NaNoWriMo: Over and Out

16,582 words. Far short of the official NaNoWriMo target of 50,000 words and even my more modest goal of 20,000 words. And I'm glad I did it this way. I don't enjoy revisions enough to spew out 50,000 words of slop during November that will later require heavy, painstaking editing to bring about a first draft that's even remotely readable. Sure, I could have cranked out that many words if I wanted to, but it wouldn't have left me that much closer to a finished book - and I don't write just for the hell of it, but because I want to craft stories that I'll be pleased with and that others might enjoy as well. So I write slowly and carefully, so I can get a decent first draft that will represent a much lower obstacle for future revisions.

I'm also glad that I've devoted significant time to The Night. The story has been in my head for several years now, and I thought it finally deserved some effort from me to see if there's anything viable there. And I think it is viable, but with a lot more work. So though NaNoWriMo ends today, I'm going to keep right on with the writing, Mondays through Wednesdays, starting tomorrow. Only once I've finished the first draft will I finally set it aside, then let it ferment for a while and come back to it later. I won't be able to publish any more excerpts at my NaNoWriMo page, though I may do so here periodically as the book progresses further.

Incidentally, I first thought up the premise for the book a few years ago, when Continuum Books was soliciting book proposals for their excellent 33 1/3 series. As it turns out, they are once again soliciting proposals, with a deadline of December 31. I'm not sure if I'll have enough of the book finished by then to decide whether or not it would be worth it to submit a formal proposal. Last time around I did make a proposal, despite having thought up nothing more than a few paragraphs of plot summary. This time I'll be close to having a completed first draft when it's time to propose, though I still won't be sure whether or not I'll have enough of it done to be able to commit to delivering a book. We'll just have to see about that.