Ellie's NovMo 24': Tales of a Talking Raccoon

I really, really thought I had a NaNo thread from last year that had more than one post in it XD especially since I FINISHED NANO LAST YEAR?? Well, either way, I am back and motivated to do the same this year!

I am still very confuzzled @-@ deciding which project to go for, so this will be a bit of a #classified blank space until I decide.

A Month Of Horror (July Camp NaNo 2024, horror short story collection)
I Made It Z (NaNo 2023, partly completed side project)
Monkeys and bears and tears (sequel to my other novel 'what I want you to remember' which I completed and printed during NaNo 2023)
I'll Meet You In My Dreams (Version 2.0 of 'I Made It Z', still a WIP)

My 2024 PlanMoThread

I am currently contemplating:
-Rewriting a novel I wrote when I was 11 and getting it self published to fulfill little Ellie's greatest goal in life and heal her heart
-Finishing my current WIP
-Writing a completely new horror novel
-Doing a sequel to my NaNo poetry novel from last year
-Rewriting my NaNo project from last year and self publishing

I am leaning towards option 1

Comments welcome and feedback encouraged!!

Table of Contents:

Alright, I will be doing this!

Rewriting a novel I wrote when I was 11 and getting it self published to fulfill little Ellie's greatest goal in life and heal her heart

Let me introduce the project: This story follows three characters. Mr Raccoon, a... well... talking raccoon with a tragic past. He befriends Chloe, a talking cat... also with a tragic past that she refused to talk about. They become friends and get separated by a giant flood. Chloe meets a boy named Charlie... believe it or not... he has a tragic past too. Chloe and Charlie set out on a quest to find Mr. Raccoon who is in a... dystopian animal labour camp (I wrote this when I was 11). There is a huge plot twist at the end of course XD

Here are some images so that you can see this magic with your own eyes:

The front cover



The back cover with a VERY intriguing synopsis

The first thing I am doing: Changing the name of this project from "Moving Grass" to "Tales of a Talking Raccoon" because... really past Ellie? Moving Grass??? T-T You wrote an entire novel and called it that?

A little more about the story:

This original copy is handwritten and 42 pages long, divided into 8 chapters. At that time, I did not know how to use quotation marks or spell very well, so there is a lot of editing to be done. I will be fixing top the whole story and adding plot as I go and improving the characters. I doubt this will get me anywhere near 50k words, but I am just going to have fun with it and see if I can make a real novel out of this!! Younger me is jumping with joy!

Cant forget the sweet dedication I made:

Main Character:

TW for animal death/fires

It is hard for me to choose a single 'main character' since there are three of them in this novel, who all have unique and detailed pasts and elements of who they are. But for the purpose of this I will focus on Mr. Raccoon, since originally I was inspired to write this novel by looking at an image of a raccoon hiding from water (I think?), which inspired the flood idea.

So, Mr. Raccoon is the age equivelant of a teenager in raccoon years. He originally, when he was young, had a family who loved him very much. He looks like a raccoon and is one too. He had siblings and parents. They all lived in this big forest together that had a lot of trees and greenery. One day, because of an unknown cause (which is revealed later in the book) the forest all lit on fire. It was such a horrible fire that the entire thing went up in flames. All of the animals had to flee their homes... or else they would die. Mr Raccoons famils got caught up in the worst of it, so they were all running away from the flames. Since he was the smallest, his dad was holding him while he ran, since he was only a baby and was not fast. The flames were closing in on them, so as a last resort, his father threw him as far as he could, just as the flames closed in on his entire family.

He landed in a stream on water and flaoted on a log until a dad and son in a boat found him and took him on board. they docked at the town that he lives in when the story begins, which is where he meets the kind man who gives him food daily, since he does not know how to hunt things (and this is a friendly childrens story where animals dont eat other animals and they are all friends XD)

On the inside, Mr Raccoon misses his family. He wants to meet someone who he can love (mostly just as a friend and not to be in love) and protect and help feel happy. He wants to be accepted and feel safe. He belives in loyalty and trust and would do anything for his friends. Despite all of his pain, he is quick to forgive others.

Elevator Pitch:
Mr. Raccoon lost his family when he was young and ever since then he has been searching for a place to belong. He finally finds it: his new best friend Chloe, a young kitten with a painful past. The two friends quickly bond and grow very close, until a dreadful, monstrous storm separates them. Chloe meets a young, human boy, Charlie. Together, the two of them set off on a quest to find Mr. Raccoon, who has been imprisoned in an animal labour camp... somewhere far far away.

Character and Location List:

Characters:

Main characters
Mr. Raccoon (MC)
Chloe (MC)
Charlie (MC)

Side Characters
Kind Man (side, name unknown)
Sloth (side, labour camp tour guide)
Charlie's Father
Charlie's Mother

Brief Mentions
Father and son who rescued Mr. Raccoon as a baby (brief mention)
Mr Raccoon's father and siblings/mother (deceased)
Chloe's sister (deceased)
Chloe's brother (deceased)
Charlie's sister (deceased)

Locations:
The town (where Mr. Raccoon lives)
The forrest (where Chloe and Mr. Raccoon's families died)
The beach (where the story ends, Charlie's house, borders the forest)
The camp (animal labour camp owned by Charlie's parents)

This is such a cool idea Ellie!! I love that you have a copy of baby Ellie's book! (your handwriting and drawings are >>>> and the fact that you bound it like a real book is amazing!!)

And you have enough ideas that if reworking this project doesn't get you to 50k you can always bounce to another....