Hello, dreamers. And so ends week 3 of what has been a roller coaster ride this year.

I’ve had my ups and downs, but as of last night, my word counts for NaNoWriMo 2019 stands just north of 40k. And as my chapters average 3500-4000 words in length, that means I’ve hit the home stretch on this one. If all goes as planned, I’ll have completed NaNoWriMo 2019 by the end of next week.

I have mixed feelings about what I’ve done so far this year; much of Phase 2 will need to be pared down, parts rewritten. I feel like I didn’t really hit my stride and start telling an engaging, interesting story until just last week. But what’s done is done. And there will be plenty of time to tinker once NaNoWriMo has ended.

Luckily, I find myself well ahead of schedule, so I’ve decided to take my foot off the gas. This week I allowed my daily word count to fall considerably, writing a chapter every two days rather than trying to hammer out a chapter a night. I may or may not continue that until the end. We shall see. And that being said, here’s the latest on my NaNo project this year:

Dawn of the Pioneers

As I mentioned on Wednesday, work on Phase 3 of Dawn of the Pioneers has begun. It’s a bit slow going, but I have a clear path forward, which I’m happy to report.

The current plan is for Phase 3 to be fairly long, 10-11 chapters, ending with Nina Stark leaving Earth once more, this time likely for good. I’m also starting to work in a few “check-in” chapters with Holmes and his companions, showing what’s going on from the Pioneer point of view. As such, I plan to use those chapters to lay the groundwork for the eventual unification of the colonies against Earth.

While I’m happy with where things are going, the mess that is Phase 2 continues to weigh heavily on my mind. As such, once I complete NaNoWriMo (again, probably next week), I plan to drop everything and stop right were I am. I’m going to step away from the novel for a few days, then go back and begin a full read-through. I’ll be looking at problems, trying to revise. And hopefully, when I resume writing I’ll have a better idea of where I’m going. The pause will also give me the chance to do more research and note-taking for Phase 3, which will no doubt help matters.

Needless to say, this novel is a long way from being finished. But at the moment I’m confident in my ability to knock this one out before the end of the year. It might mean taking it with me to Florida for Christmas, but I will do what must be done. So keep reading, and as always, dare to dream. – MK