Prepping for NaNoWriMo Dilemma

I did not realize until just a few moments ago that it has been a month since I added a blog post.

Whoops.

So much for me attempting to get more consistent about this again.

If it means anything, I've been busy.

A little bit less than a month ago, I got Lasik. I can see without the help of glasses or contacts for the first time in my entire life. It is weird.

Although I have been doing quite a bit of writing, it hasn't necessarily been on anything specific. Obviously, it hasn't been on this blog. I have toyed with my WIP a bit, jotted down some story idea. But for the most part, I've been tweaking picture book stories that I've been working on (Dragon's Quest Home, Sylvia Mae's Very Bad Day, The Littlest Bigfoot, and Andrew's Accidental Trip to the Moon).

This last weekend, I spent in Austin and attended the Formula 1 race and Taylor Swift concert. It was an abundance of fun. Any time I spend with Leigh is always a blast and I got to actually spend time with her husband (rather than just the short spurts of time I'd had before, and I have to say they are probably the most adorable couple I have ever seen). I met some new people, all of which seem super nice. Plus I get to say I attended the only concert Taylor Swift is going to perform in the year 2016 and I'm 100% okay with that!

This is my favorite picture the I have on my phone. 

The main issue with me being so busy not working on my Elemi story (aka my current WIP) is that November is right around the corner and now I have no idea what I'm going to do for NaNo. 

For those of you who don't know what NaNoWriMo is, basically it is when lots of people try to write 50k in one month, basically the length for a novel. If you are interested in learning more, here is the link to the official website.

My original goal was to have the second draft of the Elemi done and out to be read by the first round of Beta Readers by the end of this month so I could focus on something new during this month. I can't finish the second draft in 5-6 days. Even if I didn't have to work, there is just no way I could do it. 

So now my dilemma is do I continue working on it during November and just not participate in NaNo this year? Or do I set it aside, work on something new and hope I don't completely forget about the Elemi? 

Or do I try to do both? Work on the Elemi AND something new?

And if I do end up working on something new, should I go with something I've got the outline for already done or do I make a new one? Which outline of the ones I've got should I choose? 

Or should I continue to toy with the picture books and see if I can make anything decent out of those?

There are just way too many options at this exact moment. And I can't just flip a coin or do eeny-meanie-miny-moe to decide. 

Okay, so maybe dilemma isn't exactly the proper word, but still. 

Are you planning on participating in NaNoWriMo this year? 

Until next time,

Hopefully there is much less time between this post and the next one,

Shelby Hild