Stuart Aken: NaNoWriMo Progress into the Third Week.

The first draft of volume 3 of A Seared Sky: Convergence, is going apace. I started the NaNoWriMo process when the MS was at 111,079 words and it’s now at 181,684 words, which means I’ve averaged 3922 words a day so far during November.

Believe it or not, I’ve lived a life at the same time. It hasn’t been easy, turning out this number of words each day, but the public nature of the target does concentrate the mind and helps prevent prevarication and distractions. I know that, once this draft is finished, I’ll have some serious editing to do. But the story, the essence of the novel, will be complete. I’ll have all the twists and turns in place, all the characters where intended, and all events covered.

Along the way, I’ve had to introduce new characters, of course. I made this easier for myself by creating a list of possible names for future use before I started on book 1. I also have a character template and a collection of around 1,000 assorted photographs of people, so I can hang the description onto an image of a real person. I find this helps me develop the character more fully. Some events have occurred quite unexpectedly, as characters take on more importance than I originally envisaged or as favourite characters get into situations it’s impossible for them to survive. I don’t like killing off characters, but it has to be done, of course.

And now? Well, my guess is that around 20,000 words will complete the book. I’m working on the denouement, putting each of the three groups of individuals into those situations that will close their parts in the story. There’ll inevitably be a few loose ends, with a cast of over 90 named players, but all the main characters will end up with a satisfactory conclusion to their specific tales.

I’m looking forward to the appearance of book, Joinings. FantasticBooks Publishing are currently waiting for their designer to complete the cover design. And the book should be available before Xmas. I’m excited about the publication, of course. But, for the moment, I’ll continue to use NaNoWriMo as a way of ensuring that volume 3 gets completed. At least those who buy volume 1 will then know that they won’t be let down by an author failing to complete a trilogy; something that happens far too often, unfortunately.

Watch this space for further news.