Hello, dreamers.

It’s hard to believe that this will be my last WIP Wednesday post before NaNoWriMo 2019 begins. But I’m pleased to say I’m largely caught up at this point. By Friday morning I should stand at roughly 50,000 words on Dawn of the Pioneers; only about ten thousand words short of where I was with The Pioneers at this time last year. Not where I’d wanted to be, but not bad.

As usual, on Friday I’ll be making my annual NaNoWriMo announcement post, so keep watching for that. For now, here’s the latest on my current work-in-progress:

Dawn of the Pioneers

It’s finally coming together.

After roughly a month of frustration, I’m finally working back into a groove. I spent much of this evening writing chapter 2.4 of Dawn of the Pioneers. My concerns over this phase of the novel linger, but I’ve come to believe that’s mainly due to the simple fact that I’m writing something unlike anything I’ve written before.

Phase 2 of this novel adds an element I’d largely avoided in The Pioneers: political intrigue. After helping to settle a frontier planet, surrounded by comrades united in common cause, Randall Holmes now finds himself visiting a planet that’s beyond settled: it’s an established society, with all the infighting that comes with that. At first I’d found this to be a daunting prospect: depicting congressional sessions and booming political speeches. In the end, though, I managed to mitigate that by reminding myself that this isn’t a story about politicians; it’s a story about Randall Holmes. At this point, at least for the time being, Holmes is out of his depth. He’s been thrust into a situation he’s woefully unprepared for, forced to take on leadership he’s been trying to avoid. As such, I don’t need to worry about congressional procedure or booming speeches, at least for the most part. Holmes feels overwhelmed, and is struggling to understand everything that’s going on around him. In the end, the reader doesn’t need to understand things any more than he does.

However, I still managed to find a way for Rand to play the hero, by depicting the unthinkable: a disaster aboard a space station. By throwing the station into chaos, I was able to show Holmes at his best. And that has helped things, if only by breaking up what could be a dry series of chapters with some action.

As of this writing, I’m about four pages into what I plan to be a customary ten-page chapter. I may or may not knock this chapter out tonight, but either way tomorrow I plan to crank out another chapter, along with a page of quotes introducing the reader to the new planet he’s visiting. These two chapters, along with the quotes, should put me at or over 50,000 words heading into NaNoWriMo. And that means I have a real shot at finishing the first draft by the end of the year. It’ll be rough at times, but I can do it.

My hope at present is to cap off Phase 2 at roughly ten chapters total. In reality, the total could be far less; perhaps eight. In the end, it will all depend on how long it takes me to say what needs to be said in this phase of the story. That said, if I can work my way back up to 1-2 chapters a day, I should be able to knock out the rest of Phase 2 by the end of next week. So long as I stay on pace, I plan to begin principal research for Phase 3 starting next Wednesday at the latest. By researching Phase 3 while writing Phase 2, I hope to be able to make a swift transition between phases when the time comes.

As I’ve said, I plan to make my annual NaNoWriMo announcement on Friday. That post will include more information on Dawn of the Pioneers, as well as a more detailed read on my personal goals for the coming month. Until then, keep reading, and dare to dream. – MK