What I'm Writing

So, I've discovered two problems with my new system of blog posts. The first is that I forget to post. I promised new features starting last week, and completely forgot. I'm lame, I know. I'll have to figure out some way to remind myself; maybe I'll set up weekly appointments in iCal.

The second problem is naming these features. "What I'm Writing" sounds so very dull and bland, and I dread the thought of weekly posts titled "What I'm Reading." I need something more exciting and snazzy. Ideas, anyone?

Moving on. Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time for writing lately; school and other activities have left me completely swamped. I have managed to make some progress with the short stories I said I was going to write way back in August; I wrote one a few weeks ago for an English assignment, and have the first few hundred words of another. It doesn't sound like much - well, it isn't - but I have been writing quite a bit, it's just all been papers for school. (I think my best work was the welcome page for a hypothetical website on Ancient Egypt, for my history class. Apparently, I did learn something from my eighth grade english class, because I was supposed to persuade people to visit Egypt.)

Besides short stories and essays, most of my creative mental energy has been focused on preparing for NaNoWriMo. As the countdown on the website excitedly proclaims, there's only ten days left until it starts. Not having much of an outline isn't worrying me as much as the fact that I have two ideas and no idea which one to write. Earlier in the month, when I didn't have any idea what I was going to do in November, I realized that I needed to pick the idea with the most "momentum." Whatever I chose, I needed to feel excited enough to get through an entire month writing at a breakneck speed.

I expected that would make the decision easier, but it hasn't. One idea is a fantasy with a fully developed world and concept, and I know the scale of the plot and what it needs to accomplish, but I don't have any conflict or an antagonist, and I'm not sure I'll be able to come up with something I'm happy with in the short amount of time that I have. The other idea, also fantasy, is very vague: the setting is vague, the plot is vague, the characters are vague; but I also have a vague conflict and a vague villain, which is better than none.

I'm still very undecided. I'll make some notes and hopefully reach a decision before the end of the month; if not, I suppose I'll just have to sit down on November 1 and start writing. Maybe my fingers will make the decision for me as I type, and I won't even have to think about it - muscle memory will write a brilliant novel for me. It could happen. Maybe. Possibly.

Probably not.

Oh well. Off to make a pro-con list for the novels, I suppose,

~blackandwhitedreamer