This month will be pretty busy with National Novel Writing Month, so I figured I’ll make my weekly blog posts mostly updates on my progress with that.
My project for NaNo this year is a paranormal romance set in Anchorage, Alaska. I lived there for three years while stationed at Elmendorf, Air Force Base, and I thought it made a pretty good setting for a vampire story. Winter nights are long, with as little as two to four hours of light per day as December 21st approaches.
I’ve decided to take a lighter tone with all of my fantasy writing than has become popular. I hope that won’t make too many lose interest. I still think I’ll tell engaging stories even if I’m not going to have people put into the most hopeless situations imaginable in order to watch them suffer. I know that’s the trend these days, but I’m firmly of the opinion that conflict can happen without a life and death situation. We need more stories like that in this world that is becoming increasingly negative. I want to shine hope into fantasy like so many of the authors I admire.
Originally, I wanted this to be a paranormal romcom. However, I know my own limitations, so while the premise of the story is amusing (in my mind, anyway), it will be more of a normal paranormal romance than romcom.
When I finished the outline on October 28th, I thought I was going to have a single point of view (POV) and write a fairly straightforward love story, for a paranormal romance. There was planned spice because that’s all the rage and it’s fun to write, but I wasn’t going to get complicated.
Then I began writing on November 1st. By the 3rd, I had 5,609 words written. That’s right on track for NaNo, which encourages 1,667 words per day in order to reach the 50,000 word goal at the end of the month. Also by the 3rd, I realized that I really needed to tell the male love interest’s POV, too.
So today, the 4th, I spent most of my writing time rearranging the outline to include alternating POVs every chapter. I had to add some things to accommodate my love interest, and I think maybe this will make it a more interesting story overall. So, I’m not terribly upset about it.
One thing I’ve learned about myself from doing years of NaNo and other writing projects is that I veer off of plans fairly easily. So I kind of expected something like this. I just wish I’d figured this out last week!
Overall, I feel good about how much I’ve written so far. Even if I don’t make 1,667 words today, I’ll be able to catch up fairly quickly in the next few days. I’ve always been able to ramp up my word count when needed as long as the story cooperates.
With luck, I’ll finish this novel this month. With a first draft complete, I’d like to have a second and third done by the beginning of next year. If I can keep up a good pace, I may even be a published author by the middle of next year!
Now, I need to get typing on my project. Good luck to everyone else pushing themselves through this crazy challenge. Remember to hydrate and get some relaxing time in, too!
© Allyson Pauley 2021