Hello, dreamers. So NaNoWriMo is over, which means I have 50k+ of my work-in-progress. And that’s good. But I’ve been writing pretty much nonstop for the past month, so much of what I’ve written is a mess. And that’s…not so good.

So, my first order of post-NaNo business is a long-overdue editing pass. That process is currently well underway, and so far it’s going…pretty much as I’d expected.

Aquarius 1

As I mentioned in this week’s “Writer’s Desk”, the NaNoWriMo process lends itself to rough writing. It’s all about moving forward; you try to ignore potential continuity issues, leave excess wording as it is. You try to go with the flow. And it feels really good while you’re doing it.

Then, December 1 comes.

As of this writing, I’ve only made it through three chapters, but so far it’s going well. Generally, when I describe an editing pass as “going well”, it means 1) the changes I’m making feel like they’re improving the story, and 2) nonetheless, overall the story feels very good. As anticipated, I’ve found numerous continuity issues, at least some of which had to do with me referring back to my earlier drafts to fill things in, and failing to make the appropriate changes to conform to the story as it is now (timetables, character names/voices, etc.).

The other big focus so far has been establishing continuity. Looking at my work so far, it’s painfully evident that it’s been years since I’ve fully devoted myself to a novel-length project. Some of the chapters I’ve written so far feel too encapsulated, for lack of a better term. So I’ve been working to make sure I’m paying off subplots, which not only keeps the reader engaged but also promotes character development.

At this rate, I anticipate the full editing process to take no longer than a week. I say this partly because experience tells me my pace picks up as an editing project goes on. Once the editing pass is complete, I face the decision of how to proceed.

I love this story. I’ve loved it since I first hatched the concept, more than two years ago now. And I’m thrilled to see I’m finally ready to write it. That feeling is intoxicating, and it’s hard to just walk away from. But even if I abandon my intentions to return to short fic, query prep for the next round of Seven Days on Samarkand looms on the horizon. It has been years since I worked on a novel project while simultaneously preparing to query another, and if I do in fact make changes to the manuscript of SDoS I have no doubt it will consume me.

I can’t escape the memory of what happened the last two times I attempted to write Aquarius 1. While the first attempt ended because the story felt too flat and mechanical, the second (last year) ended because I shifted my focus back to SDoS. Given the work I’ve done with that novel over the past year, I don’t regret it. But I feel like I have real momentum on Aquarius 1 right now, and I’m loath to set it aside right when I’m immersing myself in the story.

For now, I’m trying to focus on the editing process, and not think about what lies ahead. Once editing is complete, sometime next week I’ll probably at least try to pick things up with the next chapters. I still have a very clear idea of where all of this is heading, and honestly I’m excited to write on and see where things go. But as I always say, writing is not an exact science. Sometimes you have to follow the words, even if they lead you away from something that could be endless fun to write. And at the moment, I have no idea where this month will take me. – MK