NaNoWriMo Status

I hit 25,174 words on the novel this evening, a bit more than halfway through the goal of 50,00 words. Of course once I finish this one-month draft I'm going to have to go back and do a spitload of editing, but having a complete product will be something to work with.

So what does one work on after "finishing" 50,000 words? Oh, the usual: stuff I wanted to add but didn't have time to do. Correct factual or historical errors (the story is set between May and August 1969). Add more details of scenery or background or character behavior. What I'm kicking out this month is the plot and some semblance of dialogue. In the meantime, I'm also trying to accomplish a few things:

• Tell a romantic tragedy (what, you think I like romantic comedies?).
• Write a historical fiction story as if it were a science fiction or contemporary story. 
• Tell a story about cultural change.
• Tell a story about how civilizations rise and fall.
• Tell a story that reflects my enthusiasm for human space exploration.

...and yes, I'm trying to do all this in 50,000 words. It'll probably come out to about 100 pages, single-spaced, 200 double-spaced (which is how these things are normally turned in to a publisher).

The good news is, I have a story outline, and I'm sticking to it, for the most part. I've thrown in a couple of surprises for myself to see how I react to them. Characters are doing or experiencing things I hadn't anticipated. That said, an outline is helping me avoid writer's block. After all, if you know where you're going and have a structure for getting you there, the fun comes in the details--figuring out the how and why of things, even if you already understand the what and when.

I am also liking the notion of having designated writing hours, 8-10 p.m. That keeps me on task. I'm averaging a bit over 1,900 words a day, which means I'm likely to finish my novel by November 25 or 26. All fun, all good. We'll just see what happens next!

Onward!