FiYoCrapMo Year 2: Finishing more crap

Last year I posted about why I don’t usually participate in NaNoWriMo, simply because I can’t keep up with that sort of pace without completely burning out (and, since my health problems started, making myself so sick I can’t function for the rest of the month). What I did last year, though, was follow this advice and treat November as FiYoCrapMo—short for “Finish Your Crap Month.” In looking back at my post from last year, I’m delighted to say that I did indeed finish all my crap. The A/V project took longer than I wanted, BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT IT’S DONE. Likewise, I finished my book up, and now it’s just a month and a half away from publication and I’ve made good headway into the other books in the series!

I got a lot done this year—a lot more than I have in previous years, and more than I was honestly expecting to. I edited an anthology, wrote three short stories which all miraculously managed to get published, wrote a novel and more. And the only reason I was able to get this done is because I paced myself at a rate that I knew I could manage. So don’t beat yourself up if you can’t keep up with NaNo’s hectic schedule: you can still get a lot done if you know your own limits and abilities, and pace yourself properly. My friend Jaylee James just wrote a fantastic and inspirational post about how to do just that, that is a huge help for anyone who deals with chronic health conditions, such as long-term depression or anything else that’s Not Going Away that can affect your energy and productivity levels.

Anyway, so it’s November and thus, once again, it’s FiYoCrapMo. My schedule is always a bit hectic in November because of the holidays and because my birthday also falls in the middle of the month, and it’s going to be even more so this time because I’ve got a friend whom I haven’t seen in awhile spending a week with me, so I know that’s going to take time out of my work schedule. So, working around that, here’s what’s on the menu for this month:

• Finish a special Iamos tie-in short story that will be free to newsletter subscribers! This is a good half to two-thirds of the way done currently, so I should definitely have it done by the end of the month. It’s going to be released at the same time as Fourth World, and if any of you have read my short story “The Choice” (published last year in Ama-gi magazine), pieces of it may look familiar to you. This version is an expanded “director’s cut” edition—with some events turning out really differently than they did in “The Choice”!—that explains the backstory of some of the characters you’ll meet in Fourth World.
• Write a short story for a Top Secret Project. This one is number two on my list, with a goal of being done by the end of the year—I anticipate it will be done earlier than that (especially with the Iamos short being as close to being finished as it is), but like I said: I want to realistically pace myself, so I won’t make myself sick or beat myself up if I don’t make it.

Those are my two priority projects for FiYoCrapMo. My bonus project is:

• Finish the second book in the Iamos series—which is actually going to be “book 1.5”. This will make more sense to you after Fourth World comes out. XD

So, that’s what I’m up to for November! Good wishes to everyone participating in NaNo or using November as an opportunity to get stuff finished. And if you’re sitting it out? Hey, that’s cool, too.