Birth of a novel Blog Chain: NaNo Victory

Despite a lingering cold, I logged about four hours of writing today, and a miracle happened. I sailed over the NaNoWriMo finish line two days ahead of schedule!

This is the novel I started somewhere in the middle of the month. I haven't blogged much about it, probably because by the time I wrote each day, my brain had turned to mush.

But here's some information about this project:
Title: Psyche
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Word Count: 50,106
Status: About three-quarters of the way completed

Inspiration: Greek mythology, as always. I realized I was having way too much fun with this one when I had my main character color Aphrodite's hair (long story.)

My process: Ever since I did NaNo the first time in 2009, I've learned that I write best when I focus on getting the information down. I don't edit as I go (well, not much, anyway), and then I let the book sit for at least a month. I'm hoping to really finish this one before December is over so that I can read it on my Kindle while we are on vacation. That way, I have to just read the story: the delete button won't be anywhere near me.

What worked this month: writing at the coffee shop with a good friend.
What didn't work: Well, I won't say my outline didn't work, but I've deviated from it dramatically. That always seems to happen: I'm a pantser, and I should just own it!

One thing that was challenging was Thanksgiving: it was hard to write while we were at my folks', especially since every time I snuck upstairs to write, my brother and sister followed me. It was very "Children of the Corn"; they didn't say anything, but they sat there staring at me. Needless to say, I wrote a lot late at night last week!

Lesson learned: go where the story takes you. I gave up my original idea and followed the siren song of this one, and I am so glad I did. Be prepared for inspiration to strike when it is least convenient.

Check in with my fellow Birth of a Novel bloggers and cheer them on to the finish line!
Angela H.
Anna M.
Brooke Busse
Charity Bradford
Elizabeth Davis
Elizabeth Poole
Fida Islaih
Huntress
Jen McConnel
Lena Hoppe
Mia Hayson
Miranda Hardy
Nyxie Moon
Tessa C
Zoe