Described is a process for preparing solanone and norsolanadione wherein in preparing solanone, the compound having the structure: ##STR1## or a mixture of compounds defined according to the structure: ##STR2## is reacted with methyl lithium and the resulting intermediate is hydrolyzed and the resulting compound is dehydrated and wherein in preparing norsolanadione this compound or mixture of compounds is reacted with ethylene glycol or propylene glycol thereby forming a ketal and the resulting ketal is reacted with methyl lithium and the resulting intermediate is then hydrolyzed in the presence of acid in which one of the dashed lines represents a carbon-carbon single bond and the other of the dashed lines represents a carbon-carbon double bond.