Rebel with a Cause

I am a rebel.

There. I said it. While most everyone around me is nervously putting together a plot and interesting characters for a brand new novel they can’t wait to start tonight at midnight, I’m just biding my time.

I’m about 30,000 words into book three of my Monster Haven series. Tonight, I will open a new document and start the rest of the book. 50,000 more words will get me to 80k by the end of the month, which will be the end of the novel. If not, I’ll write more than 50k. The important thing is not the 50k for me, it’s getting to the words “the end.”

This is how I’ve done it for the last two years, and it’s worked out really well for me.

The good news is that I’m not actually cheating, despite the slight variance in NaNoWriMo rules to write something new from scratch. There’s a whole section on the forums specifically for folks officially classified as “rebels.”

I’m also a chronic planner, so, not only do I have a good-sized chunk written, I also have a pile of index cards and an outline.

And as a special bonus this year, I already have a full synopsis of over five pages.

There’s a reason for that last part that’s both awesome and terrifying. My editor needed a full synopsis so she could send it through to my publisher’s acquisitions team. This book, which I haven’t even finished writing yet, is already contracted. This relieves all the “What will I do with it when it’s done?” pressure, but adds a huge measure of “Holy crap, I have to get this done” in exchange.

So, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, Zoey Donovan’s adventures with the Hidden continue in Fairies in My Fireplace. Now that we’re on book three, things are looking pretty grim. Somebody or something has destroyed the Board of Hidden Affairs, has kidnapped every Aegis in the country but Zoey, and has been capturing Hidden creatures. In an effort to escape whatever is after them, Hidden from all over have run to Zoey for help and sanctuary. She’ll have to find and defeat the villain if she wants her house back, especially since members of her own family are threatened.

Tune in next week to see if I’m still sane after the first week of NaNo. It’s doubtful. But you don’t have to be sane to be a writer. In fact, I personally think sanity holds you back.