Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

NaNo? Me? I'm shocked!

NaNo? Okay, so it is a newbie obsession, but I am obsessed with NaNo now. The way the things are evolving, I'll probably write about NaNo more than my Nano novel itself.

Earlier, I had told myself that NaNo wasn't for me for it was impossible and I should never attempt it; however, my subconscious must have taken over, and suddenly, I decided to do it. This decision happened only a few days ago, encouraged by the daring of other friends with toddlers like Diane . Not that I have a toddler as that would be a medical miracle...but...

As to the novel, I have a few ideas and I still don't know which one to choose.

One option is to try to write in a genre I am not that experienced with like Horror and Sci-Fi. If horror, the idea is some tiny creatures invading a house and traumatizing its residents. If Sci-Fi, I like the WdC prompt of suddenly finding oneself on a planet. If I choose either of the two, I'll have to wing it as I write because I can't do any research on these.

My last and favorite option is about the culture clashes and family relationships. I'll base the characters on people I know, so that will be out of the way. Also the novel will have a psychological aspect to it, which could make it easier to write since I have a few credits -from a very long time ago- in psychology, and I have worked as an assistant to someone very close to me in the area of mental health. In other words, I can do some bs'ing.

Then I plan to put the main action in a time slightly before our time, around World War II and a little after that with the novel ending -in an epilogue, possibly- in the nineties. I did some research work on this, and I am enthusiastic but also afraid that I'll be going over my head in a rush job.

The word count doesn't scare me, but the crap factor does, as always. Doing the 500-words-a-day with my fantastic group has given me some discipline, and I know I can write very easily 500- 1000 words a day. Even though I am a slow typist, in the group, during some my very busy days, I have written free-flow in fifteen minutes or so after 11:30 PM and have posted it by 11:59 PM. But unlike everyday free-flow, a novel, even a crappy one, has to make some sense. And that scares me. Still, I think, what if I don't finish it? Or if it turns out terrible, but then, I do have some terrible short stories, don't I! Lol!

As I do this, some things may have to go or become less frequent, like reading, baking bread, Facebook games, etc.

In addition, I have my family. November is the worst month for me to do something like this in. My older son's b'day, my younger son's wedding anniversary celebration, and Thanksgiving are all in this month, not to mention the stuff with friends and extended family members. And my recently retired hubby demands my attention and friendship non-stop. Then the house, the cooking, and all the work...but then, everyone has some things to handle, right?

On the other hand, I can always hide in the bathroom with a notebook and pen or sneak into a closet with my net-book, as I sometimes do. I just need to try Nano even if I never attempt it again.

As I said earlier, all these words are the results of a newbie's obsession, and I needed to write this entry to get the nervousness off my chest. .

Still....Eeeeeeek!