No No NaNo

I really wanted to join the manic celebration of writing known as NaNoWriMo. I flirted with the idea for a day or two, reminding myself of the crazy exhilaration of finishing a 50k book in the month of November.

I had first done it several years ago with Bad Sex Karma, the book I've been highlighting recently for Six Sentence Sunday. It was the first time I learned I was a pantser, and that writing 2k words a day was a comfortable, and enjoyable, pace. I'd discovered the joy of writing that month, after several years of not writing, and being unhappy that I couldn't be a plotter. And I completed those 50k words, "winning" NaNo the first time out of the gate.

I've tried NaNo a couple other times too. My upcoming contemporary release, I Do. . . or Die, was a NaNo book, but life and the day job conspired to keep me from getting very far with that NaNo experience. And Lord Wastrel, a Regency that I'm finishing, was another "winner" from a couple years ago, although it requires a few k more than the 50 I did that year before it's complete.

So you can see why I have such nostalgia for this event. It's wild and unpredictable and fun, yet it requires devotion and dedication and determination to get that daily word count in, especially when there are times you get a little behind and have to double up to catch up.

On the other hand, there are several projects I want to finish, stories that have waited patiently while they were set aside, and I have no doubt they will let me know of their intense resentment as soon as I return to open their Word doc. (Actually I can feel them glaring at me now, when I haven't even gotten Word up on the computer yet.)

It's possible I can do both. I mean, after editing both I Do. . .or Die AND Back on Track at the same time, I have a new definition of "multitasking" -- not to mention a weird empty feeling just working on one thing at a time.

The projects I'm working on include:

Lord Rakehell's Love -- This novella is nearly complete, and it's the start of my Regency series known as The Curse of True Love, where the Greek goddess Aphrodite tries her hand at matchmaking, with unpredictable results.

Lord Wastrel -- The first full-length book of The Curse of True Love series. I've posted a couple excerpts of it, and the first chapter is included in Lord Midnight.

Driving Miss Crazy -- This is a romantic comedy that I've also posted for Six Sentence Sunday. There's a spirited heroine who's finally ready for some adventure in her life, and a hero who is ready to retire from his adventure-filled life. Their road trip in her convertible is a fun one. In fact, this couple seems to be driving around in my brain quite a lot lately.

Bad Sex Karma -- This contemporary mainly needs revising/editing/polishing, which takes a long time since that process requires a great deal of precision and focused attention.

Now that I've written all of these down, I can definitely see that doing NaNo is not a practical choice. So my plan is to finish up these projects, without jumping in on a new one just because all the fun people get to do it with NaNo.

However, it might just make it more enjoyable to peek in and see what they're doing once in a while. The enthusiasm is contagious, and after all, that's the way writing should be. 

Any thoughts on what should move to the top of my To Finish list?

Comments

[Melissa]

I can see how it's difficult to pass up NaNo when you've had such success! But I'm dying for these in-progress stories to be completed. :) I say work on them all at once...and I say that seriously because I have a feeling that actually works for you! Or if something must cross the finish line by a photo-finish, the order you have them listed seems a great prediction! LOL

[Quantum]

Nano is tiny, like 10^-9, requiring an electron microscope to see it.
No Donna, your writing demands a much larger stage than that!

Lord Wastrel is the one I'm most looking forward to. Though if 'Lord Rakehell's Love' is first in the series then I want to see that one first. LOL

Though on second thoughts, Miss Crazy sounds scrumptious ... and you do comedy so well. Also 'Bad Sex Karma.

Humph. I don't think I'm being much help!

Best to follow your instincts Donna ..... We all wanna read them all! *smile*

[Kate Warren]

I'm doing NaNo in spite of the tremendous odds against me. You can certainly drop in anytime and we'll be glad to see you. The adoptables can be great fun. The villain catchphrases are usually good for a laugh, or a shudder.

[Donna Cummings]

Melissa, you're too funny -- work on them all at once! I think I did list them in the order I'm planning to do them. LOL Even though I didn't realize it at the time. I'm excited to get back to work on them, knowing you're looking forward to reading them!

[Donna Cummings]

Q, I love how you blend science in -- it makes me feel good that I need a big stage for my writing!

"Lord Rakehell's Love" started out as a standalone short story, but then I realized it would be perfect to start out the whole series with this little tale. It gives me a chance to introduce the "stars" of "Lord Wastrel", Felicia and Hugh, so that makes it fun too.

And I have a real tender spot for the characters in "Driving Miss Crazy" -- I really want to get back to them.

I just need to get to work, don't I? LOL

[Donna Cummings]

Kate, I'll cheer you on during NaNo. I think it's worthwhile, even if it's hard to get the daily wordcount in. It's a fun sense of community, too, which is another part I really enjoy. So don't be surprised if I drop in and see how you're doing!