Escape(Window)
Table of contents

November 2023 in writing

Summary

I wrote and/or edited 28,786 words for NaNoWriMo before stopping failing.

I struggled with my writing for two weeks, then a conversation with Finn helped point me in the right direction. I’m back to the outlining drawing board to try to solve some of the structural issues I’m hitting that are bogging down the second draft. (I could add the outlining wordcount to the month’s total, but I’m still nowhere near 50k.)

(Finn suggested I write a short story in a different genre. I’ve played with this idea. I’m still stubbornly trying to make this story work.)

[No] Excuses

  • A family emergency has scrambled our schedules and pushed writing down in my priority list.
  • I paused my #NaNoWriMo updates once the grooming controversy hit, and the loss of daily progress updates and its associated external accountability made it easier to lapse.
  • The damned third POV still isn’t working. Part of me wants to drop it completely, though that causes major issues in the story as a whole. Part of me believes the major problem is I keep [re]drafting this POV before I’ve finished my outline work on it, in which case the solution may involve fixing the outline.
  • Diablo 4 Season 2 is good, the Raiders are showing some promise, and it’s easy to succumb to distractions when things aren’t working.

Back to the drawing board

The third POV is the major problem, but I’ve hit smaller questions in the other two as well. I’m almost a third of the way through the massive overhaul that is my second draft, and I wanted to make sure that I’m on the right track.

I’m spending more time outlining each arc to make sure everything works at a high level before I get back to drafting.

One good thing about the break is I’m back to re-reading favorites to study and enjoy them, and I’m also reading new books to find new material to study and enjoy.

Another good thing is I see the stark difference in quality between my initial draft and my second draft. I think I’m improving and that the passage of time allows me to see the flaws in my earlier work.

Stats

November’s stats:

Manuscript markdown files: 33
Manuscript words: 46959
Total markdown files: 432
Total words: 266199