Dragons and Dino's are calling me to a change of NaNo heart...

I've made a momentous decision.

It happened, as the saying goes, "just like that."

After wracking my brain and flinging a few, well-chosen and nasty adjectives at the computer (and at myself and my fickle muse--and yes, he is lower case for the moment) I decided to change gears on my NaNoWriMo plans.

I was going to originally write a very clever story about nanobe-like aliens who come to Earth and invade our bodies so they can use us to war among themselves. I still like this concept. But when I sat down to outline the chapters and plot lines of the book, I went blank and all of the plot bunnies went and hid themselves. I've been looking everywhere for them. I've found plenty of dust bunnies but not one single plot bunny could be located. They may have gone to Cleveland.

"Into the Glow, Aborning" will get written, that much I know. It's just not going to get written in November.

I have had nothing but the world of Burr on my mind lately. The muse is slamming delicious thoughts into my head about that place. Burr is the world (alternate reality) where my WIP short story "Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dragon" takes place. The name of the world is never mentioned in the story.

I had already planned to start a first novel (thinking trilogy, certain that it will take more than one book to tell this story) based on this world. The novel is to be called "The Mages of Morrow" (with subsequent novels named along the same line: "The Sages of Sorrow," etc. all very sequel-y).

Burr is a wonderful place. Full of shifting black holes, magician-scientists (mages) who bioengineer sentient Dragons and prehistoric monsters to war for them, gypsies (who are lesser mages), and magician-scholars who still practice the real hocus-pocus-brew-me-a-potion type magic (sages).

I've got Burr so much in my blood (and love the place that it becomes so much in my imagination) that I have to start writing it soon.

So I sat down tonight to start writing the outline, and voilà!--the Muse is back and the bunnies have come home from their holiday. One of them is wearing a Manchester United tee-shirt. Very odd bunny. The outlines I was able to do flowed better than I could have hoped for. I wanted to get 4-to-5 done, but only got two done. However, those two are very detailed. The Muse is definitely doing his part again. Back to capitalizing.

Even now that I'm done for the night (morning, now) and, as I'm fond of saying, Morpheus keeps trying to drag me off to Dreamland (he is positively ranting now), I don't want to stop outlining this story. The ideas keep coming and coming. One thing I should do is finish writing "Tiny Dragon." This book doesn't depend on the short story, it's just that I love the story and want to finish it. And I'm so very close to the end, anyway.

So, I will be writing about dragons and dinosaurs this November, after all.

It's nice to be focused.

Paper bags, smelling salts on order as November looms...

November is coming. 

No, I'm not worried.

I have done absolutely squat on characterization or plot outlines so far. Nothing. 

I have a grand total of five, maybe six characters (main and supporting) for my grand 50K NaNoWriMo adventure. 

I have been up to my eyeballs in homework getting through my first term back at college. The only writing I've been doing has been speeches for communications class and term papers. Classes ended today for the semester, so I'm determined to get something going on my writing, and especially for NaNoWriMo. I'm starting to get just a little freaked out about being ready for 1667 per day word counts. Everything would probably go a little bit smoother if I had something more than a general idea of where this novel is going. But more on my NaNo project in a bit. 

First, the WIP's I need to advance/complete:

The poems I started as part of NaNoPoMo that I never completed: the grand gothic epic "Ars Gothica" and "Only Silence." I need to complete them so I can send at least one over to Jim at Soft Whispers. And start new poems. I need to start writing new poems. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Okay, story WIP's that need finishing:

So many. "Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dragon," whose end is so near in my mind and whose plot has stagnated there as well. I need to re-read it and get inspired. I started, but need to complete Chapter 5 of my online serial: "The Reluctant Prince." Also, chapter 2 of my #fridayflash Twitter serial 'The Roswell Revenge' called "30 Miles to Dexter" needs editing. "Mind:set," "With Teeth that Tear Flesh" (my first foray into Cthulu Mythos) and "Transcendental U" all need work continued on them. I refuse to abandon them altogether, as the muse insists they are stories worth the telling. 

New ideas:

With so many unresolved stories, you'd think now would not be the time to come up with new ideas for stories. But I can no more help the visions that the muse sends my way than a dog can help barking when he hears the mailman three houses down the street. The ideas come, and I my mind is a channel for them, hearing them whispered from afar and all I can do is write them down and sustain them with constant imagination.

I have one in my mind called "The Brothers." It is a different piece than what I usually write as it is a drama, part of which is set in WWII Poland. 

New sci-fi concept: "Eros and Matilda." Can't go into too much detail on what the story is about at this moment except to say it involves animal experimentation and is probably not anything like what you are thinking. 

Now, to NaNoWriMo.

I still want to stick with my original plan for the novel "Into the Glow, Aborning." Alien nanobe body snatchers using humans as weapons and Earth as the battleground in their civil war. 

That's all I have so far. 

Oh, and I need to find an image to use as my NaNoWriMo avatar for the forums, etcetera. My NaNoWriMo name is waning_gibbous, in honor of H.P. Lovecraft. 

I'm going to browse Clip Art.com and other sources for some possible candidates. 

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Keep in mind that the picture or clip art needs to be free or public domain so I can use it freely on NaNoWriMo's website.

November is looming and I'm worrying about the damn forum avatar!