I intended to get this post out a lot earlier today, but… well… I got a hankering to put out my Christmas decor yesterday, and that spilled over to today, and frankly, I am a bit exhausted. I really pushed myself to hit my word count for November.
So… Here is the official tally.
Goal for Valiance: 90,000 words
Total word count – 91,344 words
Total of 86,012 words during November, because I started with a few chapters in October. On a whim.
I typed “The End” on Tuesday.
As you know, I originally started under the NaNoWriMo banner, and then walked away over potential child endangerment on their part.
And I learned: I didn’t need the write-off to hit my goal.
That, above all, is something I think I needed to prove to myself. Not that I could hit a word count within 30 days, but that I could focus the time and the energy to write a complete novel in such a short time without all the bells and whistles of NaNo!
I did it! It cost me. My poor house is a wreck. My family is ready for me to get back to my regularly scheduled life… haha But I did it!
And I did it with more valuable forms of help.
I did it with incredible encouragement from my family: particularly my hubby, who stepped up to fill in for me. Who would chase me back to my desk or my chair, wherever I worked that day, to “get back to writing.” I could not have surpassed my goal for Valiance if not for his gentle prodding and patient encouragement. Also, my accountability partners and writing friends, Mike and Dan, whose daily kudos and virtual high-fives just kept adding to that constant motivation I needed.
I also had a lot of help this time around with some really great programs/apps. So, one great new thing I discovered because of NaNo is a new writing program/app called ButterDocs. Ya’ll just don’t even know how much I have grown to love this writing platform! This month, it’s been a game changer for me. While it has SOOOO many great features to it (like the ability to see my contents on one side, writing space in the middle, and notes on the other side, PLUS the ability to add comments as I go), I could transition seamlessly from my desktop, to my tablet, AND TO MY PHONE. Of course, the features vary a bit between workspaces, but the instant saves, and instant transition workflow was incredible. (Largely, because dealing with some of my health concerns, I would start at my desk, move to my rocker, and then inevitably end up writing in bed… This is the first time I have been able to do that so well. Not even Google Docs works so effectively.)
Another app I found incredibly helpful this month has been ProWritingAid, which of course, I use routinely anyway, but it is the only other program I have needed this month, because ButterDocs eliminated my need for Trello and other apps I use to keep my notes and timelines and such. So… haha…
Of course, I had to do some research along the way. This is my first attempt at writing science fiction (with the intent to publish. Pretty sure I have a few short stories I started somewhere around here, but they never went beyond a few pages.) I ended up doing quite a bit of Biblical research, both online and from my personal library. I also used a thesaurus a lot, because I was painfully aware of a lot of repetitive wording, and I just could not think of other ways of expressing. And… I had to research a bit about sci-fi itself, particularly the genre. It is one thing to read it and love it. It is another to write it.
What’s next for Valiance?
Now, it is in revision mode. This means I am sending the raw draft to a few select folks to read it expressly to tell me if it is worth investing more time on. Really. Once I get their feedback, I will decide if it will go forward with revisions, then proofing. If it makes it beyond these initial readers, then after proofing, it will go to my Beta Readers, and from there, editing, ARCs, formatting, and publishing. This will be a long process. I am in no hurry to put my first attempt at a genre out there unless it is as close to perfect as I can get it.
That said, I am looking for two or three more fans of Christian fiction and/or science fiction to read over this raw draft. AND I am looking to add to my Beta Reading team. If you are interested, please let me know! (Either in the comments below, or by email: cbwritingsolutions@gmail.com)
For now, I am moving onward, and shifting writing power back to Companions of Dragons, In the Garden, and the Armor of God series.
So, stay tuned! Updates on all those will come along throughout the month of December.