Young Writers Society

Camp NaNo '23:

A Winter's Funeral

Its basically a novella about nothing and everything. Three siblings are forced by circumstances to spend time together. When life throws them a curve ball, we see them working together, growing together and changing the perceptions and grudges they clung to so tightly.

Starring characters who are confused and lost in their own lives and cope with it by taking it out on each other, this is a slow, laid-back novella about family and growing up and getting to actually know the people you've spent your entire lives with. This can basically be considered as a character study of three people, only with plot (albeit, a little overused plot!) I have planned a sequel to this novella, only it is set a few years down the lane, when they are all on different roads in life. Hopefully, if I can complete this during Camp, I can get on with the sequel in the July Camp!

Current Wordcount: 0

Camp Goal: Complete it!

2. Character Motivation

Evelynn is very confused in life. She is sweet, studious and obedient - the one whom everyone praises but no one really knows. At 18 years of age, she still very much feels like a ten year old. She is a responsible girl who avoids responsibility. This tendency of hers is evident in her resentment with growing up and every thing the 'grown up' world represents. She is at her most comfortable inside her own head and avoids going out or actually experiencing the world. She has a select few friends, but even her relationship with them is distant. Her world is therefore limited to her family, and they are the only people whom she considers constants in her life. They have her love, her loyalty and acceptance, even at times when they shouldn't.

Eve's main conflict in the story is centered around two things - her refusal to grow up and her relationship with her brother, Jake. The first interferes with her life, as she finds herself graduating high school with no idea of what she wants to do in life. She enjoys writing but cannot commit to it. She likes teaching but does not think she is capable of becoming a teacher. She sends out her college applications on a whim and when she performs poorly in a final exam that could deeply impact her chances of getting into a decent college, she feels entirely defeated as she loses her only identity of 'being a deligent student' that she so desperately clung to.

Her relationship with her brother is a little complicated in the sense that all the frustrations seem to be one sided. With a one year age gap between them, Jake and Eve have grown up together. She considers him her playmate, her companion and her partner-in-crime from their childhood. So when her little brother is not so little anymore and grows into an angsty, popular teenager with a gang of friends and a different girl friend every month, Eve feels left out. Jake's transgressions have affected and hurt every member of their family to some extent, but none more than Eve. She tries to accept his change and recognizes it to be a phase and yet, every altercation with her brother burns her from within as she still holds on to the hope that they will go back to how they were and he will once again find her 'cool' enough to admit into his world.

Here we have to remember that Eve doesn't really have any 'good' friends. Her sister, Allison (23 years) is her only companion and the one person she looks up to. Just as her relationship with her brother took a turn, her relationship with Allison changed for the better as her sister came out of her depression and took charge of her own life. Both of them are similar in the sense that they are both introverts who are a little separate from their family. They are individualistic and often each other's advocate during arguments. However, since Ally is more opinionated and always the one who is arguing, Eve comes across as the back-up, thereby losing even more of her identity.

Eve is intelligent and empathetic. She tries to justify others' behaviour even when they require no justification. Her entire arc in the story is therefore about her finally accepting herself as she is, standing up to those who have put her down before and finally taking charge of her own life instead of sitting around and clinging to the past.

3. Story Arc

I think the story follows the 'Man in a Hole' arc, which basically translates to 'fall then rise'. If we view it like that, I think it can also be said that the characters are very much stuck in their own 'holes' of negativity, misunderstandings and ancient grudges. In order to really come out of that, they will need to look within themselves first and be open to the fact that people can change.

The 'fall' in the story will typically take place when Jake and Allison are arguing about responsibilities. When Evelynn enters to mitigate the situation, he turns the table on her and a lot of accusations are aired out during that argument. This also goes a long way in expressing how drastically different people's perceptions are of each other. There is always a different side to a coin and until now they have been blind to any different perspective that does not fit their perception of who their sibling is.

The 'rise' comes a little later when Evelynn eventually decides that she is done with all the back and forth. It also happens in the form of Allison attaining a deeper maturity and realizing how she has been projecting her problems on to them and thereby worsening everyone's relationship with each other. Jake's story does not necessarily get resolved in this part, but we see him with a newfound willingness to recognize where he has gone wrong and accept the blame that comes with it. However, as he is still a little younger than the other two and less in touch with his thoughts and feelings, he still has some way to go before he can really 'evolve'.

4. The Stakes

Since this is more of a realistic, family drama, there are no 'life or death' stakes involved here - even though, the characters will be kind of heading towards their grandfather's ancestral home to spend their last moments with him. However, their frequent arguments and inability to back each other up on any single decision leads to them arriving at the scene too late. The fact that their shortcomings caused their little niece, Lily (who was left in their charge) to miss her last moments with her great-grandfather hits them hard.

There's a conversation between Eve and Lily about that which constitutes one of the more bittersweet moments of the novella, especially as it captures the growth she has experienced throughout the journey.

Thank you, @IcyFlame! I love simple, character-driven stories, so I am really excited about this one!

Thank you, @Liminality! I usually struggle with planning and plotting a lot, so I'm really happy you found some structure in the story arc!

Sometimes stories with what seem like the simplest plots can be so emotionally moving and hit you the hardest. I really like the potential and the ideas explored in your posts so far

Thanks so much, @Lael!

5. Character Tweets

Allison: Asking yourself too many questions is more often than not the best and worst thing you can do for yourself.

Evelynn: (Yeah no, I am not doing this...)

(This isn't something she would actually tweet but I can hear her say this as she gives up on her first attempt at tweeter.)

May Marlin: Being a mother of three is exhausting, especially when most days you feel like a child yourself.

Arthur Marlin: Inaction is the worst sin.

(Their father wouldn't really be on tweeter, but if he did, this would pretty much be his life's dialogue)

Jake: Someone once said: “Being different is a revolving door in your life where secure people enter and insecure exit.” That must be why I keep finding myself alone.

(Jake ripped off that quote from the back of one of Eve's books. He doesn't read.)

6. Most Challenging Characters

I think it will be a challenge to portray all three characters realistically so that their interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts are apparent to not just me, but the readers as well.

Evelynn is a simple character who strives to be good and to do good. However, the truth of the matter is that she is very lost and directionless in her life. She wants to be happy, but she doesn't know what makes her happy or what gives her fulfillment. She attaches her worth to different things and different people because it gives her a sense of purpose and belongingness. And when she stumbles academically or when her brother suddenly becomes a stranger sharing the same house, she feels agitated at the shifts it creates in her life when she realizes that she doesn't know what she wants. Her insecurities and her extreme lack of self-worth causes her to further fold into herself and escape into her own mind. She lacks agency in her own life and that makes it a little difficult for me to portray her empathetically since idle characters who don't take any initiatives in their lives don't usually appeal to me.

Allison is very different from her little sister. She is always on the go, always planning or doing or striving for something. She has shared a complicated relationship with her father in the past and it has resulted in her need to prove herself in every aspect of her life. Therefore, her natural reaction to life is to attack before it attacks her. She is also a perfectionist because of which she has faced several frustrations in her academic field. It ultimately led her to two years of sitting at home with depression and not being able to do anything with her life. After therapy and a career change she is finally mending her relationship with her father and her sister and excelling at her work. Even so, happiness continues to evade her. She could easily move out and find a better paying job that does not satisfy her. However, she still lingers on the career she gave up and absently wishes to explore that possibility now that she is in a better position in life. The trouble with Allison is that she is too aggressive with everyone and is always trying to change everyone and solve everything. Some of the arguments she starts are not necessary at all and I think I am going to struggle a little with presenting her justifications for her actions since she thinks through everything and is never wrong in her mind.

Jake is the character who I think I'm going to struggle with the most. He is a lot more single-minded than his siblings and acts selfishly several times throughout the novella. Its not that he intends to hurt Eve or his mother or even Allison, for that matter. He just attaches too much importance to his own feelings and desires and needs and does not understand the direct implications they have on other people's lives. Having been subjected to comparisons with his sister (Eve) all his life, he too has developed the need to prove himself the smartest person in the room. Only where Allison does it silently, he does it loudly and arrogantly. He seeks validation from people and is therefore too involved in the wrong people's lives - friends and classmates who are only attracted by his charm. As a result, he shares a strained relationship with every member of his family, except for his father who has found in him what he so desperately tried to find in Allison - someone with his vision and his drive who can carry on his business. So, not only does he have to compare with Eve, but also with Allison.

My approach to Jake's character is a little different from my approach to his siblings'. I don't want to make him appealing (even though he is the one who has the most 'appeal' among them). I don't want to present him as a sympathetic character at all. Rather, I just want the readers to accept his shortcomings and understand that he is capable of change as well.

7. Character and Location List

Characters:



Locations: