Cheating During NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is less than a month away. Can you believe that? Just last month I told myself, "Eh, I have awhile to plan." No, no I do not. In fact, planning should start in August.

Before I begin, what is NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo, also known as NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth, starts November 1st and ends November 30th. You have the whole month to write 50,000 words. That breaks down to approximately 1,667 words per day.

Sound hard? For some, it is. Children, school, work, etc. For others, it's still hard, but they persist. Some are planners, some are pantsers, but we all have one common goal: the end.

Now, technically, you're supposed to write a novel. But, of course, you have those rebels who have other plans. Like me, last year. I tried to write about everything that happened that summer. But since it had just happened, it turned out to be crap. I only wrote about 10,000 words (if that) when I got to the end of my story. I decided to write the remaining words elsewhere. It was a bad year.

This year, I'm cheating again. First, I'll tell you why. Back in 2012, during NaNoWriMo, I started a novel called Times. I finished it at the beginning of this year. I started to edit it, but it's so poorly written, I can't even look at it. But I love it. It could potentially be great...it just isn't (yet).

My characters told me there's a second book. I love the ideas they're giving me. I want to start it, but I will not subject it to the craziness of November. I really don't want two poorly written stories (even though I probably wouldn't let it get that way).

I'm in the process of writing a murder mystery, but I'm stuck. If I can't figure stuff out now, I have no time to be doing research when I have 50k words to write!

Instead, I will be writing short stories. My stories usually run between 2,000 and 3,000 words, so this should be fun. And who knows? I might find a novel in there somewhere.