Here are my unfinished NaNoWriMo novels, as reported yesterday, and how I’d rank them on a scale of 1 to 10 pounds of James Patterson novels, with 1 being “Don’t bother” and 10 being “Get James Patterson to co-author this ASAP.”
- Low Desert. Not much meat on this one. I envisioned a literal interpretation of the Rapture, or something like it, with characters meeting in the desert at the end for some undefined purpose. Rating: 3 pounds of James Patterson novels.
- The Dream of the Buckford Church. Other than the hook of “weird shit happening in a creepy old mountain church” and the main character being drawn to it in a dream, there was little else here. Some sort of ritual stuff that needed to be stopped, maybe? Still, I liked the dreamy/terror vibe it had going in the short story version. Rating: 4 pounds of James Patterson novels.
- The Mean Mind. The most complete of all of the unfinished novels, the overall story was actually outlined (even if it got vague toward the end), but was maybe a bit too grand in scope. Scaling it back might make it work better. Rating: 7 pounds of James Patterson novels.
- The Start of the World. Ignoring the unintended riffing off The Dark Tower, this had a good hook, a sense of doom/world collapse, but the specifics were mostly ignored. Rating: 6 pounds of James Patterson novels.
- Weirdsmith. Sort of a latter-day The Dead Zone, except this car accident survivor finds a blank journal that lets him write things that actually happen. I had nothing more than this to go on, so there’s much work to do here. Rating: 3 pounds of James Patterson novels.
- Last Exit. The initial premise was worked out, but the overall outline was never completed. The character finds himself slipping through portals into a desert, among other places, before always returning back to his bed/waking, while someone or something acts as a guide of sorts. For what purpose? you got me! Rating: 2 pounds of James Patterson novels.
The clear standout here in The Mean Mind, which has the bonus of also having a cool title with multiple meanings. In my next post I discuss how viable reviving it is, and talk about some of the other story ideas I have kicking around.
