UPDATE: In the end I only managed to get two pages written for the new novel, and I did some revision of the novel I started twenty years ago. I’ve been in distress for several personal reasons so that’s all I could handle. However, I’m still happy to have entered and I might continue the work the next year. Thanks for reading!
After a long time struggling to continue working on my novels, I decided to enter NaNoWriMo again.
The main reason is that I’m determined to get at least one novel done, so instead of starting a brand new novel, I’m going to write further 50,000 words to what I have already produced over the past years.
(Even if I’m not going to reach the 50k milestone to win the contest, I would have still finished my novel, right?)
Now though—which novel should I get my hands on?
My first thought goes to Per Me, Perle Bianche (tr. White Pearls for Me) a novel in Italian I started writing when I was still in middle school and had just turned thirteen.
I’ve been working on this novel on and off for twenty years. It’s time to get it its well-deserved “The End” on the last page, isn’t it?
Completing this novel would be a lifetime achievement to me, one that I’ve been dreaming of for years but never had enough mental energy to put into practice.
It would be awesome to do it on the novel draft 20th anniversary!
The second option is to start a brand new novel that answers this “what if?” question:
What would happen if a writer who started a novel died suddenly and it were up to their characters to complete it instead?
I know, I know… it reminds of Pirandello’s novel Six Character in Search of an Author. I didn’t even remember that novel at the time of having this idea, however my own is a different take and I would still happily homage to that great Italian author.
Also, the thought of writing this story is a huge temptation and I already itch to start putting pen to paper (or typed words to screen, but I’d rather write on paper first—my novel drafts almost always start on paper!).
It’s going to be interesting… and if I feel a little crazy enough, I could work on both the above mentioned novels simultaneously.
Why not? If my mind collaborates, I could devote NaNoWriMo 2018 to the “what if?” plot and work on my old novel along.
NaNoWriMo 2018 – here I come!
I look forward to it.
I’ve missed the feeling of excitement from having to work on a creative drafts day after day.
Sure, I have to be careful not to wind up with a burnout and I’m going to take “days off” from the challenge if I have to (whether I manage to catch up or not) but that will not take away from putting in my most honest effort.
Wish me luck—on either count (the old novel or the new “what if?” story).
Are you going to enter NaNoWriMo 2018?
Email me to lia.dospetti [at] email.it for some writer-to-writer talk or to become NaNo buddies!
