November is only a month away, which means National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. The forums have been rebooted, and novelists all over the world are updating their profiles and dreaming about 50,000. As for me, well, let’s just say that seeing the biggest writing marathon of the year looming around the corner has gotten me pretty excited.
I’m participating for the fourth year, and hoping for my fourth win. This year, just like last, I fall into the rebel camp. Oh, I’m still writing a novel, but it’s going to be a slightly modified challenge than the expected ‘just get 50,000 words down on the page.’
Last year I added almost exactly 50,000 words to the first draft of my honors thesis Between Two Lives. About half of those 50k ended up being cut for length requirements and to improve the story. My goal for this year is to expand Between Two Lives into an actual novel, using a mixture of rewritten and improved old material and a lot of new material. Though I loved getting to do a creative honors thesis, there were a lot of topics and characters I didn’t have the chance to full develop because of the strict length requirement. This November, I intend to build a complete first draft.
Since I’m not sure how much writing this is going to entail, I may be working on short story prompts as well, though those are only a fallback if I need to meet word count. We’ll see. Just like any other Nano, I have a feeling this one’s going to be something of a free for all. 🙂
I’ve completed my modified outline for BTL, so right now it’s a matter of waiting to start.
I’ll be updating again in a few days, if only to talk about the editing process for Facing the Music and how it’s finally underway. Until then, I hope all of you are enjoying your fall. And if you’re doing NaNoWriMo, stop by and link me to your profile or let me know what your plans are!