Clare-Dragonfly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clare_dragonfly) wrote2011-10-11 10:52 pm
clare_dragonfly) wrote2011-10-11 10:52 pm
Entry tags:
Thinking about NaNoWriMo
So, you know, this year I was thinking about skipping NaNo. Which I've done before. Once. The other times, I haven't really succeeded. So, yeah, when I got an email from my ML... I realized there's no way I'm skipping this year!
However, I have a lot of different ideas for what I should write and I'm having trouble deciding. No, this isn't a list of all my ideas ever, but it is a list of my thoughts for this year's NaNo and the pros and cons.
Idea 1: Chatoyant College - writing 50,000 more words of my online serial novel. I don't actually know what the plot to this would be (some of it is worked out, but not all of it), but it's basically, er, suburban fantasy? It's a college campus with faeries and magic classes. Also, werewolves and mermaids, and I'm pretty sure there are vampires somewhere about.
Pros:
-Not much worldbuilding or other development to do; after (almost) 7 books I know my characters and world pretty well
-I know I can write 50k words
-When I finish, I'll have a substantial buffer and will probably be able to move updates back to 3x/week
-I could probably work on something else at the same time, maybe do another Garden of Prose in November
Cons:
-Might get bored continuing to work in this same world
-Having the biweekly chapter to post has motivated me to write on days when I'm feeling tired or lazy; I'd lose that impetus if I had a buffer
-50k is... not a challenge
Idea 2: Warehouse 13/Criminal Minds crossover fic - I've been planning this fic for a while, and I have a lot of cool ideas for it; it would be about a serial killer using an artifact.
Pros:
-I totally want to write more Warehouse 13 fic after the season finale
-Coolest casefic ever
-Again, I could work on something else at the same time
-I know there's an audience for it
Cons:
-Don't know if there's 50k in this
-I haven't been so much in the mood to write fanfic lately (the one I just posted notwithstanding; I wrote most of it months ago)
-No chance of making money from the month's worth of work
Idea 3: Closed Circle - continuing this; probably only minor fantastical elements, more of a mystery.
Pros:
-Closed circles are fun to write! My first NaNo back in 2004 (which none of you are ever, ever seeing) was one.
-I quite like my characters.
Cons:
-Don't know if there's 50k in this
-Would need to do a fair amount of planning since I have no idea why they're in that house
Idea 4: all of the above - combining 50k on Chatoyant, writing all of the fanfic, and continuing Closed Circle to fill up 100k, a double-Nano
Pros:
-I won't get bored!
-I may have sort of challenged someone else in my region to a NaNo war... apparently last year they were keeping an eye on our respective stats (and beat me by about 2k) and that triggered my competitive side.
Cons:
-That's a lot of words. Last year I decided that 80k (my goal for the month) was about the best I could expect to do. However, last year I was also participating in a fairly active RP at the same time.
-Seriously... that's a lot of words. I will have even less of a social life than usual (though write-ins pretty much count as a social life).
Idea 5: Taylor Viets - this is the novel (first in a series) I'm writing in the Extranormal Crimes world; urban fantasy about law enforcement.
Pros:
-It will definitely be finished by December; I'm hoping to self-publish it by mid-December to take advantage of the huge number of ereaders that I know will be sold that month
-I would need to do more worldbuilding, but not a huge amount
-I know I'm going to have a lot of fun with this book, and I knowaldersprig, at the very least, wants to read it ;)
Cons:
-I would have to stop writing right now to be sure there were 50k words left in the story (I'm at a little over 15k, and I think this will be a relatively short novel)
-Technically against the rules, this would make me a NaNo rebel
So... any thoughts? Does anyone else see pros and cons I may have missed? Which of these would you be most interested in reading?
However, I have a lot of different ideas for what I should write and I'm having trouble deciding. No, this isn't a list of all my ideas ever, but it is a list of my thoughts for this year's NaNo and the pros and cons.
Idea 1: Chatoyant College - writing 50,000 more words of my online serial novel. I don't actually know what the plot to this would be (some of it is worked out, but not all of it), but it's basically, er, suburban fantasy? It's a college campus with faeries and magic classes. Also, werewolves and mermaids, and I'm pretty sure there are vampires somewhere about.
Pros:
-Not much worldbuilding or other development to do; after (almost) 7 books I know my characters and world pretty well
-I know I can write 50k words
-When I finish, I'll have a substantial buffer and will probably be able to move updates back to 3x/week
-I could probably work on something else at the same time, maybe do another Garden of Prose in November
Cons:
-Might get bored continuing to work in this same world
-Having the biweekly chapter to post has motivated me to write on days when I'm feeling tired or lazy; I'd lose that impetus if I had a buffer
-50k is... not a challenge
Idea 2: Warehouse 13/Criminal Minds crossover fic - I've been planning this fic for a while, and I have a lot of cool ideas for it; it would be about a serial killer using an artifact.
Pros:
-I totally want to write more Warehouse 13 fic after the season finale
-Coolest casefic ever
-Again, I could work on something else at the same time
-I know there's an audience for it
Cons:
-Don't know if there's 50k in this
-I haven't been so much in the mood to write fanfic lately (the one I just posted notwithstanding; I wrote most of it months ago)
-No chance of making money from the month's worth of work
Idea 3: Closed Circle - continuing this; probably only minor fantastical elements, more of a mystery.
Pros:
-Closed circles are fun to write! My first NaNo back in 2004 (which none of you are ever, ever seeing) was one.
-I quite like my characters.
Cons:
-Don't know if there's 50k in this
-Would need to do a fair amount of planning since I have no idea why they're in that house
Idea 4: all of the above - combining 50k on Chatoyant, writing all of the fanfic, and continuing Closed Circle to fill up 100k, a double-Nano
Pros:
-I won't get bored!
-I may have sort of challenged someone else in my region to a NaNo war... apparently last year they were keeping an eye on our respective stats (and beat me by about 2k) and that triggered my competitive side.
Cons:
-That's a lot of words. Last year I decided that 80k (my goal for the month) was about the best I could expect to do. However, last year I was also participating in a fairly active RP at the same time.
-Seriously... that's a lot of words. I will have even less of a social life than usual (though write-ins pretty much count as a social life).
Idea 5: Taylor Viets - this is the novel (first in a series) I'm writing in the Extranormal Crimes world; urban fantasy about law enforcement.
Pros:
-It will definitely be finished by December; I'm hoping to self-publish it by mid-December to take advantage of the huge number of ereaders that I know will be sold that month
-I would need to do more worldbuilding, but not a huge amount
-I know I'm going to have a lot of fun with this book, and I know
aldersprig, at the very least, wants to read it ;)Cons:
-I would have to stop writing right now to be sure there were 50k words left in the story (I'm at a little over 15k, and I think this will be a relatively short novel)
-Technically against the rules, this would make me a NaNo rebel
So... any thoughts? Does anyone else see pros and cons I may have missed? Which of these would you be most interested in reading?
no subject
no subject
I think if you really want a challenge, you should go for the all of the above option - because you won't be bored. But if you think you won't have time for it, or it would be too stressful, I'd go for #5.
no subject
My NaNo this year (as far as I have planned), is sort of the equivalent of your Chatoyant College in that it's a world I've written a few books in over the course of several years. There's something appealing about minimal worldbuilding and already being familiar with the characters, but I'm like you--I'm afraid I'll get bored. I'll also be a NaNo rebel since the book I want to work on is already started. But barring my having any dazzling new ideas before November 1st, that one's probably my best bet.
no subject
no subject
Yeah, that's the problem, I don't know if I'll necessarily have the time...
no subject
sufferjoin me in the fun.no subject