Deciding on November

I’ve been busy lately.  I have new responsibilities with the Rancho Cordova River City Concert Band.  I still have projects to complete at work, and due to unfortunate illness, I have one less person to help me complete those projects.  There’s fundraisers to shepherd.  There’s music to learn.  And throughout all of that, I should probably stay in touch with my family.

So, I willingly gave up on Blog-tober.  I had a good head of steam going there for a couple of days, where I was writing on subject matters that meant something to me.  And, to my surprise, people responded.  It felt strange, because people I didn’t think were reading my posts were approaching me about them.  It was satisfying, and humbling, and a bit frightening.

Something had to give, though.  I pulled the plug, took a step back, and tried to catch my breath.  I stated at the beginning of the month that if I couldn’t complete Blog-tober, I didn’t stand a chance of completing NaNoWriMo.  So is that it, then?  Do I give up?

Honestly, I don’t know.  I still have more editing to do.  Maybe I should focus on editing the second draft of The Repossessed Ghost, and not worry about starting a new novel this year.  I already have two other unfinished first drafts weighing on my conscience.  Do I really need a third?

But then again, I’ve been thinking about a science fiction story.  Something involving life on the moon in a big spinning drum.  A story with nearly sentient robots and virtual reality.  A story about an improbable crime, and a man caught in the middle.  He has to figure out what happened before someone else gets hurt.

I don’t know what the right thing to do is.  I have so much on my plate already.  What would I get from trying to write another story in November?  At best, I’d have another first draft that would need editing, and the right to buy another “I won at NaNoWriMo” t-shirt.  At worst, I’d have another start of a story, and all the feelings of failure that come with that.

I enjoy the Sacramento NaNoWriMo community.  I like going to the write-ins, and joining the word wars, and chatting with folks in IRC.  Will I have time for any of that, with everything else that’s going on?

October still has a few days left.  I can think on it a little bit longer.  While I think about it, I should consider the following:

  • I won’t be able to write at all on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Those days are simply too full.
  • I won’t have time to edit The Repossessed Ghost, so that will languish for a month.  I really want to have the next draft finished before the end of the year.
  • The story idea I have in mind is a third person story, and I don’t write in third person very quickly.
  • Assuming Thursdays and Fridays are also too full for writing, I would have 13 days (Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays) to write 50,000 words.  That’s nearly 4,000 words every time I sit down to write in the month of November.

It sounds like a challenge.  But it also sounds like pointless self torture.  How masochistic am I?

One thought on “Deciding on November

  1. No Self Torture Uncle B!! You have always been a bit of a conquerer.. Having a mission n stamping it out.. You should whittle away with what you have. You know you have lotsa good stuff to work with…
    Also Your getting those responses cuz its topics your passionate about. To be honest you have a great way of thinkin and articulating those thoughts..

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