I wrote 50,140 words from November 2nd to November 30 using the fire-under-the-chair method that is NaNoWriMo. According to the site, this is my fifth completed novel in November. There’s also been two or three 10,000 to 30,000 word efforts.
Woohoo!
Here’s the just-written elevator synopsis.
Chaos Junkie
In the year 2300, humanity is reaching for the stars, building the first terrastation above a distant planet. Sofi Floridian never planned to be part of the adventure—she’s a stowaway on the run, carrying her grandmother’s mysterious legacy and dodging a deadly conspiracy. Aboard a ship full of oddballs, drones, and big dreams, Sofi must outwit saboteurs, tackle unexpected spacewalks, and prove she’s more than just the misfit in the crew. Chaos Junkie is a lively, heartfelt journey through the wonders of space and the chaos of finding your place in the universe.
I don’t participate in any other way–no chatting, no sprints–but somehow, that little graph showing my word count is enough for me. And maybe all those other writers burning the midnight LEDs.
Post Script
RIP, NaNoWriMo, April 2025. I will miss you.
If you wonder what NaNoWriMo’s impact was, check out it’s Wikpedia entry about the number and quality of novels published by participants. I would say that number is low, too–after all, I have five NaNo novels I plan to self-publish. I doubt I’m the only one. I also wrote my first comic book script for NaNo’s Script Frenzy.