NaNoWriMo 2013

Alright, so we're halfway through October and I'm already panicking. No, not because my costume wig came and wasn't exactly how I wanted it (I can use rollers on fake hair, right??) but because next month is National Novel Writing Month and I'm starting to wonder if I can pull it off.

The last time I tried NaNoWriMo, I got as far as 42k words before I couldn't get any further. So close to the 50k goal!! I have no idea why I stopped, but I tend to do that when I write. I'll write a big chunk of stuff and somehow stop and not have the will to continue. I don't know if it's writer's block, because I knew where I wanted the story to go, or just a lack of motivation. I was having fun with that book but halfway through I began to doubt myself. I mean, sure, this is supposed to be for fun, but then I start to think if what I'm writing is just a bunch of crap and it all crumbles. This year, I've got a head start with my outline, and I keep going back and changing things because the more I look at it, the stupider it seems. So I keep going back and changing it, and wondering to myself, "when did I fall in love with my RP characters and why?" Because damn, I used to churn out stories for my RP characters like it was nothing, yet I can't fall in love with new people?

Why is this hot?? 

That's when I decided that this is exactly what I need to write. I've got to create characters I actually like, which sounds easier than it really is. I don't like Mary Sue's. I don't like it when one person is "the chosen one" (Harry Potter) and when one person is perfect and beautiful and different (Twilight, Diversient) so my goal here is to create a character that is both normal and engaging. I look to books like Wool for inspiration on that end, because I really think that the author did a good job by creating a main character that is both female AND not breathtakingly amazingly beautiful. Also, get this, she's OLDER than her love interest. She's in her thirties. When was the last time that happened?? I'm actually pretty guilty of the old man/young woman trope when it comes to romance. It's been hammered into my head so many times (hello, Pretty Woman??) that it just seems right to me, even if it might not always be. I'll totally admit that I enjoy writing that kind of dynamic. Maybe it's the teacher/student thing. Maybe I just like facial hair and some grizzled old-man lines. Who knows. I'm just sayin', most of the dudes I'm into (looks wise) have 3 things in common; facial hair, long hair, and a couple of wrinkles. Just a couple, though. I'm not into like.. Sir Anthony Hopkins-like dudes, just yet. Maybe someday. We'll see. In the meantime, Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter era, with the long white hair, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S A WIG) is pretty much #1 in my brain.

So without giving too much away, my project for NaNoWriMo is (as usual) a mixture of fantasy and horror. I'm hoping I can get down the main idea without getting too bogged down by details, as I usually do. I really do want to finish something for once. Being on tour in November probably won't help, and I doubt I'll be able to type enough on my phone to keep up, so that's gonna be my biggest challenge; getting in the  1,700 words a day I need to make my goal. I really don't want to have to write everything by hand and count out the words! It's times like this I wish I had a working laptop, again...