I purposely left my outline wide open because I'm rather prone to digressions and tangents during Nano. My tangents to date: random and quirky secondary characters that pop in and out. But after a little thinking about them, these secondary characters do fit a sort of mold. Like cranky old men with a few screws loose. And middle-aged women with crushes on my main male character. Not to mention greasy henchmen and dramatic villains who come to bad ends.
Hm. I will probably have to put a crazed, yet extremely unusual bibliophile somewhere in the story to really creep my characters out. Maybe I'll introduce him or her once my characters board the Hinterland Express to Haven.
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I really like one bit of advice on the forums about "telling" the story rather than "writing" it. In one way "writing" seems rather slavish while "telling" is more laid back. Rather than stressing over the words, picture what's happening and simply describe.
