NaNoWriMo 2019: At 20K!

NaNoWriMo 2019 is going pretty well so far. My current word count is 20,414: I managed to get a day ahead of schedule on Saturday, when I hit my daily target in the morning and then attended an afternoon write-in, where I wrote as much again. So I have a nice buffer in place, in the event of any emergencies or attacks of writer’s block.

Despite my concerns and expectations before the first of November, I have ended up sticking to one story so far – the Ancient Roman historical novel – with the exception of about two hundred words of freewriting that I frustratedly did one evening when nothing else was materialising. The further I’m getting into it, the more sure-footed and enthusiastic I’m becoming about the story. I have always been a planner rather than a pantser, generally placing emphasis on story over characters, and I did start with a rough outline. But that outline wasn’t quite as detailed as in previous years; there were a lot of gaps to fill in, with me feeling uncertain how the characters would get from A to B. As it is, I’m enjoying the process of fleshing out the characters and figuring out what takes place in the gaps as I go. It always feels good to be turning an idea into a real, substantial story, and there’s a feel-good factor in writing romance, too – it’s tended to be absent or secondary in my other stories. While I try to continue historical research as I go, as well, I’m permitting myself some artistic licence in the first draft – facts can always be checked and errors amended later, if I decided to develop it.

So, as ever, this is proving to be a useful learning experience, and I’m feeling confident about continuing my streak of November victories – just need to keep going!