Those are the creative projects that you've spent a lot of energy and time on, that you want to make work, but that never seem to really get anywhere. It's pretty much just an incarnation of the sunk-cost fallacy. You're so invested in the idea of the idea, and how much effort you've put in already, that you can't bear to let the project go.
Basically, that was me post-drama-craptasm. I had invested over a million words into the multiverse at that point [now it's over three million LOL] and I still had stories in those specific universes taking up space in my head that wouldn't let go, so I spent about a month of editing hell. Having said that, I'm not sure I would make the same decision now in 2022 - the edits happened in December 2020 about two months before I got COVID the first time and it ate my brain, I don't have the kind of energy now to edit like that. I don't regret continuing on with the multiverse and writing my OCs and canon characters in new things, but I don't recommend the kind of heavy editing I had to do [I needed two beta readers because it was just SO MUCH].
I have no advice for you on what to write for NaNo. I'm not doing it this year, because I have other projects to work on [I may start a new WIP next month but I don't think I can wring 50k words out of it]. But I wish you luck with figuring out whether you continue old project or abandon and start something new.
no subject
Basically, that was me post-drama-craptasm. I had invested over a million words into the multiverse at that point [now it's over three million LOL] and I still had stories in those specific universes taking up space in my head that wouldn't let go, so I spent about a month of editing hell. Having said that, I'm not sure I would make the same decision now in 2022 - the edits happened in December 2020 about two months before I got COVID the first time and it ate my brain, I don't have the kind of energy now to edit like that. I don't regret continuing on with the multiverse and writing my OCs and canon characters in new things, but I don't recommend the kind of heavy editing I had to do [I needed two beta readers because it was just SO MUCH].
I have no advice for you on what to write for NaNo. I'm not doing it this year, because I have other projects to work on [I may start a new WIP next month but I don't think I can wring 50k words out of it]. But I wish you luck with figuring out whether you continue old project or abandon and start something new.