I LIVE
Omg I forgot about this poor little journal. ;__; Time for an update. Even though there's not much to be said, unfortunately.
SS
So, I have this epic novel that I've been slaving over for a few years now. I've written multiple drafts and have tweaked the plot several times as my ideas evolved. I gave up on NaNoWriMo (twice) last year because I wanted to focus on this story instead. Wellll, turns out I gave up on SS, too. I decided I was sick of working and re-working it, the premise was bland and uninspired, the plot was non-existent, and I really just needed something new and fresh.
My new novel idea keeps all the same characters (what can I say, I love them too much), but shuffles their roles around a little bit (and may introduce new ones). Plus, there's an entirely new premise and plot. What those are, I'm not sure yet. I've been jotting down ideas and trying to make it all come together.
I would love to work on this for NaNoWriMo, because I'm getting excited about it and it's like a breath of fresh air after trying to redo the same stale plot over and over again for the past 4-1/2 years or so. However, NaNo is 27 days away, and I just don't think I could develop the story enough in that amount of time. I need to really take my time with this one--I need to look at all the little details of the backstory and plot, I need to make sure I have the entire story planned out before even starting the first book, I'll probably need to do research...and so on. I really do not want to rush the development of this story, because I've done that in the past with less-than-ideal results.
NaNoWriMo
So, that leads me to the question of what to do for NaNoWriMo. At this point, I'm not even sure I want to participate. There's a part of me that really, really wants to. Last year was a wash, but it can also be a fluke if I dust myself off and give it another go. On the other hand, do I want to put my "epic" story thing on hold for a month so I can write a little self-contained piece (which might actually do me some good, since I would try to focus on something simple and relatively lighthearted)? Idkkkk I can't seem to make this decision.
And yes, it's still early. But I want to make sure I have plenty of time to plot everything out. I have learned from past experiences that I need a looooot of planning in order to ensure that I will see this through to its completion. Aces was so much fun, and such a huge success, because I was already up and running by early October, and I had character profiles, spreadsheets of scenes, plot summaries, everything to get me uber-excited about the upcoming project.
There's also the question of time. I would probably aim for 50,000 words, just so it's a bit less stressful. I have a 16-hour/wk internship, plus 6 hours/wk of class. Not too bad, but I'll most likely be busting out a shitton of words on the weekends. Would I be able to do enough, though, to get NaNo done? Not sure. I'm usually exhausted when I get back from my internship, and I'll probably have assignments for my classes.
Maybe I'll sleep on it for a couple of nights and try to clear my mind a bit. Maybe I'll just let it happen--if an awesome idea latches onto my brains and I can't get it out, then I'll attack it during NaNo. If nothing has inspired me by late October, I'll pass on NaNoWriMo this year and devote time to my pet project. If, by whatever holy grace, I feel confident enough in my epic!novel project that I'm ready to start writing by November, I might try to get 50,000 words of that written during that month. We'll see.
SS
So, I have this epic novel that I've been slaving over for a few years now. I've written multiple drafts and have tweaked the plot several times as my ideas evolved. I gave up on NaNoWriMo (twice) last year because I wanted to focus on this story instead. Wellll, turns out I gave up on SS, too. I decided I was sick of working and re-working it, the premise was bland and uninspired, the plot was non-existent, and I really just needed something new and fresh.
My new novel idea keeps all the same characters (what can I say, I love them too much), but shuffles their roles around a little bit (and may introduce new ones). Plus, there's an entirely new premise and plot. What those are, I'm not sure yet. I've been jotting down ideas and trying to make it all come together.
I would love to work on this for NaNoWriMo, because I'm getting excited about it and it's like a breath of fresh air after trying to redo the same stale plot over and over again for the past 4-1/2 years or so. However, NaNo is 27 days away, and I just don't think I could develop the story enough in that amount of time. I need to really take my time with this one--I need to look at all the little details of the backstory and plot, I need to make sure I have the entire story planned out before even starting the first book, I'll probably need to do research...and so on. I really do not want to rush the development of this story, because I've done that in the past with less-than-ideal results.
NaNoWriMo
So, that leads me to the question of what to do for NaNoWriMo. At this point, I'm not even sure I want to participate. There's a part of me that really, really wants to. Last year was a wash, but it can also be a fluke if I dust myself off and give it another go. On the other hand, do I want to put my "epic" story thing on hold for a month so I can write a little self-contained piece (which might actually do me some good, since I would try to focus on something simple and relatively lighthearted)? Idkkkk I can't seem to make this decision.
And yes, it's still early. But I want to make sure I have plenty of time to plot everything out. I have learned from past experiences that I need a looooot of planning in order to ensure that I will see this through to its completion. Aces was so much fun, and such a huge success, because I was already up and running by early October, and I had character profiles, spreadsheets of scenes, plot summaries, everything to get me uber-excited about the upcoming project.
There's also the question of time. I would probably aim for 50,000 words, just so it's a bit less stressful. I have a 16-hour/wk internship, plus 6 hours/wk of class. Not too bad, but I'll most likely be busting out a shitton of words on the weekends. Would I be able to do enough, though, to get NaNo done? Not sure. I'm usually exhausted when I get back from my internship, and I'll probably have assignments for my classes.
Maybe I'll sleep on it for a couple of nights and try to clear my mind a bit. Maybe I'll just let it happen--if an awesome idea latches onto my brains and I can't get it out, then I'll attack it during NaNo. If nothing has inspired me by late October, I'll pass on NaNoWriMo this year and devote time to my pet project. If, by whatever holy grace, I feel confident enough in my epic!novel project that I'm ready to start writing by November, I might try to get 50,000 words of that written during that month. We'll see.