NaNo Midpoint Update!

Hello dear readers! If you're subscribed to my newsletter, you already know that I've been tackling NaNoWriMo a little bit differently this year: instead of write 50,000 words in 30 days, I'm working on editing 50,000 words in 30 days... Yes, I know, it sounds so much easier. The truth is, it really isn't. When I fast-drafted my novel during NaNo in 2014, I left so many plot holes and just skipped ahead to get the story out, which means that a lot of the editing is me writing new stuff anyway. Also, since I'm not adding a chapter to my word count until it's complete, progress is still pretty slow. I am happy to report, though, that I have finished the first 4 chapters so far and am sitting at 9668 words towards the word count. This is significantly lower that where I need to be at this point in the process, a mere 2 days before the halfway mark. However, along with those chapters, I've developed a general plot outline to show where the story is going (something I didn't do when I sat down to write, since I am more of a pantser than a plotter). As I move through my novel, I've also been working on a slightly more in depth outline that breaks down the chapters and shows the timeline, so I can make sure things aren't happening too quickly in relation to real life (for instance, my main character is not going to be like "oooh hey what's this new power".. then blam! a week later be like "I AM A MASTER OF MY POWERS!" - unrealistic!). With this outline, I can happily say that I have about 5 chapters left to hit the midpoint of my novel. The first four chapters span the first 6th of the book, the next 2 chapters will be the second sixth (or a third done - yay fractions?) and then 3 more chapters and we're halfway done. Over the next two days, I will be pushing hard to hit that goal and catch up. I'm not sure if I'll be where I need to be to finish on time, but I'm not giving up! And if you're also a writer, you shouldn't give up either! I have faith in you all, just as I have faith in myself. Even if I don't quite hit the 50,000 word mark by the end of the month, I'll still be a winner - look at what I've already accomplished! Good luck to us all as we continue our journey.