More Prep for The Stranger Child

With just over 1000 miles on the car, plus two stressed-out kitties left alone at home, we finished a several-day trip into the Nevada desert to gather background information, scenes, and atmosphere for my NaNoWriMo novel this year, Roger and the Lightyear Mass.

Thanks to a Spreecast webinar set up by the NaNoWriMo folks, I have a better idea how to plot my novel, which I am trying for the first time this year.

I've been following the useful Prep Calendar guide (with some modifications to accommodate the trip to the desert) and it has also been helpful. As a result, I now have the opening scene, the denouement, and the "hinge" or "mirror moment" middle scene of the novel outlined in detail, I have completed a sweeping outline for the entire story, and have written character sheets for several major characters. 

There are seven major characters, all in their teens or late pre-teens. Today I will finish the MC character sheets, and begin fleshing out character sheets for several minor characters.

"The Stranger Child" was the tentative title for this novel when I was considering it for NaNoWriMo last year, and I have been using it as a label to collect notes under for almost a year now. Despite changing the title to Roger and the Lightyear Mass, I still really like The Stranger Child. I may change it back.