Tag: nanowrimo

And we’re off!

I was really worried about this one. See, I have a tendency to start out slow when writing a new book, especially one where I haven’t done too much in the way of worldbuilding beforehand. I fully expected to put in about 2000 words and call it a day.

Well, that didn’t happen. Apparently, I was more mentally prepared for The Soulstone Sorcerer than I originally thought, because I finished all of Chapter 1 and the opening scene of Chapter 2 today. It’s pretty dull so far (I think that’s why it was easy), but that’ll pick up soon. I have not yet begun to write.

This session’s word count: 5,375
Total word count: 5,375
Last year’s cumulative total: 2,650

November’s almost here again, and you know what that means. Yep, it’s time for another writing push. For me, though, this year is going to be a bit different. As you know, the goal is supposed to be a novel of 50,000 words or more in a month. Well, most of mine are a lot longer than that. (My shortest full novel, Before I Wake, was about 83,000 words long.) On the other hand, writing 50,000 words in November would make it my least productive month so far this year.

So here’s what I’m going to do. The 50,000 word mark is still on the table, but it’s definitely not the only objective. Rather, it’s the first order of business, and my goal with it is to reach it as quickly as possible, while still maintaining the level of quality I expect from myself.

The story I’m doing is called The Soulstone Sorcerer, and it’s my first attempt at more “traditional” sword-and-sorcery fiction. It’ll still have weirdness, humor, and a generally lighthearted feel to it, but it’s going to look a lot more…ordinary? I’m not sure of the best word to describe it. Maybe that can wait until I’ve actually written the thing.

Anyway, it’s looking in my head like it’ll be about 140-150K words, so at least as long as Nocturne. That’s not getting done in a month, even if I do nothing else with my life in that time. So completing the novel simply isn’t one of my goals. Instead, after I hit the 50K mark, the rest of the month will be the endurance round: max words written. Quality remains paramount, however. I’ll save the stream-of-consciousness verbiage for posts like these.

I will continue my tradition of daily (or close enough) posts. These won’t be too detailed, but more like status updates. As usual, those will replace the usual content for the month, and regular posts will resume on December 4, my next scheduled posting date.

This, I hope, will be my 6th consecutive “win”. Here’s the rest of the streak, for reference:

• 2012: Heirs of Divinity
• 2013: Out of the Past
• 2014: Before I Wake
• 2015: The City and the Hill
• 2016: Nocturne

(Technically, Out of the Past wasn’t 50,000 words as a completed story, but I did consider it complete, thus fulfilling the second of the two criteria for the month. I’ll count it as a win for that reason.)

Wish me luck!

And so it ends. I wanted to put up a bunch of nifty stats and charts and stuff for this, but I had some problems sleeping today, and that threw my schedule all out of whack. So you get a text recap instead.

Today, I finished Chapter 21 and started Chapter 22. We’re now in the run up to the climax for sure. Lots of things are happening, and threads are coming together. If not for those pesky tornadoes last night, I might even be excited.

Now, to the month as a whole. Let me first state that I have enjoyed this month of writing like no other in my life. I’ve done Nanowrimo 6 times now, and I’ve completed at least one half of the challenge in the last 5. (Well, 2013 was a bit…off. The story there ended at about the 49K mark. I’ll still call that a win.) Never had I thought I could write 100,000 words in a month. A few short years ago, I would have laughed at the idea of writing half that.

But now I truly know my limits. 100K is about how much I can write if I considered writing as a full-time job. I won’t call these the best 100,000+ words I’ve ever written, but the point of the challenge, as I understand it, is quantity. Editing and rewriting can come later. Of course, I’ve never been great at that “stream-of-consciousness” writing style. I can’t leave typos and grammatical errors in; I’ll stop to fix them where I notice they’re there. Now I’m confident I can do that while still maintaining an absolutely incredible pace. A Sandersonian pace, if you will. (Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors, and one of the most prolific I’ve ever seen. As much as I’ve written this year, I think he’s still outpaced me!)

Nocturne is not yet done. I’d call it a little over 75%. Maybe 80%, if we’re feeling generous. I think it’s not out of the realm of possibility that I could finish the draft before Christmas. Whether fate will conspire to prevent that remains to be seen, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I shouldn’t have to maintain the torrid pace of the past 30 days to complete it in that time, so I’ll also have the chance to focus on other things.

I’ve had fun this November. Maybe more fun than with “The City and the Hill” (2015), Before I Wake (2014), “Out of the Past” (2013), and Heirs of Divinity (2012) put together. Nocturne, or what I have of it so far, will definitely go on the list of my greatest writing accomplishments.

Normal PPC posts resume Friday, and you can check out my Patreon for more information on what I’m writing and releasing. Remember to subscribe over there. It helps me out a lot. And finally, thank you for taking this journey with me. It’s been a great one, and I can’t wait till next year.

Final Stats

Previous word count: 100,805
This session’s word count: 2,821
Total word count: 103,626
Daily average: 3,454

Rudolph. Christmas. And thunderstorms. I’ll stop a little short tonight, I think. Still in Chapter 21, but I’m almost done with it. On a more interesting note, check out the total word count. Yep, that’s 100K in a month.

Previous word count: 98,540
This session’s word count: 2,265
Total word count: 100,805
Daily average: 3,476

I know, I know. Bear with me. It’s been a long day. First, we had that windstorm that passed through, and it caused a few power flickers. Nothing too bad this afternoon, but enough to convince me of the wisdom of shutting down my desktop until the gusts died down a bit. No problem, right? I’ve got a laptop. Even though I don’t normally write on it anymore, I could still use it this once, couldn’t I?

Nope. I was copying some files around, and I noticed one of them causing an I/O error. Some testing revealed a bad sector on the hard drive. Uh-oh. I got my laptop in July 2007, and it’s performed admirably since then, but it’s long been showing its age. Anyway, I felt I couldn’t risk it, so I waited some more, until I thought it was safe enough to turn the desktop back on. And that’s where we are now.

Call it halfway on Chapter 21. I am. The POVs have met, so I can’t delay the inevitable any longer. I have to start working out an ending. We’ll see if the world continues to work against me doing that.

Previous word count: 96,528
This session’s word count: 2,012
Total word count: 98,540
Daily average: 3,519

And now the threads are becoming twined. Chapter 20 is done, and Chapter 21 will mark the first time that my 2 POVs actually meet in person. That should be the last bit I need for Act II, unless you’d prefer to call it the start of Act III. Either way, it means we’re getting close to done. Right now, I’m thinking 30 chapters in total, not counting the prologue and (maybe) epilogue. Back to Kellis tomorrow, as she finally gets to talk to the man she’s been hunting since around the 3rd of the month.

Previous word count: 93,410
This session’s word count: 3,118
Total word count: 96,528
Daily average: 3,575

No cute intro today. I’m feeling a little under the weather, and I’m hungry. Chapter 20 is about halfway done; once I finish it (tomorrow, hopefully), that’ll be it for Act II. Then, it’s on to the finale. I think I may be to the point where I’ll just start alternating POVs. We’ll see.

Previous word count: 90,680
This session’s word count: 2,730
Total word count: 93,410
Daily average: 3,593

You know the great thing about being poor? Black Friday is just another day. I don’t have to worry about shopping, because I can’t afford even the big deals of the day. So I get to stay at home, watch The Grand Tour, and write.

Chapter 19 is in the books (ha!), and the two threads of the story have essentially converged. Chapter 20 will catch Shade up, and then the final act can begin. I don’t have a clue how I’m going to pull it off, but these things have a way of working themselves out. We’ll see.

Previous word count: 87,068
This session’s word count: 3,612
Total word count: 90,680
Daily average: 3,627

Happy Thanksgiving! (If you’re reading this and you’re not American, then Happy Black Friday Eve!)

I’m thankful for being halfway done with Chapter 19. I went back to Kellis for this one; it seemed like the right choice. Sure, it leaves Shade on a bit of a cliffhanger, but that only builds tension, right? And I’ll find a way to tie this chapter in with the last. After turkey, of course.

Don’t forget to check out “The Last Captain”, my latest short story release on Patreon. It’ll be released at midnight tonight for anyone willing to put up $3 a month.

Previous word count: 84,165
This session’s word count: 2,903
Total word count: 87,068
Daily average: 3,628

The big reveal has come and gone, and Chapter 19 is complete. I’m coming up on a kind of time skip, as I’ve got about eight or nine months of time between the “present” of the prologue and the “past” of the main narrative. I still don’t know how I’m going to work that. Maybe turkey will help.

Previous word count: 80,020
This session’s word count: 4,145
Total word count: 84,165
Daily average: 3,659