NaNoWriMo Aftermath: What I learned

I didn't finish NaNo this year. There was, unfortunately, just too much going on in my life to write. I did make time to write about 16,000 words, which I'm happy about, because I did learn a lot in exploring the story I was writing.

I was super-excited about the story I wrote, and I'm glad that's the one I worked on. But in writing it, I realized that it's not really what I want to write. I may still go back to it someday, sure, but it's not who I am right now, at least.

Once again, I'm returning to the coffee house book, but I'm approaching it from a slightly Pondered in Her Heart (this year's NaNo novel) perspective. That is, I'm thinking about how the coffee house book intersects with all the other books I've been thinking about that will be in the same vein. Some characters will overlap, some of the setting will overlap in at least one other book, and they'll be written in the same style.

I'm taking this month to sit down and reorganize the information I have for the coffee house book. Outlines, character biographies, and even the story arc are going to be tweaked this month, and I'll jump into writing on January 1, 2011.

I'm also going to work on a realistic writing calendar for the coffee house book this month. I know that, technically, I can write a novel draft in a month. But I also know that if I take more time it'll be of better quality, and I'll lose less sleep. However, with a writing calendar, I know I'll be able to stay on task better, and you, dear readers, can help keep me accountable for where I am in the writing process.

2011 is going to be a good writing year for me. And it all starts right now.