NaNoWriMo: Lots of ideas, but few stories
The story I want to write isn't going to fit in 150 pages. And I'm not sure it's the story I want to tackle first… it's complicated, has a lot of viewpoint characters and a lot of emotional conflict, both external and internal. I think I'm going to have to skip that one. Though it's possible that I could aim to write the story in 50,000 words, with plans to expand it later on, once the core plot is worked out from beginning to end.
But I'm thinking I want a simpler story. I'm considering writing a "middle grade" book… something my bright nine-year-old son would like to read. I've got this idea about a sixth-grader who thinks he's a werewolf because of mysterious clues pointing to it… except he's not. The werewolf is his best friend. Problem there is, I have an idea, but I don't have a story. I have an opening scene, heck I have the opening line (which I think is unique among all of my story ideas). I've got a lot of those… ideas for stories that are just beginnings, people in situations, but I don't really know what the story is.
I've got a few more days. Maybe I'll write about a nine-year-old that stows away on an interstellar cargo ship.