NaNoWriMo 2016: Oh, Dear

So if you've been with me for a while, you'll know that my last few NaNos have gone a bit awry, with me abandoning a project halfway through the month and picking up another one to make progress on it instead after I stall out like an extra in a horror film on the railroad tracks with the train coming.

(That simile may be a bit much.)

2016 was no exception, even though I had a backup project in place from day one. I ended up pulling out a backup backup, and by the end of the month had three projects going, which is just silly. This is the most NaNo rebel I've ever been.

And I didn't make it to a single local event--no kickoff, no all-day write-in, not even the TGIO party (which happened while I was out of town, anyway). I guess I had a harder than expected time adapting to the idea of a new region. I mean, I did six NaNos in a row in Austin, five of them with Chadwick by my side, so maybe I wasn't as ready to take it on in a new place on my own as I thought. Alas.

Anyway, I did limp over the finish line with about an hour to spare, and I'm not sure that I can stand to read a single word of what I wrote on the backup projects, which at least a little bit defeats the purpose of NaNo. I do like the ideas I got down on my primary project, scant as they were, and it's something I can work with if I can get my head back into it.

So, that's where I went halfway through November. I didn't have anything I could bear to share, not even in the spirit of "Of course it's bad, it's a NaNo first draft!" Nothing. But at least I learned that making such a rash promise is a terrible idea, so I'm giving you plenty of warning that next November you'll have to get your cheek from somewhere else, because this blog will have the lights off.

At least, I say that now. We'll see what kind of nonsense comes flowing out of my fingers on October 31st.