That is my question this week.
I want to participate in NaNoWriMo very much. I even scheduled off some nice vacation to help my success. But in reality, maybe I shouldn’t even try.
I learned last year that trying to handle two shorter projects for the 50K goal just won’t work for me. Once I finished one project, I had a mental “break” and I couldn’t ever get started on the other in time to hit the end of the month race. I really struggle to work on more than one project at a time, too. Once I’m in the zone for A, I find it nearly impossible to do anything at all in B without losing the edge on the first project.
Plus, the projects in my queue right now just are not good NaNoWriMo projects.
Phantom, in progress. (First mark against it – I already started it). Targeted length 35K. (Too short)
Zombie Category Romance, in progress. (ditto). Targeted length 25k. (ditto)
Lord Regret’s Price, not started, premise in my mind, but no plotting done. Targeted length, 30K. Sigh.
New project I’ll call “3 Aliens“, vague premise, cool idea but no character names, no worldbuilding, no plotting. Target length < 30K. Sigh.
I could go on and on with the shorter projects, all in various stages of work, from premise to some plotting to even started and filed away for whatever reason. NONE of these will work for NaNoWriMo.
The only project in my queue that would work for NaNo is Mal’s book, tentatively Mine to Break. However, I have absolutely no plotting done and no real characterization other than the little bits I know from Victor and Vicki. The length is right though and with Vicki coming in May, I’d really like to get Mal in the pipeline.
So I continue to waffle back and forth about what to do. I don’t like leaving two projects in the unfinished file for yet another month or so, because that increases the likelihood that I won’t finish them. I have to strike while the iron is hot, and it’s already losing its glow just a bit. Phantom is all plotted out on the wall — but I don’t have the burning desire to work on it.
I’m taking Jenna’s tarot class starting this weekend and I’m hoping that I’ll figure out what to concentrate on. Otherwise I may have to bow out of NaNoWriMo this year.
I do this same dance every year. Most of my stuff will be at least 50k, so I don’t have that issue. It’s always how to pick who from the queue.
This year I have 2 projects I’m working on getting out for Christmas, so I’m focusing on which to follow up with first. One project is shorter than the other so I’m wrestling with: do the short one first or get the longer one underway.
Decisions, decisions’
Good luck deciding, Kate! I’m right there with you.
Decisions, decisions…I’m not doing NaNo, at least not officially, I’m sure the energy of the month will hit me or maybe I hope it will 😉
I think you probably have enough time to sketch out Mal’s story (love the working title BTW). I hope you find the spark again for Phantom and ZCR because, well, I’m selfish and want to read them
See you in Jenna’s class!
Mal is a possibility. I just don’t have the heart and soul of the story figured out yet.
Me, too – I want to finish them. The ZCR is insanely fun. I just can’t seem to get many words going….
You know me – I never do NaNo. I can crank out 50k in a month, but once I put a public goal out there, my brain rebels and I get stuck. Or life intervenes and throws me a curve ball that makes writing impossible.
Like right now: the only reason I’m home at all today is a migraine. This is the fourth day of this particular bugger, and I just couldn’t bear all those flourescents at work. Plus, I had this weird chills/sweats thing going on all last night that kept me from any kind of restful sleep, even though I went to bed at 8:00. It’s like having a migraine AND being sick, which just isn’t fair.
I still have to do the walking tours tonight (don’t have a back-up for me), but at least it’ll be dark. The wig always gives me a headache, though, so I’m not sure I won’t be taking it off between tours. I don’t need any help getting a headache today.
Hugs, Sis, migraines suck! I hope you feel better!
Selfishly I want you to do Nano, since I want another book soon (and I’ve already had the pleasure of reading Vicki, 😆 ) but you definitely have to do what’s right for you, and if that means skipping it, then so be it. But you’ll be missed.
Maybe you need to do a revised Nano (like we did with Maynowrimo). Maybe your goal should be to instead of writing 50k, should be completing one of other stories and getting it out the door. Maybe you need to focus on completion instead of progress.