NaNoWriMo 2016 Preparation

October is here! And what does that mean? Countdown to NaNoWriMo!

I mean, there are obviously things going on in October, but for the moment, at least for today, I am concentrating on National Novel Writing Month and the preparation work that comes with it.

So far I’ve logged onto the website, spruced up my author profile, made two different word count spreadsheets, posted on the forums and donated, getting my usual halo around my profile. At least one of the reasons I keep that particular profile picture is because the halo looks really good on it. Also adorable Toothless.

What I haven’t done, which is probably an important part of the process, is choose which novel I am going to write this year.

I’m a classic NaNoer (at least i am this year) so I pick a new novel and write a first draft during this month. That, and having a break from my older projects might help me to go back to them later. Theoretically. But unlike other years, I’ve been thinking a lot about editing and polishing up those older novels I’ve already written, so as of yet, none of the new ideas have jumped out at me.

Novels I currently have on the go: Archmage, Eidetic, Mechanic Awakening, Quiet Poison, Black Dawn.

Black Dawn’s a bit of weird one. I did technically write it for my first ever NaNoWriMo. But that was six years ago now, and it’s terrible, so it’s being restarted. And I’ve not quite gotten around to restarting it properly. I’ve got the first, like, three pages? Okay, the first 5K. So, I’m not sure how much that counts as a current project. However, I know that I have worked on it before, and I kind of want to do something fresh. I think if nothing else gets chosen, I’ll fall back on this, but I would like to do something completely new.

Looking at my writing page, it says I have the current ideas:

• Court of Ice
• Supernatural
• Fading Shifts
• Chaos Mage
• Shadow Rock
• Blank Charm
• DNA Key
• Crossing Realms

In the solid ideas categories are Court of Ice, DNA Key. Slightly less solid would be Fading Shifts, Shadow rock, Blank Charm and Crossing Realms. Supernatural is…complicated and I can’t actually remember what Chaos Mage is, so I’d have to find my notes…okay, so it’s that, but that’s like three lines and not enough to go on. So the first six might be potential ideas.

Having found my master ideas list, there’s a few on there – Pirate, Traitor, Thief of Memories, Fallen Fae, Blood Mage, a dragon idea or two. Blimey, even more in my google docs folder – Firebird, Of Those in Shadow, Ghost, that other project I don’t even have a name for yet. So more potential ideas.

Of course, having an abundance of ideas can be only slightly less complicated than having no ideas at all. Okay, so, I’m going to write out all these ideas, and see which ones I like, and which ones I don’t. Get ready, this is a long list.

Court of Ice – Magic has been outlawed, but when  pressure rises in the south with the threat of a revival of the old ways, Adriana, lady in waiting to the princess, has some choices to make. High politics and intrigue, slight game of throne feel with more magic.

Fading Shifts – Out of all of there races, shapeshifters are the most rare, having been declining in numbers for centuries. But now, the other races are starting to feel the same effects, and are finally taking an interest. But considering there are only three shifters still left, can they find out what’s going on before the race goes completely extinct?

Shadow Rock – Ashley is the heir to the Throne of Darkness, something that hasn’t been up for grabs in four generations. With people trying to take it for themselves from all direction, from murder to marriage, she runs away from it, all the way to America to do what she wants to do. But is it far enough?

Blank Charm – It was only a little something she picked up from a curiosity shop on holiday, but ever since she found that bracelet, strange things keep happening to her, and these people won’t stop following her, but she has no idea if their friend or foe, or even human. As if Kelly didn’t have enough shit to deal with right now.

DNA Key – In the future, everything is controlled by DNA, food allowances, leisure entitlements, even access into buildings. Kaeleigh’s father, an genius scientist, created a master key – something that will allow anyone to get into anywhere, get anything they want. But he’s just been murdered, and now the attention’s on her – does she have the key to finding the key?

Crossing Realms – You might think that the multiverse would be filled with thousands upon thousands of realms, all just overlapping each other, not quite touching. But no, there’s five. Just five, and they’re meant to be quite spread out. So when they edges of the realms start touching, it’s quite a shock, and quite the disturbance to reality as it’s known. Five people, a champion from each of the realms, have a chance to fix what it is that’s going wrong. But there are only five of them, and it’s quite a big task.

Pirate – Meg turned her back on her family and friends ten years ago, but now they need her and her power. The only thing is, she gave up her power when she left, and really doesn’t want to see anyone from her old life

Traitor – Tess has been labelled as a traitor to the crown, why? Because she’s the same as the king – an ancient born again. She and He don’t want anything to do with each other, but the souls that reside inside them want different things, pushing and pulling against each other, whether they want to or not.

Thief of Memories – After losing everything, including her memories, Lara stole everything that she could, including a heart she probably shouldn’t have.

Fallen Fae – Falen doesn’t mind human as much as other Fae, but her refusal to bow completely to the traditions of the court get her banished, and now she has to turn to people that although she doesn’t mind, she doesn’t fully understand or trust.

Blood Mage – Francesca is the daughter of the most powerful blood mage ever, and almost as powerful a blood mage in her own right. The problem is, she’s a rebellious, attention-seeking teen, and does the one thing that she knows will annoy her father more than anything – join up with the army trying to take him down.

Unbounded – A very typical novel where dragon riders ride dragons in protection of the realm. Except one dragon hatches without bonding to a rider, from there’s it’s an uphill struggle to survive, and prove that dragons aren’t just beasts of burdens for the humans to control.

Firebird – An ancient cycle of death, rebirth, a family of hunter fighting agaisnt the forces of darkness. Unfortunately, their souls don’t get to pass on to the afterlife when they die, and the current family is very tired of hearing so many voices all the time. But there might be a chance, to break the cycle forever, with the power of the youngest of the line – the power of wind and flame, the power of the phoenix, the power over rebirth.

Of Those in Shadow – There are acceptable magics, and then there are those that are not. That is the proper way of things, and every person of an educated nature knows this. But Hailey’s spent her entire life being proper, and it always end up with her being overshadowed by her twin Harper. So maybe, just maybe, she can find something that she’s better at, something that she can do that her twin can’t. Even if it isn’t proper, and even if the consequences could get her killed, or worse.

Ghost – Dhampir’s are bad, the older they get, the worse it is. Although no one, not even the long lived vampires, can remember precisely why. So when a Dhampir is born, she’s sequestered away, brought up in isolation, ready for the day when the reigning family can kill her and reabsorb the power back into the line. Except, with help from those disillusioned with the royals, she fakes her death an escapes. Maybe, away from them, the world can find out why exactly the dhampir’s are considered so horrific. If it doesn’t backfire on them first that is…

AS YET UNTITLED – In this world, everyone had that one special creature waiting for them, that one special bond that you search for. And once you’ve found it, that when the adventure really begins. Abigail hasn’t yet found her special bond, but she doesn’t want to let that stop her adventure, and joins up with a group of other teenagers who have recently found their own bonded. In between escapades and travelling, it starts to look like things might not be as they appear on the surface – what is it that Abby is hiding so desperately from the rest of them?

As of yet, writing those out, none of them have yet jumped out at me. There’s a few I think that would be more suitable to write than others, but no decisions as of yet. I think I might sit and stew on it for a while. Worst comes to the worst, I can be a geek and roll a d20 to see which one I write!