I’m lucky to be doing National Novel Writing Month in one of the most active regions in the country, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. One of the features of  the NaNoWriMo experience here is the 28-hour Writing Tour, documented here (until October 2012, when the NaNo forums will be cleared for 2012).

I woke up this morning with not enough sleep, having done the calculation the night before that I was one-third of the way through a 90,000-word story. My earnest resolution is to hit 45,000 words by the end of the weekend. What gives me confidence that I can pull off this feat is that I have stretches of time set aside, and I have a set of mileposts. It’s not an outline but a set of chapter titles; I have an idea of what’s going to happen, in the main story thread, but there are a few loose cannon / wild card characters and situations floating around: Elsa’s estranged father, who’s been mentioned too many times not to step onto stage at some point, probably at the least convenient time for all concerned; Elsa’s first love and possible half-brother, Henry, who’s been corresponding with her for years and whose children are long-distance nephews and nieces; the lurking serial killer, who thus far has turned up on Elsa’s work docket and in a troubling cluster of missing-persons cases that seem to center on her sister’s theatrical circle.

Now I am settled in my favorite cafe, with my comrades across town setting off on their writing adventure, so it’s time to settle in and get some serious prose knocked out. Goal is 5000 words or the resurrection of the little barbarian, whichever comes first. (Chapters are averaging about 5000 words at this point…)

Current milepost: 31,634 words.