HALLOWEEN WEEK

NANOWRIMO! UPDATE

This is the week where NaNoWriMo starts. I’ve participated in it a bunch of times, and actually finished twice! But this year my professor talked me into trying it out again. I shouldn’t need to write 50K to finish my novel, but I’m pushing myself to finish the whole blood thing before the end of the month. Which was my deadline anyway.

If you want to find me on there, I’m under the name Dathar. Send me a buddy request and let’s encourage each other to make our word goals.

Word Goals:

So, we just finished week 11 of 16, with a goal of 6500 words. Bam! Knocked that goal out of there. Three writing sessions managed to get 11416 words. Finished chapters 31, 32, and started 34. It has been a lot of fun. The WIP has just passed over 151K… my original target was 150K…

Though, if you’ve been following these diary entries, then you know that the original version of this book was for a 300K epic, but also meant to be the third book in a series. A lot of those stories were cut down, but there is still a lot going on in this novel. My goal now is to hit 180K and then hope that in revision I can slim it down a little.

What’s Happening in the Book:

Chap 31 was a return to fighting the mantis and Keegan and Slater among the Ashen. Mostly showing off the geography of the Underlands, but also a little exposition on the magic of the Ashen. Which works a lot differently than expected.

Chap 32 was one I was really worried about and mentioned in the last two posts. I tried to streamline five scenes into a single chapter. Nemo is at the mercy of a misfired (or deliberately tampered with ritual). His body is hurled through space and time, sending him to different locations. In each one he learns something important to help him out, and to help out the others. First helping Rune and then Caitlyn. Strange that he would arrive to help these people, at these times. Three times he stops at the same snow shrouded place, why is this place always the same but the other jumps are so random? That question will be answered in his next chapter.

ACT Three

Finally, all of my story lines are about to land at the Lost City that is the push of the whole novel. Everyone is just a chapter or two away from their arrival. The city itself is full of mystery and death.

I really feel like the end of the novel is building a LOT of momentum. At least on the writing side of things. I find my fingers flying faster over the keys and the words are flying so fast. My writing sessions are going longer.

My poor characters are getting beaten up, and we’ve had 6 named characters die already, and several red shirts as well. Grief and trauma are starting to take their tolls on people.

School Work

Last week I had to knock out a rough of a synopsis for my novel. It came in at 1100 words but the max was supposed to be 600. That is very tough when you want people to understand what is going on.

I’m trying to teach myself to tell you the gist of things without trying to explain it. Very hard. But I managed to redraft it and get down to about 650 words. That might be the final version. I’m waiting for feedback and then I have to submit that this week. After that its just finishing my word count and then I have one final essay for the class.

I have to come up with my planes for revision. Normally that’s not so tough, but I have a habit of making that super short, when they want me to go very deep into minutia.

What Else is Going On…

Well… the election is happening this week… I would be lying if I didn’t say that I’m worked up, stressed out, and disgusted with people in general. Depending on how things go this week… things might be changing for the better, or we might be settling in for the long road to hell.

Hopefully I’ll see you all on the other side of things, and my next Diary post will be filled with optimism and hope.