Author Journey: December 3, 2021 - Another Successful Nano

 I'm so excited to share my news with you today. This year's Nano experience was a huge win for me. I can't wait to tell you all about it so I'm going to jump right in. 

NaNoWriMo 2021: Final Status of the New Project

I love the way the two charts show the progression of my writing throughout the month of November. I only show no writing for six days which was a vast improvement from the last few camp projects. 

Another thing I noticed was an intense joy which is coming back to me now while I write compared to the last few Nano events. I think I may finally be pulling out of the burnout. I'm thankful my blogs kept me writing, even if it was only one-three times per week. 

The third thing I noticed was that I ended up with a complete story this time, even though it's only just over 50k for word count. Endings are so hard for me. This is the epic win I mentioned at the beginning of the post. I'm blown away that I have a story with an ending. There's definitely room for more information. I introduced another pet in this story and I think animal-loving readers will want to know what happened to poor little Yarun the whargorr. They may also like to know more about the in-between times. I know there were a couple of areas which ended up sort of sketchy which I'd love to flesh out a bit more. 

One thing I'm worried about is whether or not my characters are going to come across as the same person with only a few cosmetic changes. So that's one thing I'll try to be on the lookout for while I complete the first reading and revision sessions. 

One thing I'm totally not worried about are the names. I love naming people, places and things. My characters usually start with a name, as do my stories. I actually created a long list of titles to pull from for writing stories about Y'Dahnndrya. So the title for this book was written down way back in 2016. The Crash of Waves is so catchy and sounds very fitting for the fantasy genre. I can't wait to see it on the cover of a book...which I still have to create. 

What I Learned During Nano 2021

1. Completing a novel over the course of a month is entirely possible for me. I feel like 50k words is too short for the kind of fantasy I want to write, but apparently, it can work. Surge is sitting at 86k right now and I still feel like things are missing. Bid the Fallen Rise is sitting at 56k and there's a whole bunch of holes in it, including the ending being all wonky. But I feel really good about my current rough draft for The Crash of Waves. 
2. Writing every day doesn't actually take as much time as I was spending during the early years of Nano. I think more of my time was spent messing around with social media trivialities rather than actually writing. That, more than the writing and editing, were responsible for the overwhelming feeling which caused my burnout. So writing = good; social media = bad when it comes to my life. I just don't have the time to do both of those and see to the needs of my family life. If that means fewer sales and less opportunity for fame, so be it. I am content.

Since I've been reading a ton of romance novels over the past year or two, I feel like my fantasy novels are going to move closer to that genre, but they won't ever be true romance novels. I want to write multifaceted stories rather than ones that hyper-focus on a single aspect of life. Over Land & Under Stone, Bid the Fallen Rise, and The Crash of Waves really show that leaning more than Ripples. 

Then again, there's a little romance in all my books because love is a part of life, even if you never get the opportunity to marry or date. Love is more than attraction or passion. It's also family bonding and the desire to care for and nurture people and things. As much as I am not a nurturer, I appreciate and admire those who are strong in that area. I think I have a tendency to write at least one character who does that because it is so important in the lives of people who they touch. Nurturing is a shaping gift and our youngest daughter is one who is a nurturer. I pray she'll find a husband who will appreciate and encourage that gift within her. Our world needs more nurturers, don't you think? 

Thanks for reading today! I appreciate your support and encouragement as I keep working on the stories that are giving life to my book world. I look forward to the days when I can share more of them with you all. 

Until next time...