t get as much respect or responsibility as she feels she deserves, and since she has an older brother, she’s only second in line to the throne. So she decides to get a proper job – as an assassin.
Oh! That sounds very good! Kind of an antihero as your lead?
I suppose that’s the right thing to call Fortunata; she has many good qualities, but she’s also choosing to enter a job where she has to kill people. Part of it is the culture of her kingdom: it takes some inspiration from Ancient Rome and Sparta, very militaristic and tough.