I’ve been doing the National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO or NANO for short) challenge for a fair number of years. I enjoy the focus it requires and I’ve used it to kick start a novel each time. The odds of that happening this year are pretty slim for a variety of reasons.
Limited time this year – sure there are still 30 days in the month, but I’ll be busy for a full week. I’m really excited about being busy since I’m having company and they are people that I adore. However, that will limit the writing time for that week. Still, I could probably push really hard and set the alarm for an hour earlier in the morning and maybe get some writing time in. Without that week I’d have to adjust the goals for the remaining days and those numbers would be really tough.
The biggest hurdle – Once again, I don’t have a solid idea for a book.
That didn’t really stop me last year as I only found my story on the 19th of October when I went in to take a nap. Based on that experience, I guess I have plenty of time to take more naps and hopefully come up with something decent. There are a few people that would like me to just go ahead and write Blood Link IX, but that book isn’t fully mapped out yet. As a series book, I have to take the time to work out the long story and then build in the book specific story. I have about half of each done.
If it sounds like I’m hemming and hawing a bit, I am. I wish I had a real grasp on the big story idea for the next standalone. What I have right now is about half an idea and, as usual, it concerns a subject and agency that I don’t know a damn thing about. I’ve made a few phone calls and talked to a couple people – I truly have the best friends in the world that always seem to know someone who has a clue about what I need to know and are willing to help get me in touch with those folks. With only a basic concept of the heroine, hero, and plot at this point, I’m not ready to go there. This would be a book that required a lot of research and maybe a vacation to the location. That vacay will have to wait for next summer. I need a fresh idea for something I can base here in Tucson. You know… a good idea that I don’t currently have.
Still – I’m incredibly competitive and I don’t like to lose. NANO is some kind of weird dragon that I always feel the need to slay, so now I’m looking at the numbers and shaking my head even as I try to figure out if I could maybe make it happen.
All I really need is some more coffee, an hour less sleep, and the will to write that quickly. And a good story… yeah… I really need some characters and a plot.
