NaNoWriMo – Rebekah S. Fiore

It’s six months since I began drafting the follow up to Perfect Timing, so a Distant Shores II update is perhaps overdue. I have, however, been working on the story constantly.

NaNoWriMo 2016

Prior to the event, I set out my plans for November. Did things go as planned? For the most part, yes. I exceeded the 50,000 word target, writing 54,980 words by December 1st, so I’m a…

What Actually Happened?

I said I wouldn’t be doing any editing while writing the draft, and I didn’t for the first couple weeks. But because I was writing scenes as they came to me, instead of chronologically, I did some MINOR editing – inserting a missed word, correcting a glaring typo – while reading the previous day’s writing.

Approaching the end of November I knew I would exceed the contingency completion date of the middle of December, so extended the deadline to Christmas. Unfortunately I needed a further extension, but by then the draft was over 78,000 words so allowed myself a well-earned week off to enjoy the holiday.

Into 2017…

I completed the draft on February 21, 2017. Far later than I ever intended, but I’m what’s referred to as a “vomit drafter” – get it all out onto the page, good and bad. The first draft should be rough and my philosophy is “If it’s not there, it can’t be edited.”

First Edit

The finished draft far exceeded 100,000 words. So I knew a LOT would be cut, including a number of unnecessary sections of dialog. I’d written some while battling the dreaded writer’s block, but it had kept me going and at the time that’s all that mattered.

While I advocate taking an extended break between edits, my internal editor screamed during the latter stages. I silenced her by doing some prep – collating words to be culled, and highlighting every section of dialog – so only took a couple days off.

The edit took a month and was completed on March 24. In addition to an eighty-five strong word list, I checked and amended contractions and extensions. Then edited the dialog, and having eliminated tens of thousands of words, I printed and bound the draft myself.

Second Edit

Although the break of a couple weeks is relatively short, I’m ready to begin the second edit. Or will be when I’ve made a few more preparatory notes.

This will be the main edit and I expect it to take a couple months. There are a few inconsistencies to fix and the final title needs setting.

Similarly to Perfect Timing, the story is written from both Lou’s and Will’s points of view, but there is some balancing to be done as both will be heard equally this time around. I love writing from the male character’s POV and it’s only fair Will is heard as much as Lou.

Next Distant Shores II Update?

The story is due for release in seven months, so I promise I won’t keep you waiting as long for the next Distant Shores II update. In the meantime, please do follow me on Twitter and Facebook which I update more frequently.

Do you have any advice for me as I begin the second edit? I’d love to chat!

NaNo16

NaNoWriMo 2016 is fast approaching and I’m proud to say that I’m taking part for the second straight year. Yes, it means I’m committing to writing 50,000 words in a month at a required rate of 1,667 per day, while promoting Perfect Timing AND working with my narrator/ producer Beizo Tierno on the audiobook.

There’s no need to tell me I’m crazy… I already know!

NaNoWriMo 2015

Before I say anything about NaNoWriMo 2016, let’s recap last year’s event. My freshman NaNo project was in fact Perfect Timing; the 67,500 word romance novel that you can pre-order now.

You can’t possibly have written so many words in 30 days? You’re right. A considerable portion of the story was already written, but I included them in my 2015 NaNo total, because I went against advice and let my inner editor lose on the pre-written sections during November, as they fitted into the story. And by the end of the month I had full the finished draft.

Nanites fit into one of three categories…

Planner – someone who has a detailed outline of their story, perhaps including scenes they’ve already written. This was me in 2015.

Pantser – someone who starts the month with a literal blank page and aims to write 50,000 in 30 days without any prior planning, therefore flying by the seat of their pants.

Plantser – someone who fits between the two, only doing minimal planning.

So what about NaNoWriMo 2016?

My project this year is perhaps unsurprisingly the second book of the Distant Shores series; Perfect Timing being the first.

As of right now, with EIGHT days to go before the event starts, I only have a bullet pointed outline for this one. I will be working on a more detailed outline this week, and by November 1st I’m hoping I’ll have a few scenes, or at least sections of dialog drafted.

Will I include those words, however many I write, in my NaNo word count? You bet I will, as long as they make it into the draft. I will NOT be editing as I go this year, so it truly will be a rough draft, as first drafts should be.

Although my current planning state might put me into the Plantser category, in truth I consider myself a Planner. I already know both my characters well having already written about them in Perfect Timing, and I also have a good idea of where I want them to go, because this won’t be Will and Lou’s last book!

What if you don’t finish the draft by November 30?

Let’s face it, while 50,000 words can seem a lot on one hand, it’s a relatively small total in novel writing terms. Even Perfect Timing’s 67,500 words is on the shorter side.

If Distant Shores II isn’t finished by the end of the month, I’ll continue, NaNo style, into December. Last year I cleared a couple weeks at the beginning of December as a contingency, and have done the same this year. Ideally, I’ll finish the draft by the end of the first week of December.

Once it’s finished, I’ll not look at it until at least mid-February, when I’ll have another window in my schedule, and a clear head to work through the first edit.

You can read more about my writing process in this post from March this year.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo 2016?

If so, leave me a comment with your user name and I’ll buddy you. Mine is Bex80. Regardless of whether you’re a Nanite, do you have any advice for me? I’d love to chat!