The story itself, however, isn't done. Obvious since I left a cliffhanger. At the moment, I'm feeling a little burned out. If I'm going to finish the story, I need a little time away from it. The thing is, I had no problem writing the story out once I seriously got down to actually writing. I just had a hard time forcing myself to get started in the first place. And when I wrote, it felt more like a chore rather than a joy. And I had all these other ideas clambering in my head trying to get out. And I couldn't get them out because they didn't fit the story I was currently writing.
One major thing I did this year was to try to write an outline, kind of did it, and immediately threw it out once the first of the month rolled around. So mainly, I was writing by the seat of my pants. I really had no idea what was going to happen next. And I was writing sci-fi. But I doubt the genre had anything to do with my sluggishness this year.
I'm not particularly disappointed. Although I also reached 50k in 2002, I didn't finish the story then either. In fact, I'm glad that this year was particularly difficult--an indication that Nanowrimo won't get stale no matter how many times I attempt it. The important thing is, I challenged myself with a different genre and a different point of view. Writing solely focused on a male main character is a difficult thing if you don't have any idea what you're doing. But whether the execution was right or not is besides the point--at least I got to stretch those writing muscles a bit.
As for next year: of course I already have possible ideas floating about. But whatever it ultimately ends up, it'll be another challenge.
