NaNoWriMo Progress #2: Broke through the 40k wall. Almost there!

Even though it’s only November 13th (wait, it’s already November 13th? Time flies!) I’m at 44715 words in my current WIP, Allegro Academy – Adagio. The novel is going absolutely great. I wrote most of it without an outline, which was SO MUCH fun. To me, the coolest part about coming up with a new story is writing the outline, since that’s where I can get really creative, and come up with plots so implausible they could make your head explode. It’s been a long while since I started something from scratch without a real plan where it was supposed to go, and it feels awesome to be able to write like that again.

Instead of being completely mapped out, this story grew organically, and I think that’s one of its greatest strengths. I’m the author, and I have no idea how I’ll make it end. I had originally intended Allegro Academy to be a contemporary romance novella, but about 5k in, I realized it wasn’t going to end that way. The characters were too intriguing, their background stories too intense, to just cut it short at 15k. I had to write more, expand on the secrets tying them together, and that was a welcome challenge.

It’s been a long time since I cared for any characters as much as I do for the ones in this story. Each of them calls out to me, each of them has their own set of distinctive qualities that make me lik them so much. There’s something liberating about writing whatever comes up in your mind, without having a set outline you have to follow, or character sheets you have to oblige.

I’m hoping to hit the 50k mark tonight, and then keep on writing till the end. I’m estimating that’ll be at around 65k words.

How’s your NaNoWriMo going?