My Plans for NaNoWriMo

Yes, that’s right, I have signed up to do NaNoWriMo this year. For those few reading this that don’t know, this is National Novel Writing Month, where those of us who are crazy attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. You can learn more here: http://www.nanowrimo.org.

Now, some of you have already asked me how I plan to do NaNoWriMo AND write one story a week for this blog. The answer is simple. I’m going to combine the two. I have been spending the last couple of months outlining a novel that tells one overarching story through several short stories. Each story will still fit the rules I have set for myself here, and be between 5,000 and 7,500 words.

Pretty simple, right? And easily doable as part of NaNoWriMo. Now, comes the second question, the one that is asked after someone does some math. With at least 50,000 words to write, and assuming an average of 5,000 words a story, that’s ten stories. And only nine weeks left in the year. And if my outline is any indication, I’ll have at least twelve or thirteen stories. So, what do I do with those left over stories?

I’ll keep posting one a week here, of course. Yes, that means I’ll be posting more than a years’ worth of short stories, but it’s only fair, since I’ll have written the last two months worth of stories in one month anyway.

And no, there won’t be any “to be continued” stuff going on. Each story will be a complete stand alone story. That’s the plan, and so far my outline is holding up to it, so I think I can stick it out.

So, there you have it in a nutshell. I will get out a story this week, and next week will be my last regular story. Then, NaNoWriMo, and all the remaining stories will be part of a single, long story.

Now, this may lead to another question. At least it has in me. What will I do once I’ve finished writing one short story a week for a whole year?

Good question, and one I’ve been giving some thought to lately. I’ll be keeping this blog up, of course, and may even post to it on occasion, when I’ve edited a story here, or to let you all know if I’ve got a story published some place or something. But what I’ll likely do is create another blog, one dedicated to my journey to publication. When I figure out where that blog will be located in the Web, I’ll let you all know. Meanwhile, keep in mind that there will are still two and a half months left to the year, and more if you count the end of the novel I’ll be writing next month. There will be plenty of stuff here to keep you all entertained for a little while.

For those of you that are also doing NaNo, please buddy me here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/88058

In the mean time, keep reading and enjoy!