NaNoWriMo 2009

Holy Crap. My NaNo attempt from last year doesn't completely suck, in spite of remaining unfinished. Of course, my attempt from 2007 is unfinished and that one will need a lot of editing before I let the world see it.

It's strange. I wasn't sure I should do it this year - my work schedule is far more stressing than the past two years (well, duh. unemployment!) - but I realize I did some of my best writing during those times, however much I felt like my brain was going to implode afterwards. So, do I join in this year? I signed into my account and checked off all the little boxes, so I guess I'm going to make an attempt. The question is how.

I really don't want to start yet another story when I have so many that are unfinished. I have the rest of the year for that. But it's (technically) cheating to write something that I've begun before November 1st. *sigh* Tell that to my muse. She wants to jump right back into that fantasy/adventure/romance from last year I've spent the past two days reading over. I'm kind of with her on that one. I'm surprised such a complicated story actually made sense when I read it over. I'm wondering if I can recapture the momentum I had before I lost it mid-month and push this thing to the 150,000+ words it will eventually end up with. Or should I wait until I can devote more time to it? You know, after I win the lotto and buy myself that quiet island I fly to every winter to churn out best sellers. (Yes, I will tell every writer out there the name of my real estate person once I purchase this fantasy estate.)

Or...I could write one of the dozen or so ideas I have waiting in the wings. Not to mention the many nonpublishable (read: my unfortunate love of writing fanfic) ideas I have prodding my muse like a handful of hot pokers. Dang it. Maybe I could just write on everything and put it into one word doc and call the total count for the month my NaNo attempt. Seriously. That seems like the best solution.

Except that I never knew forcing myself to work on one story for a month actually helped my writing. I can never seem to do it any other time of year, I get distracted easily. Still, what the hell am I going to write about? So help me, I'm going to pick something from this list (or make one of my friends do it). Or skip NaNo altogether.

1. Unrequited (highly scandalous teacher-student romanticish drama)

2. Fixated (stalker parody - don't ask)

3. Portrait of a Man (sketch of someone's life that may not be 50,000 in total)

4. Taking Chances (girl and best friend, all kinds of unrequited angsty goodness)

5. Undone (romance/parody? - plays off a movie I did not entirely enjoy)

6. Reign of Shadows (fantasy/romance)

7. The Pleasure Palace (erotic novel in serious need of an extensive rewrite)

8. Company Policy (erotic story in an inappropriate - but fun - office setting)

I'm limiting it to these because the many short stories I have pending won't add up to 50,000 words, even if I write all of them. The sad part is, I've written at least one partial scene for all of these; I've done the least for Portrait (half a page). I just can't start yet another new story without finishing something. My muse is idea oriented, but doesn't like to follow through. Yes, it's her fault!

I've listed my ideas, now what? Someone tell my muse to pick! I gave up caffeine last week, so I'm sure she'll stop speaking to me soon. Then again, she might do that anyway. After all, I'm debating writing at length. That's usually enough to send her running.