This year has been a difficult one. My mother died unexpectedly. My father continues to live under hospice care. So I’m taking it easy with my 2022 National Novel Writing Month November effort. Which means I’m going to, yet again, be a NaNo Rebel.

What’s a NaNoWriMo Rebel you might ask? Someone who bucks the NaNoWriMo tradition of writing 50,000 words of a brand new novel during November. The team over at National Novel Writing Month has FAQs in their discussion forum.

I’m writing a collection of short stories. Am I a rebel?
Probably not.

This is what I will be doing for NaNoWriMo 2022. But a little bit more than just this.

I’m continuing…another work I’ve been writing on before November. Am I a rebel?
Not anymore. You no longer have to start from scratch…If you choose to continue a previous work, you can only count the words you write during November. You still have to write 50k.

I was definitely a NaNo Rebel in 2010 when I continued to write Hadrian and Sabina, calling it Hadrian and Sabina: A Love Story. Part II: The Final Years. I guess NaNoWriMo has changed the “rules” since then. But there’s that “you can only count the words you write during November” part which may haunt me.

I’m writing a series of unrelated essays/short stories/vignettes. Am I a rebel?
Probably.

This is the little bit more that I mentioned above.

So what is it I plan to do this November? I’m returning to my steampunk world of The Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles. I have written and published three stories in this world (only one is currently available, and I hope to get those rights back). I have seven story ideas. However, these might not be seven separate shorts as some of the story lines could be integrated into the same novelette.

I’m just hoping it all adds up to 50,000 words. If it does not, then I have an unrelated pirate story to write (for Harwell Heirs book 4, A Delicate Seduction) — which is what tosses me into the realm of being a NaNo Rebel. However, there is another aspect to my rebellion. The central rule of National Novel Writing Month is that only words written during November count toward the 50,000-word goal. I will have to re-read and possibly re-edit the three Ockham stories that were already written, but I can’t in good NaNo conscience consider those words toward my word count. However, I do want to be easy on myself. So I might just foment a rebellion!

So what are the themes, plots, and characters for this year’s NaNoWriMo? Let’s start with what I have already.

In “One Cheek or Two?” (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 1) we met Professor Edward Ockham, his lover Special Assistant Sebastian Broadchurch, and the laboratory’s new assistant Delia Bennett. A spanking machine was featured to great effect. Edward realized he might be bisexual.

In “Delia’s Heartthrob” (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 2) Edward and Delia deepened their relationship utilizing a steamy public art installation.

In “Swing Follies” (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 3) Sebastian met Albert, an attractive young man with a mysterious past. Delia discovered there’s a woman in Edward’s past.

So what’s next? I’ll be working on Edward’s backstory as a member of the Third-Wave Industrial Revolution, setting up his laboratory in Newcastle, and meeting Sebastian. Then jump back to the present and work on Sebastian and Albert’s love story. Next will be solidifying the polyamorous relationship among the core triad of Edward, Delia, and Sebastian. Delia will meet a new love interest with a link to Edward’s past. There will be a Happily Ever After with a surprise. And some more steamy inventions.

I just hope the real surprise is making my NaNoWriMo goal. By the way, did I tell you I have a fake cover? Isn’t it fun?!