I think I'm going to be a rebel this year

Posted by Kromey at 7:38pm Jul 29 '13
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So, I've been thinking off and on about this year's NaNoWriMo already, partly because [private] is jumping through the hoops to officially be an ML this year, and partly because threads like this one keep popping up in the "Previously on 4K..." section.

And I've decided something: I can't decide.

I have a lot of stories I want to write. My oldest novel concept -- [private] Hunter, about an elite team of powered body armor-wearing assassins tasked with protecting the sanctity and strength of a totalitarian government in a dystopian near future, whose latest recruit has his eyes opened and begins to question if what he's doing is right -- has resurfaced, and I want to try writing it again (previous efforts have flopped horribly, but I'm still in love with the premise). Another long-standing concept -- Impact Event, which tells the story of survival in a post-apocalyptic world where civilization has been all but obliterated by a massive meteor shower, and then it gets worse when the survivors discover that more than just rocks have fallen to Earth as they're now pitted against bizarre and aggressive alien creatures -- has never been put to paper at all, but is continually begging to be written.

In 2010 and 2011, my NaNo story was two different attempts at my techno-zombie thriller; I'm still dying to produce a draft that doesn't just steam-roll right into a brick wall and stop stone dead (too many unintentional death puns in there...). The two years before that were spent on different attempts at another concept I call Mage War, which is described and discussed in the post linked above.

And yet more new ideas: A story pitting Reptoids -- ancient reptillian settlers of Earth who have nurtured and guided human civilization for millenia while remaining hidden in their underground cities -- against an invading army of Grays -- stereotypical bulbous-headed "little gray men" -- while mankind has to deal with this sudden revelation that not only are they not alone in the universe, they're not alone on their own planet! Another story starts with the sudden and inexplicable revival of life in the deadest places on earth, as dry lake beds erupt overnight into lush oases and deserts burst forth into thick, dense jungles (where it goes from there, I don't know yet -- isn't that exciting?!?!).

Plus, I like writing the occasional tale of erotica, and there's one in particular I haven't written yet -- but I won't detail that here, not on this board anyway.

So, that's 7 distinct story concepts I have. And I can't decide which one to write.

So, I have decided. I will be a rebel this year. I will write all of them. Not 50k words each -- that would be utter insanity!! -- but 50k spread across all 7 stories. It will be glorious, I'm bound to come out of it with at least one good start of a draft, but technically it will be in violation of NaNoWriMo's rules.

But you know what? 50k words is 50k words. I will still have written a monumental amount by the end of November. And assuming I do in fact reach that goal, that's still "winning" in my mind. And while it may break the letter of the law, I think it's still within the spirit of NaNo.