{The Scribbler} NaNoWriMo and the Thrill of a New Idea

I decided to retire Word Count Wednesdays because I don't often bother to post it.
I still like talking about writing, though, and decided to merge WCW into The Scribbler,
which can be for any writing topics I wish to talk about.



So, the last time we talked about writing, I was all gung-ho to do NaNoWriMo.  I went on a Book Reading Ban, cleansed my mind, and got cracking.

I didn't know if I wanted to work on the high fantasy idea that has been poking at me for most of the year (despite the fact that I still have world-building to do) or work on another contemporary piece I've wanted to do since late spring (despite the fact that I was trying NOT to work on contemporary atm.  This was the most developed idea and wouldn't leave me alone, though).  What's a girl to do?  Start both, of course!

I alternated back and forth between the two, and I was on top of things for about a week.  Then, of course, life kicked in and I got busier.

And then...something magical happened.

I was putting a beach towel over my fish tank (so that light wouldn't get in and bother him at night.  My poor betta actually just passed away a week or two ago *sob*), so in a way, my betta was my muse.  I had a pile of DVDs on the ground next to the tank, and I managed to knock them over with the edge of the towel.  Picking them up, I found a documentary that I'd forgotten about.

This documentary made me think of a TV series I'd seen pieces of a few years ago.

The setting for both of these is very unique, and it somehow made me think of Super Secret Fizzy Pop (Which I have been working on, quitting, and working on again for over a year now...and NaNo was supposed to give me a break from this piece!).  One of the gripes I have about Fizzy Pop is the fact that it's so contemporary, and I lean more fantasy.  Thinking about the documentary and the TV series, I realized that if I moved the setting of Fizzy Pop to this, it suddenly became more interesting, more unique.  It might still be completely contemporary, but now it's not quite so ordinary.  And, there's potential to add a trace of whimsy or the fantastic, if I choose to do so.  This doesn't have to be clean-cut contemporary.

All this from moving the setting!

Of course, this means I need to extensively re-write, um, everything.  And do research.  A lot of research.

When I tried working on my two NaNo projects again, all I wanted to do was think about re-working Fizzy Pop, and I could no longer concentrate on writing anything else.

Instead, I got my hands on that old TV series, purchased another documentary, and pulled out all the material I have that could possibly relate to this new setting.  I spent the rest of NaNo investing in research.

I'm going to do my own personal NaNo in February or March, since I have a couple weeks of vacation to use by March 31st.  I'm getting as much framework in now as I can.

I'm honestly really scared, because this new idea has the potential to go 100% utterly, terribly wrong.  It's pretty weird.  But if I handle the material well enough, it also has the potential to be perfectly right.  It's a really scary time for me, and a big risk!  (Thank goodness for Scrivener and multiple drafts!)

So...

I didn't do much writing in November.  I went into NaNo wanting to write for myself and get a foundation, not caring about hitting 50k, and while I did a lot less than I intended, I managed to get excited all over again for Fizzy Pop, and now I'm desperately eager to figure out the tangles of this new idea and start writing again!

Comments

  1. I'm sorry I missed you the other night when you messaged me on gChat! I'd left my laptop open when I headed to bed and didn't see it until morning :(

    I'm excited to hear about your inspiration for Fizzy Pop! I'm so curious what this strange setting might be! We actually had a talk in one of my grad classes this summer about how changing the setting can improve a scene (often by increasing the tension), but we didn't discuss changing the setting for an entire book! I definitely think it's worth trying. Maybe your hesitation to work on Fizzy Pop was because your subconscious knew the idea wasn't fully formed into the best it could be :)

    And on the subject of worrying your ideas are too weird... I had the same problem with my WIP. When I'd tell people about it, they'd look at me like I was weird, but now that I've had the first 100 pages critiqued, everyone is in love with it because it's so different. I feel like Marissa Meyer probably had the same problem, people thought a cyborg Cinderella was too weird. But clearly that turned out great!

    In short, weird is good! I'm happy you had this stroke of inspiration, and I say go for it! If you ever want to share, shoot me an email and we can set up a time to chat!

    Lauren @ Hughes Reviews

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    Replies
    1. We'll definitely have to catch up soon! With the holidays, my schedule is so crazy atm!

      My inspiration is...idek. I'm thinking about sending out what I do have to a few people and seeing what elements to keep, what to trash, etc. I'll have to tell you my idea through email or gchat when we catch up and see if you think it's crazy or not!

      It's funny; I asked Marissa her thoughts on my idea, and her thinking it had potential made me think that I wasn't alone in my weirdness! But I could be; it has the chance of being disastrous, and I know that. *gulp*

      It's too bad you're not having that discussion now; I bet it would add great convo!

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