3 Oct 2021, 19:30
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
This is an idea I've been marinating on for a while, and earning fake money is a great excuse as any to put more work into it.
Synopsis: Five teenage girls are cast in their high school's production of Little Women. Everyone wants the part of Jo March, and the cast list causes a rift in their friendships. The school's new director, Ms. Wilson, has never directed a play before, and her rehearsals become a purgatory where the girls must face their inner turmoils. The girls must navigate the world of college applications, boyfriends and girlfriends, absent parents, astonishing siblings, and low-budget high school theatre. To make matters worse, it seems Louisa May Alcott's characters have come to haunt them.
Preptober:Setting: 1015/1000 wordsMain Characters: 2061/1000 wordsPlot: 1165/1000 wordsSubplots: 0/1000 wordsSecondary Characters: 0/900 words
NaNoWriMo MilestonesWord Count: 19215000 words10000 words20000 words30000 words40000 words50000 words
Last edited by Della Barfield on 9 Oct 2022, 10:59, edited 11 times in total.
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
7 Oct 2021, 00:06
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Setting
Reducio
The story takes place at a high school in 2012.
The high school, Clearing High School, is a small midwestern city, Quartz, Michigan, in the United States. Quartz used to be the center of vacuum production for the whole world—but the vacuum makers moved production overseas to cut costs, causing Quartz to have a recession and many people to move out of the area. Quartz's economy has never been able to recover. Its citizens are mostly working-class or lower middle class, with a few exceptions.
Clearing High School sits on the border of Quartz and it actually is in a different school district from Quartz City Schools. Most of the Quartz City Schools have closed, so many students are pushed to the Clearing Community School District, even if the trip is across the city. Clearing High School has little funding: it has three Advanced Placement (AP) courses available, outside of sports it has very little extracurricular activities, its senior curriculum mostly aims to get its student into Quartz Community College—and maybe Michigan State if the students are really smart. Most students stay in the area after graduation, and most of its teachers and administration also went to Clearing High School.
At Clearing High School, the administration focuses on sports. That's where the school gets most of its funding, through sports fundraising. Surprisingly, even with all the focus, none of the sports are very good. The best are mid-league but never make the playoffs. Most others are at the bottom of the league. The football team hasn't won a game in years—not even its Homecoming games. Only the women's bowling team succeeds; they make it to states every year.
Because of the focus on purely athletics, there's very little funding for the arts. The band is the most funded, considering its importance to football and basketball games, but even the band has to figure out its own transportation to band competitions. They can't afford a bus driver. The drama club is not funded at all. The drama teacher, Ms. Paine, usually takes money out of her wallet to pay for scenery and costumes. Otherwise, the drama club funds the productions through bake sales and can recycling drives. There are approximately only twenty to thirty students interested in drama club in total, but only a small percentage of those are in the Thespian Society, and a smaller percentage still participate in every production.
Clearing High School has around 800 students total. The school colors are blue and yellow, and the school mascot is a hornet. It's the same hornet design that gets reused again and again throughout high schools across the country. The school has a main section of the building where the gym, the pool, the cafeteria, computer labs, library, and the majority of classes are. This main section was the original building. During Quartz's flourishing vacuum-manufacturing days, a science wing and a large auditorium area were added on. Most of the school has white walls covered in navy lockers and wood floors. The science wing is white linoleum with white walls. The auditorium wing sticks out in that it is totally made of bricks. The auditorium stage was built with school events in mind. Most of the lights focus on the apron of the stage, and there is no fly system to bring lights down or hang scenery up. It has a state-of-the-art lighting board, probably donated by an alum, but only one student on the auditorium crew knows how to use it properly. The auditorium seats 600, and it's lavish and well-polished in the house. On the other hand, the wings are small, the floorboards beyond the first curtain are falling apart, and most backstage space is taken up by the school's boiler. Most unused scenery and costumes are stored near this boiler. Students usually get ready in the hallway outside the stage left door, near Ms. Paine's drama class. Some quick changes do happen near the boiler, though.
It's 2012. Barrack Obama is president. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes just broke up. Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift's Red, "Call Me Maybe," "Gangnam Style," and Drake's tribute to YOLO are all over the airwaves and on everyone's iTunes/Pandora accounts. The Hunger Games series is blowing up. Blue Ivy Carter was just born. Instagram is starting to catch on. Kristen cheated on Rob. All the theatre kids are singing Les Mis nonstop. Louie C.K. is having an incredible year. The Mayan calendar has reported impending doom.
Plaid. Skinny jeans. Ankle boots. Feathers in hair. Peplum shirts. Top-not buns.
There is also something special about this world. Clearing High school's auditorium is a liminal space. Somewhere between the boiler room and the apron of the stage, there is a portal to another dimension of sorts. People from this world aren't able to enter the portal, but other things may enter the auditorium. Sometimes it's just energy, playing off the feelings of the students onstage—it can make emotions run higher or make rehearsal time faster or slower. Other times, the students are confronted by the very characters they are inhabiting.
In the past, the auditorium's "magic" has happened infrequently. Maybe a student is working late in the lighting booth, and they see a mysterious man walk across the stage, only to find that no one else was at school that night. Or maybe a student hears their name whispered again and again through the hiss of the boiler. Clearing's auditorium has basic run-of-the-mill ghost stories—every theatre has them.
But something changes this year. The "magic" is more frequent; the stakes are higher; it's more aggressive. Did the auditorium staff neglect to use a ghost light? The main echelon of thespians have been cast in a stage version of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women: four seniors and one wayward junior. Is there something important about these five young women inhabiting Alcott's little woman? Or did the new air-headed director disrupt some status quo? At any rate, the leads of Little Women will have to get to the bottom of this mystery if they want to make it to graduation.
The high school, Clearing High School, is a small midwestern city, Quartz, Michigan, in the United States. Quartz used to be the center of vacuum production for the whole world—but the vacuum makers moved production overseas to cut costs, causing Quartz to have a recession and many people to move out of the area. Quartz's economy has never been able to recover. Its citizens are mostly working-class or lower middle class, with a few exceptions.
Clearing High School sits on the border of Quartz and it actually is in a different school district from Quartz City Schools. Most of the Quartz City Schools have closed, so many students are pushed to the Clearing Community School District, even if the trip is across the city. Clearing High School has little funding: it has three Advanced Placement (AP) courses available, outside of sports it has very little extracurricular activities, its senior curriculum mostly aims to get its student into Quartz Community College—and maybe Michigan State if the students are really smart. Most students stay in the area after graduation, and most of its teachers and administration also went to Clearing High School.
At Clearing High School, the administration focuses on sports. That's where the school gets most of its funding, through sports fundraising. Surprisingly, even with all the focus, none of the sports are very good. The best are mid-league but never make the playoffs. Most others are at the bottom of the league. The football team hasn't won a game in years—not even its Homecoming games. Only the women's bowling team succeeds; they make it to states every year.
Because of the focus on purely athletics, there's very little funding for the arts. The band is the most funded, considering its importance to football and basketball games, but even the band has to figure out its own transportation to band competitions. They can't afford a bus driver. The drama club is not funded at all. The drama teacher, Ms. Paine, usually takes money out of her wallet to pay for scenery and costumes. Otherwise, the drama club funds the productions through bake sales and can recycling drives. There are approximately only twenty to thirty students interested in drama club in total, but only a small percentage of those are in the Thespian Society, and a smaller percentage still participate in every production.
Clearing High School has around 800 students total. The school colors are blue and yellow, and the school mascot is a hornet. It's the same hornet design that gets reused again and again throughout high schools across the country. The school has a main section of the building where the gym, the pool, the cafeteria, computer labs, library, and the majority of classes are. This main section was the original building. During Quartz's flourishing vacuum-manufacturing days, a science wing and a large auditorium area were added on. Most of the school has white walls covered in navy lockers and wood floors. The science wing is white linoleum with white walls. The auditorium wing sticks out in that it is totally made of bricks. The auditorium stage was built with school events in mind. Most of the lights focus on the apron of the stage, and there is no fly system to bring lights down or hang scenery up. It has a state-of-the-art lighting board, probably donated by an alum, but only one student on the auditorium crew knows how to use it properly. The auditorium seats 600, and it's lavish and well-polished in the house. On the other hand, the wings are small, the floorboards beyond the first curtain are falling apart, and most backstage space is taken up by the school's boiler. Most unused scenery and costumes are stored near this boiler. Students usually get ready in the hallway outside the stage left door, near Ms. Paine's drama class. Some quick changes do happen near the boiler, though.
It's 2012. Barrack Obama is president. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes just broke up. Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift's Red, "Call Me Maybe," "Gangnam Style," and Drake's tribute to YOLO are all over the airwaves and on everyone's iTunes/Pandora accounts. The Hunger Games series is blowing up. Blue Ivy Carter was just born. Instagram is starting to catch on. Kristen cheated on Rob. All the theatre kids are singing Les Mis nonstop. Louie C.K. is having an incredible year. The Mayan calendar has reported impending doom.
Plaid. Skinny jeans. Ankle boots. Feathers in hair. Peplum shirts. Top-not buns.
There is also something special about this world. Clearing High school's auditorium is a liminal space. Somewhere between the boiler room and the apron of the stage, there is a portal to another dimension of sorts. People from this world aren't able to enter the portal, but other things may enter the auditorium. Sometimes it's just energy, playing off the feelings of the students onstage—it can make emotions run higher or make rehearsal time faster or slower. Other times, the students are confronted by the very characters they are inhabiting.
In the past, the auditorium's "magic" has happened infrequently. Maybe a student is working late in the lighting booth, and they see a mysterious man walk across the stage, only to find that no one else was at school that night. Or maybe a student hears their name whispered again and again through the hiss of the boiler. Clearing's auditorium has basic run-of-the-mill ghost stories—every theatre has them.
But something changes this year. The "magic" is more frequent; the stakes are higher; it's more aggressive. Did the auditorium staff neglect to use a ghost light? The main echelon of thespians have been cast in a stage version of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women: four seniors and one wayward junior. Is there something important about these five young women inhabiting Alcott's little woman? Or did the new air-headed director disrupt some status quo? At any rate, the leads of Little Women will have to get to the bottom of this mystery if they want to make it to graduation.
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
27 Oct 2021, 17:10
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Main Characters
Joann
Reducio
From Alcott: Jo is an aspiring writer. As a child, she's always writing plays for her and her sisters to perform. She is feisty, and she has a strong aversion to doing things the traditional way, especially if the tradition is oppressive to women. She has a strong temper and a quick wit. She is most likely to get in trouble.
Joann is an aspiring actor. She wants to get the part of Jo in the fall play—of course, she wants the lead role. She is the president of the Thespian Society, the president of the National Honors Society, and she is captain of the chess team. She also is in the running for valedictorian. She takes acting classes at Quartz Youth Theatre; she has done all of the roles in the theatre: backstage, light board operator, soundboard operator, design, directing, and even a little writing. She loves to learn, but this year, it's hard to focus on things as hobbies because she is constantly lost in thinking about her college applications. She wants to go to a big acting school in LA so she can start her career as soon as possible.
Joann is dating Carter. They've been dating for almost one year. Carter is the lighting designer for the auditorium, and unlike many of his predecessors, he gets really into it. Joann often joins him in the lighting booth for auditorium events, so she can bond with him, learn more about the technical side of theatre, and get some homework done. Carter wants to go to a college near Quartz, and they keep avoiding the discussion of what will happen to them after they graduate. They are also sexually active, which puts Joann in an interesting position with her friend group, as she's the only one who has had these sorts of experiences.
It's just Joann and her mom at home—and their two cats, Boombox and Chance. As a single mom, Joann's mother struggles to make ends meet, but she wholeheartedly supports of her daughter's ambitions. However, she often doesn't have time to make it to all of Joann's events because she works two jobs. She does try to make at least to play performances, but her record hasn't been perfect and she often falls asleep during them. Joann mostly fends for herself at home: she's adept at chores and cooking. She and her mom tag team caring for Boombox and Chance, as both of them are hardly ever in the house at the same time.
They live in a small house. It's all one floor with two bedrooms. It has some disrepair and the little garden outside isn't amazing, but Joann and her mom do their best to keep it cute and clean. Joann doesn't often have friends over; she mostly visits their places.
Joann's dad is in prison. And she never ever talks about that. Most of her friends have not asked, and those that have, have gotten vague answers from Joann. They just assume he's probably dead. Joann has vague memories of her abusive father. When she was little, she developed control issues and has a large temper when it comes to conflict. She doesn't understand that this stems from her time with her father.
Joann is the second oldest behind Marnie. And she and Emily are the only two that live in actual Quartz, and they drive fairly far each day to go to school.
Joann is the closest to Megan. They both are in National Honors Society leadership, and they both are on the chess team. They also have a rivalry over who will become valedictorian.
Joann has an outlandish style of dressing. She loves to stick out at school and craves the attention that she's not getting at home from her mom. Joann is really the first person in her entire extended family to even consider going to college, and she sees that distinction as another way to crave attention. She usually rejects tradition on principle.
Joann is short and skinny, she is the smallest out of the group. Before the senior year started, she got a pixie cut. It fits her face nicely. She has dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and her face is covered in freckles.
Joann is an aspiring actor. She wants to get the part of Jo in the fall play—of course, she wants the lead role. She is the president of the Thespian Society, the president of the National Honors Society, and she is captain of the chess team. She also is in the running for valedictorian. She takes acting classes at Quartz Youth Theatre; she has done all of the roles in the theatre: backstage, light board operator, soundboard operator, design, directing, and even a little writing. She loves to learn, but this year, it's hard to focus on things as hobbies because she is constantly lost in thinking about her college applications. She wants to go to a big acting school in LA so she can start her career as soon as possible.
Joann is dating Carter. They've been dating for almost one year. Carter is the lighting designer for the auditorium, and unlike many of his predecessors, he gets really into it. Joann often joins him in the lighting booth for auditorium events, so she can bond with him, learn more about the technical side of theatre, and get some homework done. Carter wants to go to a college near Quartz, and they keep avoiding the discussion of what will happen to them after they graduate. They are also sexually active, which puts Joann in an interesting position with her friend group, as she's the only one who has had these sorts of experiences.
It's just Joann and her mom at home—and their two cats, Boombox and Chance. As a single mom, Joann's mother struggles to make ends meet, but she wholeheartedly supports of her daughter's ambitions. However, she often doesn't have time to make it to all of Joann's events because she works two jobs. She does try to make at least to play performances, but her record hasn't been perfect and she often falls asleep during them. Joann mostly fends for herself at home: she's adept at chores and cooking. She and her mom tag team caring for Boombox and Chance, as both of them are hardly ever in the house at the same time.
They live in a small house. It's all one floor with two bedrooms. It has some disrepair and the little garden outside isn't amazing, but Joann and her mom do their best to keep it cute and clean. Joann doesn't often have friends over; she mostly visits their places.
Joann's dad is in prison. And she never ever talks about that. Most of her friends have not asked, and those that have, have gotten vague answers from Joann. They just assume he's probably dead. Joann has vague memories of her abusive father. When she was little, she developed control issues and has a large temper when it comes to conflict. She doesn't understand that this stems from her time with her father.
Joann is the second oldest behind Marnie. And she and Emily are the only two that live in actual Quartz, and they drive fairly far each day to go to school.
Joann is the closest to Megan. They both are in National Honors Society leadership, and they both are on the chess team. They also have a rivalry over who will become valedictorian.
Joann has an outlandish style of dressing. She loves to stick out at school and craves the attention that she's not getting at home from her mom. Joann is really the first person in her entire extended family to even consider going to college, and she sees that distinction as another way to crave attention. She usually rejects tradition on principle.
Joann is short and skinny, she is the smallest out of the group. Before the senior year started, she got a pixie cut. It fits her face nicely. She has dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and her face is covered in freckles.
Marnie
Reducio
From Alcott: Marmee is the wise mother. She makes sacrifices to keep her family fed and safe. She is often a single mother because her husband is away at war. She lets the girls be themselves. She also suppresses her anger and emotions in the name of being a mother and a wife. While she allows Jo to be her boisterous self, Marmee is more like Meg.
Marnie is the oldest of the girls, but she is the youngest of four children. Her older siblings were sports stars, cheerleaders, and homecoming queens in high school. They all had boyfriends or girlfriends. Marnie often feels like the black sheep of the family. She has no interest in dating, sports, or school spirit. She wants to be a writer—a romance writer specifically. She wants to write strong, independent women meeting their prince charming. It's a bit of a paradox, especially she's not interested in boys herself, but she spends a lot of time alone in her room dreaming up romantic stories in victorian settings and flashy fight scenes between women. Marnie has a glorified view of romance, which is why she isn't interested in high school boys; they aren't mature enough to be the lead in Marnie's romantic story.
Marnie is often writing during classes. Her friends ask her what she's writing, but she doesn't tell them about it. She writes in cursive, so it can be difficult to read over her shoulder. She feels that she isn't ready to share the stories yet; she wants them to be perfect.
Marnie's family—parents, two older brothers, and two older sisters—live in a large house outside of Quartz, in the Clearing High School district. The house is large enough that everyone has their own room, in addition to their dad having an office. Marnie's father is a lawyer, and her mother is a nurse. Their family follows traditional gender roles, and even though Marnie's protagonists often challenge these roles, she doesn't yet see it as a point of contention in the family. Like most high schoolers, she has a broad idea of social issues but hasn't examined them as issues in her own life. This is important to note because Marnie emulates her mother, not realizing how much of the patriarchal standards she follows.
Most of Marnie's family thinks she's a bit of an oddball, but they care for her deeply. She is the baby of the family, and they all feel very protective over her. However, they infantilize her, which is the root of her self-doubt and unwillingness to leave her comfort zone. She is closest to her sister, Margot, the second oldest sister. Marnie spends more time with both her sisters and her mom, with her brothers and father. Though they all have a great family dinner nearly every night.
Their home also has a backyard, in-ground pool. Marnie's house is often where all the girls meet and have sleepovers.
Marnie also wants to play the role of Jo in the school play. She had early success in the theatre department, getting a lead role in their freshman year, but she was quickly surpassed by Joann. Marnie believes she has the chops to play Jo, and she has the requisite background of being a writer herself.
In addition to feeling overshadowed by her siblings, Marnie feels overshadowed by her friends. They are all part of so many clubs and extracurriculars, while Marnie mostly keeps to only doing drama club, the Thespian Society, and being active in her family's church. Joann and Emily have tried to drag her to Quartz Youth Theatre, but as of yet, she hasn't auditioned. Marnie, probably due to self-doubt, doesn't usually leave her comfort zone, especially now that it's her senior year, and she believes she has her plan all figured out. She just needs to get college, fall in love with a professor, have a storybook wedding (carefully cultivated on her pinterest), have two children (a boy and girl), and get an English degree so that she can become a best-selling romance novelist.
Her friends notice her unwillingness to try new things or get into zany shenanigans, and they refer to her as the "mom" friend. This adds to her self-doubt, which adds to her wanting to stay in her comfort zone even more. She hasn't been able to put to words that her friends' teasing actually does hurt her feelings.
Marnie is the tallest of the group. She wears simple shirts with nice colors and cardigans. She seems to always be ready for fall and a cozy reading session. She has strawberry blond hair that she usually clips in a low ponytail, and she has blue eyes.
Marnie is the oldest of the girls, but she is the youngest of four children. Her older siblings were sports stars, cheerleaders, and homecoming queens in high school. They all had boyfriends or girlfriends. Marnie often feels like the black sheep of the family. She has no interest in dating, sports, or school spirit. She wants to be a writer—a romance writer specifically. She wants to write strong, independent women meeting their prince charming. It's a bit of a paradox, especially she's not interested in boys herself, but she spends a lot of time alone in her room dreaming up romantic stories in victorian settings and flashy fight scenes between women. Marnie has a glorified view of romance, which is why she isn't interested in high school boys; they aren't mature enough to be the lead in Marnie's romantic story.
Marnie is often writing during classes. Her friends ask her what she's writing, but she doesn't tell them about it. She writes in cursive, so it can be difficult to read over her shoulder. She feels that she isn't ready to share the stories yet; she wants them to be perfect.
Marnie's family—parents, two older brothers, and two older sisters—live in a large house outside of Quartz, in the Clearing High School district. The house is large enough that everyone has their own room, in addition to their dad having an office. Marnie's father is a lawyer, and her mother is a nurse. Their family follows traditional gender roles, and even though Marnie's protagonists often challenge these roles, she doesn't yet see it as a point of contention in the family. Like most high schoolers, she has a broad idea of social issues but hasn't examined them as issues in her own life. This is important to note because Marnie emulates her mother, not realizing how much of the patriarchal standards she follows.
Most of Marnie's family thinks she's a bit of an oddball, but they care for her deeply. She is the baby of the family, and they all feel very protective over her. However, they infantilize her, which is the root of her self-doubt and unwillingness to leave her comfort zone. She is closest to her sister, Margot, the second oldest sister. Marnie spends more time with both her sisters and her mom, with her brothers and father. Though they all have a great family dinner nearly every night.
Their home also has a backyard, in-ground pool. Marnie's house is often where all the girls meet and have sleepovers.
Marnie also wants to play the role of Jo in the school play. She had early success in the theatre department, getting a lead role in their freshman year, but she was quickly surpassed by Joann. Marnie believes she has the chops to play Jo, and she has the requisite background of being a writer herself.
In addition to feeling overshadowed by her siblings, Marnie feels overshadowed by her friends. They are all part of so many clubs and extracurriculars, while Marnie mostly keeps to only doing drama club, the Thespian Society, and being active in her family's church. Joann and Emily have tried to drag her to Quartz Youth Theatre, but as of yet, she hasn't auditioned. Marnie, probably due to self-doubt, doesn't usually leave her comfort zone, especially now that it's her senior year, and she believes she has her plan all figured out. She just needs to get college, fall in love with a professor, have a storybook wedding (carefully cultivated on her pinterest), have two children (a boy and girl), and get an English degree so that she can become a best-selling romance novelist.
Her friends notice her unwillingness to try new things or get into zany shenanigans, and they refer to her as the "mom" friend. This adds to her self-doubt, which adds to her wanting to stay in her comfort zone even more. She hasn't been able to put to words that her friends' teasing actually does hurt her feelings.
Marnie is the tallest of the group. She wears simple shirts with nice colors and cardigans. She seems to always be ready for fall and a cozy reading session. She has strawberry blond hair that she usually clips in a low ponytail, and she has blue eyes.
Emily
Reducio
From Alcott: Amy is the youngest March sister. She wants a life of decadence, and she wants to be the center of attention. She can be very manipulative to get what she wants. She is also jealous of Jo's success. She is considered the most dislike March sister by readers worldwide, but to her credit, Amy finds a way to beat her sisters' shadows and become a passionate, intelligent, young artist. She travels to Europe where she forges her own path, very separate from Jo's life.
Emily is the youngest of the group, even a couple of months younger than Lizzie who is a junior. Emily also wants the part of Jo. So far she has been outshined by Joann and Marnie in drama club, and she would like this year to be her year. Emily is also thinking deeply about her college applications: she is in the Thespian Society, the National Honor's society, she plays clarinet in the band, and she is taking a plethora of math and science classes to bolster her application. Emily isn't sure exactly what she wants to do or where she wants to attend college, so she has a laundry list of potential careers and the colleges that would match: nurse, veterinarian, YouTuber, lawyer, actor, music teacher, and professional makeup artist.
Emily enjoys being in the center of attention, but unlike Joann, she isn't comfortable necessarily making it happen for herself. So Emily often chooses to be where the action is happening and to emulate the most popular person in the room. This makes her personality become a bit chameleon-like, and her friends think of her as someone who goes with the flow. For Emily herself, this means that she has trouble finding herself and knowing what she truly wants, and she has difficulty with self-reflection, more than most teenagers do. She is quick to take sides in disputes between friends, but her allegiance can be easily swayed.
Emily is closest with Lizzie, but lately, they've been disconnecting and getting into spats, so Emily is growing closer to Marnie. This relationship has been helping Marnie's confidence grow.
Emily has a sister and a brother who live with their dad across the state. It's just Emily and her mom and grandmother in the Quartz city limits. Emily's siblings chose to live with their dad because he's a little looser on the rules. Emily considers herself to be the best child of the three and stayed with their mother, which naturally puts her at the center of attention. However, being separated from her family does affect her, especially when they don't make the trip to come see her plays or any other school events. Emily does make the trip to see them quite often. To deal with this, she learned to push feelings down and bottle them up. Emily tends to outwardly praise the positives in her life.
Emily is boy crazy. She has crushes on several boys in their class, and she is always scheming how to get one of them to ask her out.
Emily has bigger hips than the other girls. She views this as a positive. She has dirty-blond curly hair. She wears comfortable clothing to school: band t-shirts and Clearing High School hoodies. She usually has her hair in a top bun. She loves musicals and she can sing beautifully. She is usually tapping her foot to some beat in her head when sitting by herself.
Emily is the youngest of the group, even a couple of months younger than Lizzie who is a junior. Emily also wants the part of Jo. So far she has been outshined by Joann and Marnie in drama club, and she would like this year to be her year. Emily is also thinking deeply about her college applications: she is in the Thespian Society, the National Honor's society, she plays clarinet in the band, and she is taking a plethora of math and science classes to bolster her application. Emily isn't sure exactly what she wants to do or where she wants to attend college, so she has a laundry list of potential careers and the colleges that would match: nurse, veterinarian, YouTuber, lawyer, actor, music teacher, and professional makeup artist.
Emily enjoys being in the center of attention, but unlike Joann, she isn't comfortable necessarily making it happen for herself. So Emily often chooses to be where the action is happening and to emulate the most popular person in the room. This makes her personality become a bit chameleon-like, and her friends think of her as someone who goes with the flow. For Emily herself, this means that she has trouble finding herself and knowing what she truly wants, and she has difficulty with self-reflection, more than most teenagers do. She is quick to take sides in disputes between friends, but her allegiance can be easily swayed.
Emily is closest with Lizzie, but lately, they've been disconnecting and getting into spats, so Emily is growing closer to Marnie. This relationship has been helping Marnie's confidence grow.
Emily has a sister and a brother who live with their dad across the state. It's just Emily and her mom and grandmother in the Quartz city limits. Emily's siblings chose to live with their dad because he's a little looser on the rules. Emily considers herself to be the best child of the three and stayed with their mother, which naturally puts her at the center of attention. However, being separated from her family does affect her, especially when they don't make the trip to come see her plays or any other school events. Emily does make the trip to see them quite often. To deal with this, she learned to push feelings down and bottle them up. Emily tends to outwardly praise the positives in her life.
Emily is boy crazy. She has crushes on several boys in their class, and she is always scheming how to get one of them to ask her out.
Emily has bigger hips than the other girls. She views this as a positive. She has dirty-blond curly hair. She wears comfortable clothing to school: band t-shirts and Clearing High School hoodies. She usually has her hair in a top bun. She loves musicals and she can sing beautifully. She is usually tapping her foot to some beat in her head when sitting by herself.
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
1 Nov 2021, 04:53
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Plot:
Reducio
Part 1:
Ensemble: auditions
The girls prep for auditions. Joann was the only the one to meet the new director as Thespian president. The girls press her for questions about the mysterious newcomer. They all practice their sides, who they're auditioning for, they share memories of the last play. They look around, who is the hallway that's returning and who is new? They discuss the start of classes, college applications that are due early, homecoming, and Joann and Carter "doing it." A windfall of activity.
interlude: Laurie awakes in the boiler. He can hear Jo on the stage. He is mesmerized by how confident she is. He hears the other March sisters. He wishes he could be in the play with them. After the last student auditions, Mrs. Wilson sees Laurie. She interrogates him being there, but due to his unthreatening manner and confusion, Mrs. Wilson asks he'd like to audition. He says no, so she asks him what he thought about the auditions. He talks about Jo. Mrs. Wilson takes that to mean Joann.
J arc: Joann rejects convention and wants to live the dream in LA. She seeks independence; she wants to be the confident leader for the other girls. Juggling everything becomes hard and her support system isn't large enough. She breaks during the "off book" section. She must pick up the pieces and learn to rely on others. AND figure out what she actually wants, not what she thinks she should want.
Joann sees the cast list. She celebrates with Megan and Carter at their lockers before class. She knows that Marnie will be angry. They talk NHS and chess club. They talk about their homecoming plans. Megan wants double-date with Carter. Carter and Joann reluctantly agree—they don't like Megan's new boyfriend John.
Ma arc: Marnie bottles things up. She lets others make fun of. She has difficulty finding the confidence in herself. The foil to Joann. She dislikes Carter and John and every boy Emily crushes. She wants to seem superior them but she comes off being rude or naive about boys. She has glorified ideas of romance. Ms. Wilson's younger boyfriend Alex often shows up at rehearsals with her. Marnie and Alex sit next to each other at first rehearsal table read. There's a spark and Marnie can't stop thinking about it. At first it seems to be in Marnie's imagination but something happens during tech and Alex and her share a kiss. Marnie must learn to get her head out of the clouds and assert herself. And her friends have to stop Alex's not so pure intentions.
Marnie scribbles in first-hour calculus, a class she despises, about she is tired of Joann, and she's tired of being the mom. Emily talks to her about how she's sad she's not Jo, but it's awesome they all have such iconic roles. Marnie doesn't think Marmee is iconic. Marnie starts to plant a seed of doubt about Joann and Emily jumps at the chance to pick Joann apart.
Em arc: Emily is looking for ways to shine. And outshine others. She starts by looking in all the wrong places. Lizzie becomes an easy target for teasing and bullying. Emily grows closer to Marnie, and turns her bullying towards Joann, who is a harder target altogether. She doesn't fully understand what the others are going through until tech week. Then she is able to open up and shed some of that need to put others down.
Emily is thinking about what Marnie said in calculus. She is preparing for band with Lizzie like normal. Lizzie is acting strange, which is annoying to Emily and Emily tells her so. They have a small spat. Carter notices. Emily is distracted by the second string trumpet beside Carter—a boy she has a crush on. She flirts with him, and she makes sure Lizzie notices.
Me arc: Megan has lowered her expectations for her future and her general outlook: friends, romance, etc. This lets her fall for the manipulative John. The first boy that's liked her. Even though she is in the running for valedictorian and the most probable winner, she doesn't see her successes as the product of her own work. She just follows rules. When John finally tears her down and ruins her costume during tech, she has to learn to build herself back up.
Megan has lunch with John. John wanted to sit away from the gang and Megan agreed they should spend some alone time together away from her rambunctious friends. She shares the new that she got Meg and that's the character she wanted. John explains that he's afraid the rehearsals will take too much time out of Megan's schedule and they won't be able to spend any time together. Megan assures John that the role isn't too large and they'll have plenty of time, especially on the weekends. John remains doubtful. He also talks about how he saw Megan at Carter's locker. Megan explains that she was setting up their homecoming plans with Joann and Carter. John hints at some jealous of Megan being near another boy.
El arc: Right before school started, Lizzie found out that her parents are bankrupt and must move across the state to move in with family. They will move at the end of the semester. Lizzie had so many plans for the year: her and Emily especially planned for some large milestones. Lizzie is in her junior year and she was already afraid of saying bye to everyone at the end of the year. Now she is unsure how to adjust the new issues at home, the change in wealth, and how to say goodbye. So she becomes numb to it all. She witnesses many of the of the climactic moments for the other girls during tech week and disappears before the first the dress, unsure how to deal with it all. She has to learn that the others care for her deeply and she has purpose here.
Lizzie is unsure what to make of Emily's treatment of her. She's unsure how to tell her best friend that's she moving. She spends some time in the empty auditorium after school. She sees a woman walking around. The woman says she's looking for her daughter Amy. Lizzie tries to help her. The woman notices that Lizzie looks down. She comforts her.
carter: Carter talks to Ms. Paine after school. He gets a copy of the Little Women script. He goes to the booth and begins plotting the lights. He sees Lizzie talking on stage to herself. He figures she's rehearsing, though it's weird to see her without Emily. He texts Joann about Lizzie's predicament. He then makes a list of all the lightbulbs he'll need to rearrange for tech, most of which are accessible by a scary ladder. Mr. Maple runs into the booth and interrogates Carter if he's seen anything strange. He then reprimands Carter for going to the booth alone.
Ensemble: auditions
The girls prep for auditions. Joann was the only the one to meet the new director as Thespian president. The girls press her for questions about the mysterious newcomer. They all practice their sides, who they're auditioning for, they share memories of the last play. They look around, who is the hallway that's returning and who is new? They discuss the start of classes, college applications that are due early, homecoming, and Joann and Carter "doing it." A windfall of activity.
interlude: Laurie awakes in the boiler. He can hear Jo on the stage. He is mesmerized by how confident she is. He hears the other March sisters. He wishes he could be in the play with them. After the last student auditions, Mrs. Wilson sees Laurie. She interrogates him being there, but due to his unthreatening manner and confusion, Mrs. Wilson asks he'd like to audition. He says no, so she asks him what he thought about the auditions. He talks about Jo. Mrs. Wilson takes that to mean Joann.
J arc: Joann rejects convention and wants to live the dream in LA. She seeks independence; she wants to be the confident leader for the other girls. Juggling everything becomes hard and her support system isn't large enough. She breaks during the "off book" section. She must pick up the pieces and learn to rely on others. AND figure out what she actually wants, not what she thinks she should want.
Joann sees the cast list. She celebrates with Megan and Carter at their lockers before class. She knows that Marnie will be angry. They talk NHS and chess club. They talk about their homecoming plans. Megan wants double-date with Carter. Carter and Joann reluctantly agree—they don't like Megan's new boyfriend John.
Ma arc: Marnie bottles things up. She lets others make fun of. She has difficulty finding the confidence in herself. The foil to Joann. She dislikes Carter and John and every boy Emily crushes. She wants to seem superior them but she comes off being rude or naive about boys. She has glorified ideas of romance. Ms. Wilson's younger boyfriend Alex often shows up at rehearsals with her. Marnie and Alex sit next to each other at first rehearsal table read. There's a spark and Marnie can't stop thinking about it. At first it seems to be in Marnie's imagination but something happens during tech and Alex and her share a kiss. Marnie must learn to get her head out of the clouds and assert herself. And her friends have to stop Alex's not so pure intentions.
Marnie scribbles in first-hour calculus, a class she despises, about she is tired of Joann, and she's tired of being the mom. Emily talks to her about how she's sad she's not Jo, but it's awesome they all have such iconic roles. Marnie doesn't think Marmee is iconic. Marnie starts to plant a seed of doubt about Joann and Emily jumps at the chance to pick Joann apart.
Em arc: Emily is looking for ways to shine. And outshine others. She starts by looking in all the wrong places. Lizzie becomes an easy target for teasing and bullying. Emily grows closer to Marnie, and turns her bullying towards Joann, who is a harder target altogether. She doesn't fully understand what the others are going through until tech week. Then she is able to open up and shed some of that need to put others down.
Emily is thinking about what Marnie said in calculus. She is preparing for band with Lizzie like normal. Lizzie is acting strange, which is annoying to Emily and Emily tells her so. They have a small spat. Carter notices. Emily is distracted by the second string trumpet beside Carter—a boy she has a crush on. She flirts with him, and she makes sure Lizzie notices.
Me arc: Megan has lowered her expectations for her future and her general outlook: friends, romance, etc. This lets her fall for the manipulative John. The first boy that's liked her. Even though she is in the running for valedictorian and the most probable winner, she doesn't see her successes as the product of her own work. She just follows rules. When John finally tears her down and ruins her costume during tech, she has to learn to build herself back up.
Megan has lunch with John. John wanted to sit away from the gang and Megan agreed they should spend some alone time together away from her rambunctious friends. She shares the new that she got Meg and that's the character she wanted. John explains that he's afraid the rehearsals will take too much time out of Megan's schedule and they won't be able to spend any time together. Megan assures John that the role isn't too large and they'll have plenty of time, especially on the weekends. John remains doubtful. He also talks about how he saw Megan at Carter's locker. Megan explains that she was setting up their homecoming plans with Joann and Carter. John hints at some jealous of Megan being near another boy.
El arc: Right before school started, Lizzie found out that her parents are bankrupt and must move across the state to move in with family. They will move at the end of the semester. Lizzie had so many plans for the year: her and Emily especially planned for some large milestones. Lizzie is in her junior year and she was already afraid of saying bye to everyone at the end of the year. Now she is unsure how to adjust the new issues at home, the change in wealth, and how to say goodbye. So she becomes numb to it all. She witnesses many of the of the climactic moments for the other girls during tech week and disappears before the first the dress, unsure how to deal with it all. She has to learn that the others care for her deeply and she has purpose here.
Lizzie is unsure what to make of Emily's treatment of her. She's unsure how to tell her best friend that's she moving. She spends some time in the empty auditorium after school. She sees a woman walking around. The woman says she's looking for her daughter Amy. Lizzie tries to help her. The woman notices that Lizzie looks down. She comforts her.
carter: Carter talks to Ms. Paine after school. He gets a copy of the Little Women script. He goes to the booth and begins plotting the lights. He sees Lizzie talking on stage to herself. He figures she's rehearsing, though it's weird to see her without Emily. He texts Joann about Lizzie's predicament. He then makes a list of all the lightbulbs he'll need to rearrange for tech, most of which are accessible by a scary ladder. Mr. Maple runs into the booth and interrogates Carter if he's seen anything strange. He then reprimands Carter for going to the booth alone.
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
5 Nov 2021, 22:17
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Part 1
“So, what was she like?”Chapter 1: Auditions
“She’s young. I don’t know. She had a lot of makeup on.”
The girls were gathered around Joann in an alcove in the auditorium wing. They were assembled among their backpacks and audition sides, sitting on the cold brick floor.
“How young?” asked Megan.
“Maybe fresh out of college?” added Emily.
“Did she go to school for theatre?” Marnie looked skeptical.
“Ugh, I didn’t ask that. She said she went to MSU.”
“Wait, do they have a theatre program?” asked Emily.
“Do they have a good theatre program?” Marnie asked with a smirk.
Megan said, “Well I didn’t think we’d get like a New York actor or something, not here.”
“I hope she likes us.” muttered Lizzie. Emily turned to her, giving her a weird look. The other girls had noticed that Lizzie was unusually quiet today.
“I hope she likes my audition.” Emily countered.
“Who are you reading for, Joann? Jo right?” Megan turned the conversation back to Joann.
“Of course! But I’m going to have to give her a big list of conflicts, so I’ll hopefully at least get one of the sisters.”
“We’re all auditioning for Jo. Obviously.” Emily rolled her eyes.
“No, I thought I’d make a good mom. Or Meg.” Megan said meekly. Then in a challenging tone, “Emily, you should be Amy. You are the youngest.”
Emily frowned. “I mean yeah, but I think I’m going to at least try for Jo.”
Marnie seemed to be holding her next comment in; it all came out in a rush. “I’m really excited. I relate so much for Jo. She wants to be a writer like me! I loved the book a lot as a kid.”
Joann shifted around uncomfortably in her spot. The other girls looked away from Marnie. Emily tried to make eye contact at Lizzie, but Lizzie didn’t seem to notice. Joann turned the conversation back to the new director. “Yeah, but Ms. Wilson at least seemed passionate about doing Little Women. Ms. Paine had told her how many girls there are every year in theatre, so she picked a play with only a few male roles.”
The girls looked pointedly over at the other students in the hallway, who were just out of ear shot. There were a few familiar faces, and only a couple of new ones. Emily looked back at their group, “It looks like there are two men auditioning and there are two male roles. I wonder who will be Laurie? Marnie, if you get Jo, you’ll have to kiss a boy again.”
Marnie hit Emily playfully on the arm, “Stop making fun of me!”
Emily rubbed her arm, “Ow!” Your first kiss was during Dracula! With an upperclassman! It’s funny because you don’t date anyone.” Emily looked hopefully at the rest of the girls, wondering if they would join in. But Megan, Lizzie, and Joann had picked up their audition scenes and seemed to be running through lines in their heads. Emily quickly started to do the same.
Marnie looked down at her own sheet. Her cursive handwriting covered the sheet. She felt an upsurge in confidence. She hadn’t had a lead role since their freshman year, but this new director, who had no favorites yet, could be her chance. Well, not that Ms. Paine, their theatre teacher, had favorites, but she had seemed to favor Joann for lead roles over the past few years. But Little Women was different from Our Town or A Christmas Carol. Marnie connected so much more to this story, and she was sure that would come across in her audition.
The woman who must be Ms. Wilson stepped through out of the doors of the auditorium. She had deep red lipstick and dark eye shadow. Her brown hair wafted down to her shoulders in large wavy tendrils. She was wearing stiletto heels and tight skinny jeans with a ruffled black blouse. Emily turned back to the other girls with a large smile, and mouthed “she’s hot!” to Lizzie.
“Hi everyone! I’m Ms. Wilson. I’ll be the theatre director for this year, and you’ll probably also me around as a substitute. I’m excited to meet every one of you. I believe Ms. Paine passed out the audition packets to you. I’ll call you in one by one to perform your monologues. The cast list will be on the window at the front office tomorrow morning. First, let’s start with Andrew Martin.”
A pimply boy who was probably a freshman or sophomore stood up nervously. “This is his first audition, right?” Emily whispered to the group. Joann nodded her head in agreement.
“And then let’s have Joann on deck.” Ms. Wilson waved in recognition to Joann. Andrew and Ms. Wilson walked into the auditorium, the door shutting tightly behind them.
“She looks fun!” Emily exclaimed.
“Yeah she’s not what I expected.” Marnie had a look of surprise on her face. She picked up her monologue, scooting against the wall so she could turn away from the other girls.
“I’m glad I’m going next. I’m meeting with my acting teacher at QYT to go over my college audition piece. And then I have rehearsal for my show there. It’s going to be a long week.”
Emily eyed Joann with some scrutiny. “What colleges are you applying to? Just acting ones?”
Joann nodded, “Yeah I’m doing Oakland as my safety school, and I think I have a good chance at getting into University of Michigan since I wouldn’t be applying to their musical theatre program. But my dream school is UCLA, that way I can get film experience, too. I’m doing NYU’s audition, but they have a weird system where you get sorted into a type of acting school.”
Marnie looked over, “Like Hogwarts?”
“Yeah a little bit.”
Megan scrunched up her face. “Are you sure you’re not worried about leaving the state? Going all the way to California?”
Emily laughed, “Don’t discourage her! We can come visit when she’s a big movie star.”
“Where are you guys applying?”
Emily dramatically dropped to the ground and groaned, “I don’t know! There are too many options!”
Megan shrugged, “I think going to Michigan would be good.”
Lizzie whispered, “Maybe I’ll go somewhere out of state.”
Emily sprung into a sitting position to stare at Lizzie, “You’ve wanted to go to U of M for practically your whole life—what are you talking about?”
Lizzie frowned and turned her attention back to her monologue. Emily sighed and laid back down.
Marnie said to no one in particular, “I think I’ll go try Albion or Aquinas, or U of M would be good, too. I’ll probably get an English degree and a teaching certificate.”
Joann squinted, “Don’t you want to be a writer? Why get a teaching degree?”
“I need a backup plan.”
Joann snorted and opened her mouth to reply, when the auditorium doors opened back up. Andrew quietly walked out with his head down. Ms. Wilson appeared, “Joann?”
Joann nodded and grabbed her stuff. Megan called “Break a leg” after her.
Emily sat back up. “I think she should get Amy. She’s the shortest, so it’ll look the best.”
Lizzie fiddled with her paper. “Shouldn’t it be based on talent?”
Emily rolled her eyes. “Of course it should, but we’re all talented. Just because Joann wants to be an actor doesn’t mean she can take all the good roles. She already has a lead at the show at QYT. She doesn’t have enough time to be Jo.”
“I’m the tallest, and I can understand Jo the best, so I really want it.” Marnie chimed in.
Emily smirked back at her, “Yeah, you're the tallest so you should be the mom.”
Marnie flushed red and tried to look like she was concentrating on her monologue again.
Emily laid back down, “I want Jo.”
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
9 Oct 2022, 11:03
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
I'm returning to this project for 2022 NaNoWriMo. I'm putting it in the same thread, so there's a paper trail for me and the mods to know I'm using all-new writing for the 2022 challenge.
Preptober:Task A: 331/300 wordsTask B: 679/600 wordsTask C: 717/500 wordsTask D: Done!
Last edited by Della Barfield on 1 Nov 2022, 08:46, edited 3 times in total.
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
9 Oct 2022, 11:09
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Task A: Synopsis
The story follows five teenage girls during the fall of 2012 when they are cast in a school production of Little Women. I want the novel to mimic the structure of Alcott’s original novel in some way. I’m also playing around with the idea that there’s a part two, like in Alcott’s novel, that takes in the fall of 2017. But for now, I have part one more clearly formed in my head.
At the beginning of the novel, they meet Ms. Wilson, the new theatre director at their school. She’s been brought in because the theatre teacher is preparing for retirement and staying up all night every night after work with a bunch of teenagers is giving her heart palpitations. Ms. Wilson is gunning for a full-time job at the high school, but for now, she’s a substitute teacher and the theatre director. Ms. Wilson’s only qualification is the one theatre class she took in college as an elective while getting her English degree.
The girls, Jess, Minnie, Emily, Reagan, and Lizzie, must navigate not only the ups and downs of being in high school, the drama inherent in any serious drama club, a woefully inept play director with no budget nor talent, but also the mysterious magic that now surrounds their rehearsals. It seems that a magical portal has opened in the boiler room backstage, allowing Alcott’s original characters to present themselves. At first, the girls aren’t sure if it’s just that their acting has got particularly good, but they soon realize that they are channeling Jo, Meg, Beth, Amy, and even Marmee and allowing them to live and breathe on stage.
The modern-day girls learn from their fictional counterparts as they address their own struggles, but they also found power in the boiler room magic and must decide how to use it morally.
Part one story starts on audition day and follows the girls all the way to closing night. It switches between their five points of view.
WC: 331/300
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
1 Nov 2022, 08:24
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Task B: Outline
For this outline, I'm going to write the broad ideas I have. For NaNo, I don't think I'm ready for the first draft, so I'm going to fill my word count with scenes and writings that are more exploratory as I figure out exactly how to make this monster of a story. So it probably won't make sense to read what I've written straight through, but I think this process will help me a lot. And if I actually do write 50k words, then I will have fully explored the concepts, and I have tons of material that can become the first draft.
The scenes I do think I need that will make up the main structure of the store are as follows: auditions, table read, first rehearsal, general rehearsals, dress rehearsals, opening night where the climax of the story happens, and the closing night party where we get our resolution. These scenes will be very magical—this is where my characters will interact with their Little Women counterparts. Whenever they are in the school auditorium, there is a chance that the magic can activate. I haven't figured out all the "rules" for the magic, but I think it originates in the boiler room behind the stage. In this room, the characters do quick changes and store their costumes and props between performances. Alcott's characters sometimes embody my characters and they share headspace, but also Alcott's characters can sometimes appear by themselves. This play is the first time in at least a few decades that the magic has happened and it will disappear when the play closes. I want the power of the magic to also grow up to the climax and have a resolution when the story resolves.
There are five main characters that each get cast as Jo, Meg, Amy, Beth, and Marmee. They each have their own arc of sorts that is influenced by the magic, high school, and each other. The following are early ideas for the conflict each girl goes through and what their rock bottom is. Jess needs to realize that she's overbooking herself and doing things for other people when she needs to pay attention to herself once in awhile. She sleeps through opening night, literally her worst nightmare. Minnie feels overshadowed by her boisterous friends, especially when she is cast as "the mom," and she feels the same at home with her popular, successful older siblings who all battle for their parent's attention. She forms a connection with the new director's young boyfriend, who gives her individual attention and makes her feel special. The world comes crashing down when the director sees them kiss on opening night. Emily lives with her grandmother because her dad and her sister moved to the other side of the state due to her stepmom's job. Emily refused to go and puts a lot of her hurt feelings into getting attention in class, from boys, from friends, you name it. When Lizzie starts to pull away from her, she turns to Minnie and joins Minnie in hating on Jess because Jess has the lead role. She has a huge crush on the new kid, who plays Laurie, but is the crush just wanting attention? This culminates in her learning a secret about Lizzie and her family not showing up on opening night. Reagan gets a new boyfriend to complete her perfectionst. The relationship turns out to be not so perfect, and her boyfriend destroys her costume on opening night. Lizzie finds out she's moving after this semester, and she comes to terms with her crush on Emily. She tells all on opening night.
There might also be a minor plot with Ms. Wilson, the new director. She wants to be a cosmetologist, but her parents don't approve of that career choice, and she vents her frustrations by allowing herself as the adult to get caught up in the petty drama of teenagers.
Jess's boyfriend, Carter, and the school security, Mr. Maple, are the only two outsiders that notice some magic is afoot. They provide some comic relief.
WC: 679/600
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
1 Nov 2022, 08:44
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Task C: Main Characters
I want the five main characters to feel like best friends so that it feels painful when the events of the semester start to tear them apart. Jess, Minnie, Emily, and Reagan all started to become very close during their freshman year of high school. They all joined the drama club and bonded over their love of theatre. Emily's childhood friend, Lizzie, is a year below them, but Emily started to bring her around and she got close with the crew as well. This solidified when Lizzie joined the club during sophomore year, and for the last two years, they've all been thicker than thieves.
Jess dreams of being an actor, and she is preparing to audition for college programs—the biggest ones. She wants to leave the state for either New York or California. She is dating Carter who works in the lighting booth for the auditorium. She is the National Honors Society President, Thespian President, and captain of the chess team, and she has a job where she works with young children at the local community theatre. She's never home, but it's just her mom and her, so they currently have a close by frayed relationship.
Minnie has four older siblings who were very popular at the high school, so she has quite the legacy to live up to. And her friends are more confident and successful than her, or so she thinks. She's only active in drama club. She spends her other free time writing because she wants to be a fantasy/romance author. She is only applying to schools that are within an hour's distance from home.
Emily's dad, sister, and stepmom moved with her stepmom's new job. She didn't want to move because she wanted to stay at her school with her friends, so she lives with her grandmother. She has no idea what she wants to do for school or for life, so she is just applying to the two major state schools, and the community college in their hometown. Emily feels a bit abandoned by her family, and she shoves those feelings down and deals with them by seeking attention from mostly Lizzie and boys.
Reagan is on track to be valedictorian. She is in the same clubs as Jess, but she doesn't have a job nor does she have leadership positions. So she's busy but not that busy. She stays on top of her schoolwork and her sleep. She has a ten-year plan. She's going to go to medical school, like her valedictorian cousins before her. She'll get engaged before the residency, and she'll start having children after the wedding and the residency. She is going to the nearby state school because it's excellent for pre-med. Her new boyfriend, Trevor, is instrumental in her plans. She sees life as one highly scheduled regulated school day after the other.
Lizzie finds out that her dad got a promotion and they'll be moving to a new state at the end of the year. She's always liked to be the funny friend who keeps things light. As the single child of two very stoic parents, she has never learned how to express her emotions and be vulnerable. So she doesn't tell her friend that she's moving. And she is trying to come to terms with a very clear crush on Emily and what that might mean to their friendship. She loves music, she is the first chair clarinet in the school band (Emily is the second chair).
The girls all spend one-on-one time with each other, so here is a little list of activities they do to help me inform their relationships in the story. Jess and Minnie play the Sims, telling wild tales through the game. Emily and Jess spend hours talking about their weird families disjointed families. Jess and Reagan want Naruto and Inuyasha. Jess and Lizzie watch musicals, online and in person. Minnie and Emily read salacious fanfiction together. Minnie and Reagan read the same fantasy books and go to book releases together. Minnie and Lizzie love Taylor Swift even though they usually don't like country music. Emily and Reagan are mall rats and love shopping together. Emily and Lizzie go way back, and their new obsession is catfishing boys at school on Facebook. Reagan and Lizzie listen to J-pop together.
WC: 717/500
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné
1 Nov 2022, 08:46
NaNo 2021-2022: All Sunshine, All Shadow
Task D: Commitments
I think I'm going to go for the 1667 words a day! But I don't need to write in order of the plot. I might even write some things that wouldn't go into the book because I'm trying to explore the ideas of the book and figure it all out. I might not be able to write on Saturdays, but I'll try to make this up on Fridays or Sundays.
sta 8 - eva 16 - str 5 - wis 11 - arc 5 - accuracy 13 |||| Parselmouth - Evasive Maneuvers - Beast Master
also Ruckus Weems | Quentin Gagné