Hello, dreamers.

Sorry this post is a day late. I spent last night writing a new chapter of my WIP, and lost track of time. But I’m back now. As most any of my readers will know, I have a big day coming up. Friday marks the start of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which will occupy the bulk of my efforts over the coming month. It’s a fun, trying, exhausting, and ultimately rewarding experience, and I’m looking forward to it.

That said, there’s still plenty to do over the course of this week, so without further ado, here’s what I’ll be working on:

Dawn of the Pioneers

After a few minor stumbles, I’m chugging away again at my current work-in-progress. I’m finally hitting my stride on this portion of the story, but it’s slow going, mainly due to lots of technical research.

I’ve never written about a disaster in space quite like the one I’m writing now. I might have, had I finished Pathfinder, but as I did not, this is uncharted territory for me. Still, I feel good about the direction of the story right now, and the latest developments have eased my initial concerns that Phase 2 would be too short. As of this writing, I’m confident in the direction I’m taking.

I was initially self-conscious about the length of the story heading into NaNoWriMo. At this point last year, The Pioneers sat at roughly 60,000 words, and after my frustrations in September I entered this month woefully behind schedule. Thankfully, as of this writing I’m currently at roughly 45,000 words. I had decided last week that if I could make it to 50,000 words before November 1 I’d be in a good place, and right now I’m confident that I can do it. Five thousand words is roughly two chapters for me, and with three nights to do it, I know I can get there.

That does, however, leave a lingering concern. At this rate, I will likely complete Phase 2 sometime during the coming month. Normally I like to give myself a week off writing between phases, but during NaNoWriMo that can mean the difference between success and failure. So, I plan to amend my process for this month. Upon completing Phase 2 I plan to plunge right into Phase 3. While Phase 3 will have a completely different format from Phase 2, I’m confident that I can make the switch easily, especially if I work on Phase 3 research while writing Phase 2. It’s going to be hectic, but I feel I’m up to it.

Keep an eye out for my annual NaNoWriMo announcement this Friday.

The Pioneers

With October nearly over, at this point I have no realistic expectations that any prospective mentors will request my full MS. As such, my 2019 Pitch Wars experience is effectively, if not officially, over.

While I may be somewhat disappointed, I have no regrets. The people I’ve met through my two years in Pitch Wars have made the experience more than worth it. Now, the time has come to pick up the pieces and move forward.

With NaNoWriMo mere days away, it’s safe to say that I’m done with The Pioneers for the time being. Over the coming month I’ll be focusing all my efforts on Dawn of the Pioneers. In December, however, the time will come to begin the querying process, starting with a Pitch Wars postmortem. I’ll need to take a critical look at both my query letter and synopsis, and will likely seek fresh beta readers within the Writing Community to make sure I’m putting my best foot forward. At this point, I can’t see myself beginning the query process for The Pioneers any earlier than the first of the year, but we shall see.

Everything Else

I’ve felt a bit self-conscious lately with regards to neglecting my short fiction. However, my time and creative resources are finite.

While I’ve felt the stirrings of some short stories lately, to this point I’ve yet to act on that. And with Dawn of the Pioneers heating up again, it will likely stay that way, at least through the first of the year. I will have a short story dropping on Halloween, however, so keep an eye out for that.

I have a busy week ahead, all leading up to NaNoWriMo. But I feel equal to the task. So keep reading, and as always, dare to dream. – MK