Camp NaNoWriMo Is Coming!

. . . And I have spent the last few days with a parody of a Christmas song stuck in my head. And it's a parody I made up, which is almost worse.


Anyway! There's only about ten days left before Camp NaNo begins, which means I really need to figure stuff out. I've decided I definitely am doing it, though possibly with a somewhat-lower-than-50K goal (I'm thinking the 30-40K range, depending what I end up writing). After all, there is other life stuff that I need to take care of too. That just leaves the question of what I'm writing (and, of course, figuring out a cabin . . . anyone else doing this and want to get together with me?). Unlike back in November, I do have several ideas. The issue is simply figuring out which one to do- which is why I'm writing this blog posts, both to help me sort out my thoughts and to share my ideas with the rest of you.

• Mechanical Heart
  Genre: Steampunk fairy tale retelling
  Projected length: 20K
  What it's about: Inspired by "Shatter Me" by Lindsey Stirling, Mechanical Heart reimagines the story of Rapunzel in a dark steampunk world: a world where a new lease on life carries a dear price, where mechanical innovations have created a new form of slavery, and where a girl waits in a clockwork tower, wondering if she's truly alive anymore . . . and if there's any way she could be again.
  Pros: I know the basic storyline already. Steampunk is really fun to write, and I've had this story simmering in my head for a few years.
  Cons: I was originally planning to save this story for July's Camp. I do want to try for more than just 20K in April, so I'd have to switch stories midway through and April is not Rebel Month.
• Unnamed Fantasy-Mystery
  Genre: Fantasy-mystery, similar to The King of Attolia.
  Projected length: 40-50K
  What it's about: This story would be set in Aveomar (same as Binding Destiny) or another connected world. It concerns the death of a duke, a young nobleman who suspects foul play, and the duke's unexpected heir: a young woman with a secret. War approaches and tensions are high, even without a murderer on the loose. Will the truth be discovered and justice be done? Or will a killer lead a nation into ruin?
  Pros: Again, I've had the storyline simmering in my head for a year or two. It's something different than I usually write. It would be a challenge, but hopefully a fun one.
  Cons: I've never written a mystery or a heavily politic-based story before- not with any success, anyway. It would take a lot more planning than I usually do, and possibly a bit more research as well. On the long side.
• Editing
  Genre: Fantasy.
  Projected length: 30-40K
  What it's about: Instead of writing an entirely new story, I could pick one of my already-written stories and try to get a lot of it edited over the month of April.
  Pros: I really do need to keep editing things; the stories just keep piling up. And it would be interesting to see how much I could do with the challenge of Camp NaNo to keep me going.
  Cons: April still isn't Rebel Month. Also, half the point of Camp NaNo is actually writing something. (The other half, for the record, is the community and challenge.)
• A Short Story (Or Poem) a Day
  Genre: Various
  Projected length: 30K
  What it's about: I get a lot of short story and poetry prompts (some of which would possibly come from you all?). Each day, I pick one (probably at random) and write something based off of it.
  Pros: Variety is fun! And I do want to write more short fiction and poetry. Also, it would be less of a "write X words per day" challenge and more of a "write something new every day" challenge, which could be interesting. It would also give me some new content to post on here.
  Cons: A single ongoing plot is a lot easier to manage than coming up with a new plot every day or even every few days. Working ahead in this challenge would be rather difficult. And- say it with me!- April isn't Rebel Month.
• Untitled Portal-Contemporary Fantasy
  Genre: Contemporary/portal fantay
  Projected length: 50K
  What it's about: The direct sequel to Between Two Worlds, this story focuses on Ella, Kate's little sister. Ever since Katelyn had her adventure, Ella feels as if she's been left out of her sister's world- and not just in the figurative sense. She's sick of secrets, of being left behind, and of her depressingly normal life. So when not one but two mysterious strangers show up at her summer camp, she figures it's her turn at an adventure . . . but she doesn't realize that in her desperation to not be left behind again, she might end up looking in all the wrong places.
  Pros: Like Between Two Worlds, this is based on a favorite daydream of mine, so I know pretty much the whole plot already. Ella is fun to write, and I always love visiting the BTW multiverse.
  Cons: It might be a bit longer than I want to write at the moment. It's also one of the darker stories on this list in certain respects, so I'm not positive that I'm ready to write it.

Which of these stories sounds most interesting to you, out of curiosity? Also, what are your plans for Camp NaNo (if you have any)? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)