November was National Novel Writing Month. I started an experimental novel on October 21st or so, and now that novel is 58k words, with 42k of them written in November proper. How did I do?
Not so great, apparently.
I still have time to finish the story, or at least hit 50k words, but it turns out that writing long-term progression fantasy fiction with a tight time schedule is just not my style. The magic system, fundamental to the telling of the story, ended up flawed and vague. Now that I approach the third act of the manuscript, I NEED to have that magic system defined in order to resolve conflicts and character developments. And it’s just not there.
This was an experiment, an attempt to further understand my writing process. As that goes, this is a success. I understand more now what I need to write a novel like this.
But as for the manuscript, is it a failure? I’m not sure yet. I’ll let it sit for a bit, reread it, and if it has merit, I’ll build the magic system for it and give it the third act it deserves.
For now, though, it can wait. The third Drama Club novel needs a final edit, I have another Monster novelette to finish up, and a few other drafted manuscripts to read over. I’ve got an audiobook in the works for my first Drama Club book, and an outline for another story that (hopefully) addresses all the problems I ran into this month.
I’m very excited for the future, and I’ve got two cover reveals in the wings.
If you followed me on Twitter through the ups and downs of my NaNoWriMo experience, then thanks.
If not, thanks for keeping up with my journey anyway.
See you around,
-Kyle Adams
Kyle Adams 