Wow, the third week is wrapping up, that’s really hard to believe honestly. I don’t think I’m going to be finishing before Thanksgiving like I have for the last few years. Inspiration is still kind of lacking, but somehow, I’m still cranking out words.

How good those words are…I’m not sure? I’m just going with it. It’s a first draft and it’s bound to be not that good.

A quick rundown of where I’m at.

I’m currently sitting at roughly 35,100 words, so on track. I was kind of on track plot wise until my characters jumped ahead emotion wise and I’m kind of back to where I was in the beginning. My plot is a mess again. But OH WELL. At this point in the game, I’m just going with it.

Which, kind of leads me into a brief overview of my writing process – well, at least my most common process.

Let’s start with the fact that I don’t outline. At least for the majority of projects I don’t create an outline. I tend to get sucked into them and then I just start writing and going into way to much detail. You might think having a detailed outline is great, for me it makes me not want to write the story, because I feel like I’ve already written it.

So, I don’t outline. I don’t really plot either. I usually have an idea of the beginning, a few key scenes and maybe an ending. Then I just let the characters do whatever they want. This often results in a very mess plot, and a lot of reworking/revising/editing. I kind of have to discover the story, chipping away at it before it becomes clear.

It’s probably not the most convenient way to write, and it’s why it’s taken me years to write my SF WIP. I have so many drafts of my various stories. Never does the story just come to me – and I bet it doesn’t just “come” for other writers as well.

As I work on this NaNo WIP, more of the story becomes clearer the more I write. I get to know the characters this way and by the time I write a more complete and comprehensive draft, I know the story is where it’s supposed to be, and who the characters are supposed to be.

I’m just glad I’m currently on track, but as you’re reading this though, I probably won’t have started today’s writing. I’m going to try and get an early start, since I have a book event/signing I’m going to in the evening. I’m heading to Philly again, so another 3-hour drive! It should be fun, and I’m excited. I’m also excited to see how this WIP might end? My characters are constantly surprising me, and I’m thinking of maybe aging them up? I don’t know yet. But I have a couple key scenes I want to write – it’s how I’m kind of tackling this WIP with the lack of inspiration. I’m writing scenes out of order, which is something I rarely do while drafting. Anything to keep the words flowing. This is pretty much the final stretch of NaNoWriMo 2019 and I refuse to wreck my 8, soon to be 9 year streak. That alone is keeping me writing.

On a final note, good luck to everyone still participating and remember to be kind to yourself and be proud that you got your butt in a chair and wrote words! That’s what matters the most!