NaNo planning
I've made a little progress on choosing a story, and I'm probably going to write way more about it than I intended underneath this cut, but I really want this post to be about planning the rest of my October for an easier November.
I think I'm going to drop the Teen Wolf fusions, and go with one of the Ryan Undercover stories. And I think I'm just going to have to start planning as if I were doing both until one emerges as the likely winner.
There are *things* about each one that I like. Dead!Ryan, I love the idea of Team Beckett doing their own investigation from Chez Castle. And a particular moment that has been in my head for at least a year involves Ryan's picture being up on the murder board until one day it disappears, with the silent understanding that nobody can bear to look at it and be so reminded that he's gone. I also have a particular lead in mind they could follow that has them thinking he had a bit of a double-life going on that included cheating on Jenny (he didn't, it's just his undercover work involved caretaking for the mob boss's grandson in order to get closer to the boss, but it *looks* bad for a bit there -- I told you this story has been in my head for a while).
But then, I also like the idea of Ryan not being dead, and stumbling into a murder scene (self-defense by one of the young members, who Ryan has determined to help when everything is over, of the group he's infiltrated) and then being chased by Team Beckett. I also have snarky ideas for if he gets hauled in for questioning. Not to mention the captive scene I mentioned in the previous post, AND the first time his fake identity pops up after sweeping for finger prints at a different crime scene AND Team Beckett doing another search where they realize the "Kevin Ryan" identity only goes back so far before disappearing. Plus...I just really love the idea of getting to write Maniacal!Ryan.
But I have absolutely no clue in what scenario Ryan could not only be super deep undercover doing...*something*...that would also involve making it look like "Kevin Ryan" was the fiction all along. Plus, it lends itself to Ryan essentially being Severus Snape -- a good guy pretending to be a bad guy pretending to be the good guy he really was until for some reason he just looks like a bad guy (but he's really a good guy). Ugh. Confusing.
But anyway, on to November prep.
I've been thinking a lot about WIPs. Sometimes the really long ones that have been abandoned for a really long time -- most notably the SG-1 fic Alternate Point of View, and the Stargate/Star Wars crossover that has never been anything to me but "Jedi Daniel." And "Teen Daniel" which is what it sounds like, only angstier. And then there are the more recent ones, like the Kid!John Sherlock fic (spoiler alert: A surprise HP crossover, because how else does John Watson suddenly physically become a 12-year-old?) and last year's TSCC/Castle Nano crossover.
But those all require a lot of work. I've got a couple other stories that I can see the finish line on, so I think I'm going to try to bang those out before November.
I also want to get my apartment all nice and clean. Partly because I need to do that anyway. Sometimes I just look around and feel *bad* about how it looks in here (and then I lose the will to do anything). But also because, if it's messy in November, that's one procrastination tool I DON'T need. "What's that? I'm 10,000 words behind? Well, I think it's vitally important that I make this apartment absolutely spotless right now, sorry."
I also really want to be cooking meals in advance. You know, things I can portion out and freeze to nuke later (note to self: buy better storage). This would also be really helpful when it comes to taking my dinner to work with me for a change. Or, if there's a whole dish that I could freeze so all I have to do is put it in the oven at a later date, that'd be cool, too. So, I need to find some recipes and make some plans.
I also want to make snacky things. Because, sure. I'll probably buy leftover Halloween candy, but I should have some healthier things in mind, too. Maybe I'll pick up a vegetable platter at the start of each week. And then maybe come December, I'll just start buying actual vegetables that I cut myself like a grownup.
Does anyone have good trail mix sorts of recipes? I suppose I could just do Chex Mix (made, not purchased, because blech unless you're getting the fancy sweet kinds).
So, in short, I've got three weeks to:
It doesn't look like much, but it feels like a lot.
I think I'm going to drop the Teen Wolf fusions, and go with one of the Ryan Undercover stories. And I think I'm just going to have to start planning as if I were doing both until one emerges as the likely winner.
There are *things* about each one that I like. Dead!Ryan, I love the idea of Team Beckett doing their own investigation from Chez Castle. And a particular moment that has been in my head for at least a year involves Ryan's picture being up on the murder board until one day it disappears, with the silent understanding that nobody can bear to look at it and be so reminded that he's gone. I also have a particular lead in mind they could follow that has them thinking he had a bit of a double-life going on that included cheating on Jenny (he didn't, it's just his undercover work involved caretaking for the mob boss's grandson in order to get closer to the boss, but it *looks* bad for a bit there -- I told you this story has been in my head for a while).
But then, I also like the idea of Ryan not being dead, and stumbling into a murder scene (self-defense by one of the young members, who Ryan has determined to help when everything is over, of the group he's infiltrated) and then being chased by Team Beckett. I also have snarky ideas for if he gets hauled in for questioning. Not to mention the captive scene I mentioned in the previous post, AND the first time his fake identity pops up after sweeping for finger prints at a different crime scene AND Team Beckett doing another search where they realize the "Kevin Ryan" identity only goes back so far before disappearing. Plus...I just really love the idea of getting to write Maniacal!Ryan.
But I have absolutely no clue in what scenario Ryan could not only be super deep undercover doing...*something*...that would also involve making it look like "Kevin Ryan" was the fiction all along. Plus, it lends itself to Ryan essentially being Severus Snape -- a good guy pretending to be a bad guy pretending to be the good guy he really was until for some reason he just looks like a bad guy (but he's really a good guy). Ugh. Confusing.
But anyway, on to November prep.
I've been thinking a lot about WIPs. Sometimes the really long ones that have been abandoned for a really long time -- most notably the SG-1 fic Alternate Point of View, and the Stargate/Star Wars crossover that has never been anything to me but "Jedi Daniel." And "Teen Daniel" which is what it sounds like, only angstier. And then there are the more recent ones, like the Kid!John Sherlock fic (spoiler alert: A surprise HP crossover, because how else does John Watson suddenly physically become a 12-year-old?) and last year's TSCC/Castle Nano crossover.
But those all require a lot of work. I've got a couple other stories that I can see the finish line on, so I think I'm going to try to bang those out before November.
I also want to get my apartment all nice and clean. Partly because I need to do that anyway. Sometimes I just look around and feel *bad* about how it looks in here (and then I lose the will to do anything). But also because, if it's messy in November, that's one procrastination tool I DON'T need. "What's that? I'm 10,000 words behind? Well, I think it's vitally important that I make this apartment absolutely spotless right now, sorry."
I also really want to be cooking meals in advance. You know, things I can portion out and freeze to nuke later (note to self: buy better storage). This would also be really helpful when it comes to taking my dinner to work with me for a change. Or, if there's a whole dish that I could freeze so all I have to do is put it in the oven at a later date, that'd be cool, too. So, I need to find some recipes and make some plans.
I also want to make snacky things. Because, sure. I'll probably buy leftover Halloween candy, but I should have some healthier things in mind, too. Maybe I'll pick up a vegetable platter at the start of each week. And then maybe come December, I'll just start buying actual vegetables that I cut myself like a grownup.
Does anyone have good trail mix sorts of recipes? I suppose I could just do Chex Mix (made, not purchased, because blech unless you're getting the fancy sweet kinds).
So, in short, I've got three weeks to:
- Finish a couple WIPs
- Clean my apartment
- Make big meal/snack plans
- Implement meal snack/plans
- Oh, and plan my NaNo
It doesn't look like much, but it feels like a lot.