Juggling Multiple Projects

One major issue is I have lots of ideas. It's a curse. I hear about some writers being one trick ponies who can't get a second wind after completing their one novel. I forget her name, but the writer of To Kill A Mocking Bird only wrote one story. Most of Herman Melville's work was about whaling. Nicholas Sparks has told the same love story over and over again.

I don't think I could ever work like that. I love so many different varieties of stories. I could never be married to one genre or narrative. I got to stretch my legs.

The problem is that, inevitably, twenty different stories run through my head, and I have no way to give them all form. I need to select the coolest stories, and write them.

The problem is bouncing between them. I have two works in progress right now. One is in the editing phase, another in the early stages. I need to work on both. Now. I have no time to do so, but I need to get it started.

Here's the problem. I get lost in between two worlds, unable to focus on either, which ends with me lost without a story.

I need to get my ass in gear. I need to be motivated.

NaNoWriMo '14 - Day 1 Report

Start of the second day, and no progress has been made.

Not a word, letter, space--I don't even have a title yet. Nada. As little as you can have in a manuscript. I blame my girlfriend coming over--how dare she be so cute that I can't work?--and my other work-in-progress, keeping me from my new work.

Multiple works-in-progress can be a bit overwhelming. On one hand, it's good to have a wide spread of work to keep you busy. As long as you're writing something, you're doing a good job. On the other hand, sometimes it's a little distracting. My other work is a cyberpunk fantasy story. My NaNoWriMo novel is an urban fantasy. The main characters in my older work are all adults. My NaNoWriMo cast are teens.

And I plan on turning them both into trilogies.

Am I just mental? Crazy? The hell am I doing, going on piling my plate with so much writing? I have no clue. Probably totally mental, going ahead with this silly writing trek. Time will tell...but, by tonight, I plan on getting at least 5k words done.

NaNoWriMo - Thoughts

Every year, a bunch of crazy writers get together online to celebrate their obsession with the written word by writing a 50,000 word novel. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is, for many young novelists, a challenge that most give up on when confronted with the task.

I have been doing NaNoWriMo since eighth grade or so. Maybe ninth. When I was young, I had this crazy idea that I could be a novelist. At the time, I had virtually no talent but a ton of passion. My early works are cringe worthy. Maybe I'll post passages from my copyrighted--yes, I actually copywrited my garbage--for others' amusement. Anyway, my first NaNoWriMo story was a perfect fusion of everything I was obsessed with at the time. I can extract the individual pieces. My weeaboo anime obsessions especially are so obvious. Not to say that I don't still adore anime. I just am not deluded enough to think that a mainstream audience would catch an Elfen Lied reference. Oh, and the sword fights. Half of the book was a poorly written fight scene. All style, with little tension. I thought I understood what Mary Sues were, but I was so very wrong...

I didn't do NaNoWriMo again until my freshman year of college, where, for one weekend, I pumped out a novel. It was pretty bad. It had awful characters, unsubtle plot twists, and was as brain dead as anything. Still, I wrote it. It was an important novel for me to write, since I learned pacing well from that story. Still didn't make it any less dumb.

Then, there was the vampire story. I might try something with that if I give it a once over. The plot was solid, but the writing style is probably awkward. I haven't looked at it for some time.

So, what of NaNoWriMo now? I have "serious" novels in the works. I can't afford to hold back now...so, naturally, time to go wild! Time to write this new inkling of an idea. Let's see if I can do it. I want to try out this YA Fantasy idea. I will rant my frustrations here for the time being. See how that goes. >_<

I'm going to go mad...