Awkward Romance

So, NaNoWriMo is coming up, and like many years I have a pretty bare-bones type of plan in mind for it. One that could go anywhere, has potential to be silly, and, most importantly, does not compel me to believe the resulting novel will actually do anything for my writing career. (This last condition is the trump card against my inner editor.)

The way it does this? By blurring the line between fan fiction (something based in another creator's work) and originality. My novel, tentatively titled "The Lifey Thing," is rooted in an intellectual property that is now not only a story but an entire culture. This culture, which can now be seen filling conventions everywhere, is where the main character resides.

Yes, like me, my character Aaron is a big fan of the hit hybrid-media webcomic Homestuck. Actually, he's a bigger fan. Instead of just buying some cards and throwing together a cheap Halloween costume to show his love for it, he discovers it and then immediately becomes obsessive. To the point where he starts taking all the quizzes out there to find what character role fits him, and then does everything he can to follow it.

Not only that, but he gets into things like "troll romance," in which love is divided into four quadrants that are symbolized by playing card suits. Hearts is pretty much what you expect, while diamonds and clubs are more or less platonic. It's spades that makes this really weird stuff. Spades represents the kismesis, a person you hate passionately but are somehow still very attracted to. Aaron believes that he'll only be satisfied if he can somehow get both a traditional romance (which he never had any success with in the first place) and a kismesis.

Needless to say, the people around him have no idea why he's acting the way he does. It makes no sense. He may throw away reason and the things that are best for him just to get into this. Is there even the slightest possibility that his extreme attitude would ever pay off? That's what I'm setting out to explore this November.