NaNoWriMo mamas?

Yay, someone responded! Do you have the same username on nanowrimo? I do.

I just got a shiny new idea a couple of weeks ago and I've been working on it pretty steadily. I tried to mostly wing it last year and it was a miserable failure, so I'm back to planning. I've written two parts of a post-apocalyptic young adult trilogy, and then my failed 2005 novel involved a one-eyed juvenile delinquent fighting zombies in Europe. This year will be slightly more serious and involve human colonists on an alien planet. I have probably been at MDC too much lately, because my MC mysteriously turned out to have a nursing toddler. I tend to get my ideas in images, and once I get a strong image of how a scene will work, I kind of have to go with it ... so I imagined her with this little nursing daughter and I had to stick with it. Then I made it important to the plot, because the aliens occasionally steal human kids for observation, but they've learned not to take them away before they're weaned, or they won't be able to feed them. So the kid is starting to wean and then the aliens take her. And there's lots of creepiness and bloodshed, plus cute toddler interludes (cause hey, I have a 17mo, I can come up with good ideas for that - and no one ever writes little kids well).

Yep, same username I'll be sure to add you as a friend, or whatever they called that feature last year, so I'll see your progress. Feel free to add me too! Do you participate in the NaNo forums much? I do some years, not so much others. It really varies.

I tend toward sci-fi/fantasy myself. My first year was a ghost love story, but it wasn't so much a romance as sci-fi or light horror. Second year, a completely directionless fantasy piece about secret societies and a mysterious plague. I finally wrote myself into a corner at 26K and quit... might have been good if I'd been able to come up with a plot Third year, a boring women's lit type thing about a woman finding her family roots and hating them. Last year, I did a fantasy story about a girl who grows up in a strict religious society and is taught magic is evil, and of course she turns out to have magic.

This year I'm either going to continue that story - I reached 50K but didn't finish the story - or use my other idea. I'd like to finish last year';s story. I'm pretty sure I have enough material left to go for another 50K. Am hoping I can get excited enough about it to really dive in. We'll see

And I kwym about real life popping up in your writing. My third year was the year after DS was born and surprise, surprise, one of the MCs was a midwife and birth figured prominently in the background

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Oh, do I ever. You know how you can sort people by number of posts? I'm usually in the top 10. Last year I think I wrote more words on the forums than in my novel. : (Hey, there's an idea ... someone should write a whole novel about the NaNoWriMo forums!)

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Your second year things sounds really cool. I am all about secret societies and mysterious plagues. Have you read Chris Baty's book? One of the things I really like is the advice to make a list of stuff you like and stuff you don't like, and try to make a novel out of stuff you like. Secret societies and plagues were high on my list.

Your fantasy story sounds cool too ... I have a fantasy plot that's been brewing in my head forever, and I can't seem to get around to writing it down. Maybe because I'm picky about it; there's some fantasy I like, but a lot that I don't. And I want to make sure I write the stuff I like. Anyway, the idea is about three college-age American brothers who have been visiting this cool magical alternate universe since childhood, but then they get trapped there and one of them has to be the king, and they're embroiled in the politics of the kingdom. And there's an invasion of creatures from an evil magic dimension that they have to do something about. I really need to figure it out a little better at some point.

Anyway, I'll look for you on the NaNo forums! I don't think buddy lists will survive the site restart, but I'll add you after Oct. 1.

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Ya know, I have been wanting to write something that involves a lot of forum and email communication. I can't quite work out the logistics of it, and how to make it so readers aren't thoroughly confuzzled by the change of media within the story. I think it'd be wicked fun

Oh and wow about the number of posts, I'm definitely not that prolific, even in a good year!

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I haven't read it yet, thanks for the reminder -- off to put in a reservation at the library! I wanted to read it last year but the waiting list was a mile long. Hopefully this year it'll be a bit better.

Your fantasy idea sounds interesting, kind of Narnia-esque but different. I'd be curious to see how you worked it out. Good luck, you'll figure it out sooner or later. I've always thought that stories have birthdays just like babies - sometimes no matter how much you want them to be born, they just won't come out until they're ready!