Moving into Chapter 3 now, which is our first introduction to the #2 POV for this story. It also features a place well-known to readers of Chronicles of the Otherworld, specifically Written in Black and White and Situational Awareness. Of course, four millennia of change renders it essentially unrecognizable, but that’s how it goes when you’re writing something like this.
Today’s word count: 2,006
Total word count: 14,250
Daily average: 1,781
Projected total: 53,437
That’s more like it. Finished Chapter 2, finally. Tomorrow, I’ll introduce the secondary POV character, and then I can start looking for a way to tie these two threads together. Figuring out how they connect to the “mainline” story of Otherworld is, of course, a task for much, much later.
Today’s word count: 2,202
Total word count: 12,244
Daily average: 1,749
Projected total: 52,474
I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s something big going on today. So I didn’t write that much. Really, all I did today was catch up on what I missed yesterday. Still in Chapter 2, still working on it.
Today’s word count: 1,149
Total word count: 10,042
Daily average: 1,673
Projected total: 50,210
Not much today, I’m afraid. This is what happens when you’re out all day running errands. Well, and sleeping all morning, even though you went to bed at 11 PM last night. Can’t be helped, not without risking my health, which I’m avoiding this year.
Today’s word count: 815
Total word count: 8,893
Daily average: 1,778
Projected total: 53,358
Not feeling all that great today, but that’s not going to stop me from writing at least something. And I did get a fairly decent day out of it, although it took me longer than expected. So I’m into Chapter 2, and this part’s all about connecting the dots. One nice thing about writing this particular story is that I can throw in references to Otherworld whenever I feel like it. (Okay, I’ve done that in The Beast Within, too, but that’s different.)
Anyway, I’m done for now. I hope I’ll feel better tomorrow. And that I’ll get that job I applied for, but one miracle at a time, right?
Today’s word count: 1,993
Total word count: 8,078
Daily average: 2,019
Projected total: 60,585
Three days, one chapter. A far cry from the frantic pace of last year, I know. But that’s okay. I’m happy, I’m healthy, and I’m still doing a good job.
Seasons Change takes place 4400 years before Out of the Past, just so you know. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some similarities. In my head, I’m already drawing analogies between these characters and the familiar ones from the Otherworld series. Once I release this story, you’ll probably pick those up in about 5 minutes, tops.
Today’s word count: 2,173
Total word count: 6,085
Daily average: 2,028
Projected total: 60,850
So weird to be pacing myself while writing a novel, but here we are. I’m taking this slow, or at least slower than usual. So I’m still in Chapter 1, but a bit further through it. And now I’ve got time to do other things. Like, say, playing RimWorld.
Today’s word count: 1,914
Total word count: 3,852
Daily average: 1,926
Projected total: 57,780
It’s going to be weird not doing the crazy late-night scheduling this year. And it’s going to be weird juggling this and a potential job, but I’ll make it through.
So, let’s get this party started. Seasons Change. Chapter 1. So far, there’s not much to say. It’s an introduction to the main character, who just happens to be one of the few named in the main Otherworld series, despite over 4000 years of time difference. We’ll see where it goes.
Today’s word count: 1,937
Projected word count: 58,110
Remember, I’m taking it a little easier this year. The Soulstone Sorcerer brought me perilously close to a breakdown, and I’d rather not repeat that. So expect a lot more days with 2000 words rather than 5000 this time around. Maybe I’ll splurge a little on the weekends, but who knows? I sure don’t.
It’s that time of the year again. Kids are dressing up, the leaves are turning, the weather’s getting colder—it must be Halloween. And you know what that means. November is almost here, so it’s time to write a new novel!
This year’s entry is tentatively titled Seasons Change (how appropriate). I have done some pre-planning through the month of October. In the spirit of the competition, however, I haven’t started writing just yet. That can wait till tomorrow.
As for the story, well, I don’t know exactly where it’s going to go at the moment, but I can tell you where it falls in the universe of my writing. Seasons Change is the first in what I’m calling the “Othersides”. These are set in the Otherworld setting (Chronicles of the Otherworld, etc.), but have no direct connection to that ongoing story. Thus, I don’t need to do as much worldbuilding as for an original setting, but I can plausibly claim I haven’t done any work on the story yet.
Now, I’m targeting about 55-60K words for this novel. Given what I did with The Soulstone Sorcerer last year, you might be thinking, “Well, he’ll be done with that in about two weeks.”
Probably not. See, this November brings with it an added degree of difficulty. I’m looking for a “real” job at the moment. If I get one, expect my available writing time—and my daily average—to plummet. Add in the things I have to do around the house, the mental stress of the midterms, and an increasingly special woman who doesn’t like me writing, and…this one’s a lot harder.
Still, I think I can pull it off. And if I do, it’ll mark 7 years in a row that I’ve written either 50000 words or a complete novel in the month of November. For reference, here are the others:
This year, Novel Month is a real challenge, but I’m not giving up. I’ll be here, and I’ll also be posting my daily progress on the fediverse. If you use Mastodon, Pleroma, or any compatible platform, follow me: @mikey@toot.love.
And that’s a wrap. No, the novel isn’t finished. But the month is, and I think I’ve done enough work to call this a victory. I completed the goals I set for myself 30 days ago. I set a new personal record for most words written in a month. I still have the final 4 chapters to write, but those should go down in the next few days.
Before we get to the wrap-up, here’s the final stats.
This session’s word count: 4,114
Total word count: 136,613
Daily average: 4,553
Last year’s total: 103,626
Now, on to my thoughts about the month as a whole.
First off, I am never doing this again. Not at this level, anyway. Over 135,000 words in a month? If you suggested that in October, I’d have called you crazy. Now, after doing it, I’m ready to call myself crazy. Seriously, this month wore on me more than any other period of writing I can remember.
Back in June (I think?), when I was writing The Shape of Things, I actually quit for over a week, because I was just tired of the story. This time, I really didn’t have that luxury. I had committed myself to The Soulstone Sorcerer. And there were times when I hated that decision. I still don’t completely like the story, even at this late stage. Maybe I can write an ending that will leave me feeling better about it, but I don’t know.
If the quality isn’t up to my own personal standards, then the quantity certainly was. I don’t know what possessed me this month, but this is definitely the most prolific I’ve ever been. (Maybe I wanted to get it out of the way. I did feel that way sometimes.) I started out with 5375 words in the first day, about double last year’s opening, and I think that set the tone. I kept a daily average of at least 4500 until the 13th, and the only real reason I lost that streak was because of my bizarre sleeping schedule.
Could I keep that pace with a story I truly enjoyed? I doubt it. For this one, I persevered out of sheer stubbornness a lot of the time, boredom the rest. If I had anything else to do at all, I’d never have come close to 136K.
I’ll keep going to finish this book, and I hope that won’t take more than a week. Next year, I think I’ll have to find something that won’t run 400+ pages, because I’m tired. I’m exhausted. As soon as this one’s done, I want to curl up into a ball and ignore my keyboard until January. I know I can’t, because I have other things to do (like editing, and making a cover for that pesky Linear Cycle paperback). But I think this will be the last story I write in 2017, barring some unforeseen flash of inspiration.
As always, it’s been fun, though maybe not as much this time around. Regular posts start back up next week, and here’s to 6 in a row!