Well, I did it. I managed to complete 50,000 words of a novel. Fifty thousand, forty-five to be exact. That's nowhere near all of the novel. I'm estimating this one will run to at least 70,000, possibly more. But to "win" NaNoWriMo, you had to complete just 50,000. Which I did in spite of myself.
I say in spite of myself because I turned out to be my own biggest obstacle. This is by far the longest thing I've attempted. I didn't plan it out in detail well enough. I usually have a general idea of where I want a story to end up. Getting there is just details. The devil, as they say, is in the details. This novel has three viewpoint characters, four if you count the captain who only appears in flashbacks at the end of the major sections. The characters are in separate locations when the book opens, and I alternate chapters featuring each of them. I found myself writing more than one chapter about a character, depending how well I understood that part of the character's story arc in relation to the other story arcs. I would then go back and insert chapters where needed. I found this to be both a stressful and liberating way to write.
Anyhoo, I've not been blogging much in the last couple of weeks because I was trying to make the deadline. I'm going to step away from the novel for a few days, finish up a fantasy mystery novella that's about 1500 words from being done, start reading some of the books that have been piling up. I'm also going to think about some details I didn't work out very well before I started writing a month ago. I hope to finish the first draft of the novel over the holidays, get it to the beta readers, and get to work on the second book in the series. I've learned a lot about writing and how (not) to approach a novel, and I'm eager to put some of those things into practice.
I say in spite of myself because I turned out to be my own biggest obstacle. This is by far the longest thing I've attempted. I didn't plan it out in detail well enough. I usually have a general idea of where I want a story to end up. Getting there is just details. The devil, as they say, is in the details. This novel has three viewpoint characters, four if you count the captain who only appears in flashbacks at the end of the major sections. The characters are in separate locations when the book opens, and I alternate chapters featuring each of them. I found myself writing more than one chapter about a character, depending how well I understood that part of the character's story arc in relation to the other story arcs. I would then go back and insert chapters where needed. I found this to be both a stressful and liberating way to write.
Anyhoo, I've not been blogging much in the last couple of weeks because I was trying to make the deadline. I'm going to step away from the novel for a few days, finish up a fantasy mystery novella that's about 1500 words from being done, start reading some of the books that have been piling up. I'm also going to think about some details I didn't work out very well before I started writing a month ago. I hope to finish the first draft of the novel over the holidays, get it to the beta readers, and get to work on the second book in the series. I've learned a lot about writing and how (not) to approach a novel, and I'm eager to put some of those things into practice.
Congratulations! Well done. :)
ReplyDeleteGood going!
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys. It's not over, but I've proven to myself I can write at novel length. That's an extremely satisfying feeling.
ReplyDelete