I know the sign out front says posts every other Friday, but since it's Novel November, I thought you might want brief interim updates on the off weeks.
Novel November has kicked off at a rapid pace. I'm at 12,719 words, aiming for 50,000 this month and roughly 80,000 for the complete first draft. While word count is an easy measure of progress, it’s the story that matters in the end; and I’m pretty happy with the story so far.
In the past, I've been a pantser, discovering the story as I write with no real plan ahead of time. It's fun uncovering the plot at the reader's pace, but the downside is having no idea where you're headed. Stories can crash and burn spectacularly; many of mine have.
This time, I went the planner route. I spent October building an extensive outline with all the non-negotiable beats readers expect from a police procedural, plus details and dialogue I wanted to flag. It ended up being roughly 10,000 words on its own. But it keeps me on the main trail while allowing for interesting detours. It’s more work upfront, but now I have a planned route instead of a foggy path to follow.
The outline has let me focus on prose instead of plot. The map isn't perfect, some plot holes are emerging, but I'll fix those in the edit. For now, it's about getting words on the page and keeping momentum.
I'll be back next week with another update and some thoughts on why I chose to tell a cop story.
Do you have a favorite fictional detective? Drop a comment or a reply and let me know.
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”