NaNoWriMo

Yes, I'm still online. It's estasia's fault, because I read her post about NaNoWriMo and got to thinking.

I wonder if I should do NaNoWriMo. Deadlines often do one of two things to me: they either bring out my very best or plunge me into accomplishment impotence and self-loathing. But The Chalice War just sits there in my head, looking at me as though to say, "well? what are you doing to do with me?" and I keep staring back at it and looking at Cadmus, who now holds the tale in his black-clad arms, and I shrug weakly.

I'm tempted to sign up. Really tempted. But what if I fail? What if I totally spazz out, like I always do? Sure, my self-esteem is better than it has ever been in my entire life, but do I want to take the risk of giving a blow to my current healthy self-image? In my state of self-confidence prevents my making a decision right now. I put the question to anyone who may read this.

[Poll #599168]

Separate Journals and a Dream

I don't understand how people can maintain more than one journal. Maybe it's my latent one-track-mind attitude, although I am a multi-tasker from way back. One does not survive The Pit for many years without multi-tasking in the extreme.

I don't have any other journals. I have a MySpace account so I can comment on the journal of a friend who just won't come to LJ, but my spot there directs folks here. I maintain some communities, but I'm a sorry maintainer and communities are much different, IMHO, than an actual journal, so they don't really count. Hell, I don't even have that many filters. My journal is a WYSIWYG journal, I s'pose you can say.

Oh, how I admire those who keep a journal for every aspect of their lives! But I don't see how you do it.

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In other news, I had a LOST dream last night. It's my second LOST dream. Although I don't remember much, I can say that it involved interactions with aliens in a gigantic cavern/theatre far beneath the Dharma bunker. I remember crying in Locke's arms and eyeballing Sayid with great desire. And that's all. There's much more, but I can't pull it out of memory. How frustrating.

The NaNoWriMo

I signed up.

May the Mighties have mercy on not only my soul, but the souls of all who have to put up with me for the next month.

Too Many Characters

I've been thinking about The Chalice War and have decided to rename it The Chalice. The tale isn't just about the Vampires' struggle for possession of Kelat's cup. It's more than that, but it's still in direct relation to the cup, so I'm dropping the "war" part of the title. Also, I have too many characters. Over the years, the myth behind the story has taken over the story itself. I tend to do that, work on the character development of one creation after another, but never give any of them a true home. So I need to make a list of all the characters I have and decide who is necessary for the task at hand and who may remain in the shadows of the myth behind the novel.

Characters I absolutely can't cut are:

Kelat
Thiyennen
Thaddeus
Orphaeus Cygnus
Cadmus Pariah
Agatha Crawford
Paine Bryerson

Also, do I want to create a book of vignettes that tie together in the end or try to make the story chronological? Either way, it's going to be disjointed at best and will require massive beta reading and editing for any hope of being published some day, if that's even an option.

My mind is whirling.