National Novel Writing Month Wrap Up

So, there were no posts in November as I worked on a book for National Novel Writing Month. The goal was 50,000 words. I worked hard, but came up quite short with a final total of 11,115 words. Still, that is a personal best for me and I am happy that I did manage to make a dent in the story.

There were a few factors working against me. The biggest was that November was a busy, tiring month for me. Work got change around, the holiday, and other things were all competing for my time and energy. The other big factor was that I did not have a good outline to start with. I had spent the months before trying to come up with the story I wanted to write, but I was drawing blanks until just a short time before. I did finally hit on some inspiration, but by then it was a bit too late.

Despite the troubles, it was a great learning experience. This was the longest continuous piece I have written. Even without a working outline I put the pieces together and came up with ideas as I needed them. It is important to be able to change plans, not to mention being able to throw away an idea you like when it doesn't work. So I got practice with working on the fly, I did learn about the importance of a good outline though. For next year's challenge I'll make sure I have one well ahead of time.

The Goblin King is still a work in progress and I will not be giving up on it. I am also considering making The Depths of Despair part of the finished piece. With a little luck I can have the whole story completed in a few months. After the new year, my schedule should become a bit more stable. However, there will be other writing competing with. I have a lot of upcoming short stories for the Lair, including a plan to have at least one flash story every month. So keep an eye out, and look forward to the next post which will include a sample chapter from The Goblin King.