The thing I’ve noticed about myself is I never have any shortage of ideas (probably like everyone else in the world). What I have a definite shortage of is time; lately I’ve been spending countless hours editing my novel and preparing each episode of my podcast. I enjoy doing both, but it isn’t quite the same as the thrill of starting anew story.
That’s why it’s with a certain level of excitement that I begin looking forward to my next project. NanoWriMo is coming up in November and I have a story in mind. It is a sequel to the YA novel I wrote two years ago and I already know it’s going to be a lot of fun.
I have a pretty wide competitive streak that rarely ever manifests itself. All bets are off when it comes to Nano though. Granted, I’m not competing with anyone but myself, but it is such a thrill to set goals for myself and actively challenge myself to exceed those goals.
The first year I entered NanoWriMo I had just finished my first novel (it was literally completed at the end of October. Only a few days before Nano began). I knew I could write a book but the daily word count necessary to do 50,000 words in 30 days (1,667) seemed incredibly daunting. Still, it was a story I really wanted to write so I took the plunge.
Everything flowed so naturally it was incredible. There were times I laughed as I wrote and times I actually cried. It was easily the most fun I’d ever had writing. And I finished the book in 21-days. Not bad for only my second book.
That is a feeling I really want to recapture this year. I’ve been doing so much editing that I need something new and fresh to recharge the batteries. Not that I’ve regretted any of the editing. It has shown me how to be a better writer.
One of the reasons I haven’t started anything new yet is I have trouble focusing on more than one project at a time. Oh, I can do it, but the writing needs to be completely separate and different. Take the podcast, for example. Writing for that is totally different from editing or writing a novel so I’m alright. I just have to be sure that I have time set aside for each. I honestly don’t know what would happen if I worked on two stories at the same time.
Probably nothing, but I also have the fear that if I let myself start new projects all the time, I’ll never finish the old ones. That would be bad because I would never improve certain aspects of my writing and I would never have anything new to try and sell.
I think I’ll stick to the one story at a time methodology. At least for now. But that doesn’t mean I can’t start planning for the next big challenge.
Personal Update
As you probably know, I’ve been editing my fantasy novel for the past few weeks. I am very pleased to report that I am now ahead of schedule. I wanted to be finished this round of edits by October 31st and as of today, (if I maintain my schedule) I will be done by the 28th. Ideally, I will be done a week early, so I’m plunging forward with that in mind.
I’ve also changed the software I’m writing with. For months I’ve been hearing from many writers I respect how good scrivener is. I had tried it once before but never really gave it a chance. For the editing project I decided to try again. I know I’m not using all the features (yet), but I’m starting to see the light. When I’m done this project (and perhaps Nano), I’ll do a bit of a review for you to tell you what I liked and what I didn’t like.
Tags: editing, fantasy, Get Published, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, nanowrimo, podcast, scrivener, YA, young adult
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