Just a Little Bit Crazy... NaNo and More.

So... this weeks been a little bit rocky. A little bit rough. Things aren't going exactly as planned. And, yes, I did think Tuesday was Wednesday. >.< More wishful thinking on my part than anything.

But! Never fear! I will regroup, recite the St. Crispin's Day speech, and soldier onward. Ever onward. Hmmm, that sounds like a song ;o)

After a very turbulent Wednesday I think I have my feet under me again and now I can sit down and face the looming decision of NaNo.

To NaNo or not to NaNo, that is the question.
Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer
the glares and cries of neglected family
or take up not sleeping to get the word count
and pray to make my goal? To write, to publish;
No more, and by publish to say we start
the heartache and a thousand natural shocks
that writers are heir to, 'tis consummation
devoutly to be wished. To publish. To be critiqued.
To write; perchance to inspire: ay, there's the rub.
For of that dream what reality might come?

I had sugar for breakfast this morning. You can tell, can't you?

I've done NaNo the past two years with little fuss. I usually aim for a 3k/day goal so that I have extra words and can take Sundays and Thanksgiving off. In 2007 and 2008 I made the 50k mark with words to spare. The manuscripts were rough, they needed an ending, and lots of editing, but I have the words to edit and they aren't bad.

In 2007 I wrote Penumbra Children, there was a single mom, seven kids, space ships, pirates, vampires, and werewolves. I even had the Traveling Shovel of Death. In fact, the only thing missing was little green men from Mars.

In 2008 I wrote The Misadventures of Skippy the Warlord. A wanna-be hero turned sidekick loses his day job and takes up Evil Overlording. Lots of puns, good characters, and the kind of insanity that keeps a plot rolling.

Neither book is on my hot list to edit and show to agents. I've always used NaNo to play. And that brings me to this years problem.

I've spent the year trying to edit and get ready for the eventual query. Most of my year was devoted to the rewriting and editing of Under a Dark Star. I'm nowhere near a final draft. I meant to have a rough draft of At Wars End finished by now and be editing UDS. That idea fizzled in August when I was distracted by other shiny plots.

The problem is, I don't have a shiny plot waiting to be my NaNo fun. I do have some possibilities though. So help me out, what sounds exciting and fun?


Time of Death (cyberpunk/sci-fi) - Detective Ru Harlowe is called back from retirement to solve a serial killer case that's stretched over sixty years. With his old boss, a new partner, and clues that make Harlowe a suspect he's up against the wall and racing time. Written in noir style first person (or, that's the plan).


Beauty and the Beast (dark comic fantasy)- Roland is the Prince Wylan's man-at-arms (read babysitter) and when the prince is sent off on a quest to save a trapped beauty Roland is along for the ride to make sure the prince doesn't get distracted or devoured. But the curse is more than it seems. Once you enter the castle, you can't get out until Beauty falls in love. There's no witch in sight but Lady Isolde looks suspicious and someone has lost their mind and started stabbing people. Roland needs to make his prince look good (and maybe woe a girl of his own) so they can make it out alive.


Dungeon Crawl (urban fantasy)- Sari Fallen is one of the seven heroes of the Vondrin Gate war. Now she's a freelance demon hunter with a good relationship with the local police department. Things aren't fabulous, but they aren't bad. Until a stalker kills her best friend, her would-be lover is framed, and dark rumors put her back into an underworld of soul-trading and intrigue. To save those she loves Sari will face the gods themselves. To save the world she might even trade her soul.


At Wars End (military sci-fi)- Ajax Hajari lost his legs in an avalanche, then lost his finacee when he had cyborg limbs attached. Now he's close to losing everything else to the Triumvirate fleet commander Kaminari. When the war to save his homeworld is lost his enemy becomes an ephemeral ally and Jax learns the battles he fought were only a small part of a much larger war. At this War's End there is no peace, only another battle.


The Game (sci-fi)- Andrea is a solar array specialist on Orbital platform nine. She's top of her class, brainy, wealthy, and conservative. At least, that's what her collegues see. On her own time Andrea is a top Game player, focused on the elusive prize of reaching Level 10 first. She loves facing down killerbots and solving puzzles in the VR world. But when an elitest plot traps her between the world of the Game and a reality with a tyrant Andrea has to save the day somehow. I just haven't worked out the ending to this little plot yet :oP



Vote. Offer ideas. Am I doing NaNo this year? Can I write something fun? Or should I be a Good Girl and edit some more? Or go crazy and do both???