#NaNoWriMo 2016 is officially in the books…so what happened?

I’ve mentioned before that I’m in the middle of a new three book series.

This series is unique and challenging for me in that I’m weaving in a mystery thru all three books. Typically, I plot out a book, write the first draft, and then get to work on editing (usually about 4 passes).

This time, however, I need to write a first draft and then move on to the next story.

In October, I loosely plotted the whole series, then worked on a more thorough outline for book one, wrote the first draft of book one, and wrote out the outline for book two.

In November, I dove into book two and finished the first draft before Thanksgiving.

And then…the holiday happened…

Between out of town travel, Christmas shopping, and getting my house clean and decorated, I’ve barely had a chance to catch my breath. I’m going to use the last day of November to work out the outline and dive into the third book December 1st. My goal is, of course, to finish before Christmas. January will bring a massive, massive project of editing all three books many times over until they shine. My goal remains to submit to publishers by the end of January.

I am just shy of the 50k mark for NaNoWriMo this round and considering that the book will probably end up at 60k, I’m sure I could go back through and edit. Instead, it’s onward and upward to the next book. And I can’t wait to get started!