I knew what I wanted to do for National Novel Writing Month. You see, it doesn’t have to be a novel in the sense, and my past experience of not finishing the novels I started soured me on doing another one. Not that I don’t have tons of ideas, mind you. They can stay in my head and on paper for now. I will get to them.
Instead, I’m going to do a series of shorts around 5k to 10k.
There’s a few anthologies coming up that I’m interested in submitting to. So I’m using NaNo to belt those puppies out. One the week before, I wanted to get everything laid out but my brain refused to cooperate, allowing my muse to run amuck. Naked and far from a prude, my muse humped its way through both hemispheres of my grey matter, never stopping once to allow his seed to bear fruit.
Cheeky bastard.
Then, as the day wore on and the physical part of my body wanted no more of this running around, I sat down and the words started to flow. By the end of the night, I had five concepts on paper.
#1: This one will deal with mythos in South America, most likely surrounding Inca, Mayan, or Aztec culture. I’ll have to do some research on this one so it doesn’t sound like I’m fumbling in the dark. The main character will be a female. Type-Erotica.
#2: If you’ve read Dream Weaver, there was a minor character named Mandy in it. Like Justin, she’s fairy cast out from their realm by Eros. I’m not sold on using Cupid’s name and might find a variant but it will deal with the gods punishing a race and condemning them to a life in the mortal world. The same premise as the last story. Mandy’s got to find her mate or never be able to return to her realm. Type-Erotica.
#3: Another fairy story. This one I’m going to do a twist on the ‘finding beauty on the inside’ shtick. Two factions of fairies, one plain and one more sparkly and a spoiled princess who needs to learn a lesson. The end result is finding the love of her life by getting to know him as a person instead of an object. Type-Romance.
#4: This one I made the most notes for. It’s going to have a western setting and involve an ex-criminal and a widow with a son. I plan to have some nice redemption values woven in and, of course, a HEA. Type-romance.
#5: I’m going to do a story involving a gladiator, a sort of spinoff off Death Comes with Areus. It will be in the PoV of his wife-to-be. This one will be my challenge piece. Areus swore a vow of silence when he was captured and forced into slavery. Type- ??. I’m not sure on this one. It might be romance, it might turn erotic. It all depends on where my mind takes me on this one. I’m also planning for this one to be more novella size.
That’s my plan of action. Once I get going with these, I’ll also try and finish Beneath the Boughs and The Romance Novel Book Club. If they don’t get finished, that’s okay. 2012 is all about the novels.
Anyone else doing NaNo? What’s your plans?
