Help! I’ve edited and I can’t get up!

I’m editing and I can’t stop. NaNoWriMo is about getting new words on paper – not so much about fixing them. But I’m in a weird spot for the Seed project overall.

I started a new book for NaNo as they encourage but I finished it yesterday. For the project goals I need to return to the first book of the series (Weavers) and get it finished to 1st draft so I can get Early Reader feedback and get my illustrator the story she needs to create chapter art. That requires incorporating about 6.5k words of dialog (that is already written) into it so I’m editing and getting no word credits for NaNo.

My choices are start Unseen (vol 3) and smash through NaNo or keep on with Weavers to drive that to publication.

I was stressing about this over my coffee this morning and then it hit me. For the first time in a decade I have so much to write I don’t know what to write first.

And I smiled sooooo big.

Surge

I’m wondering if this happens to other writers. I will get entire chapters of my book springing into my head at the oddest moments. Fully formed, where about all I have to do is regurgitate it. It’s usually not when I’m writing or even thinking about writing and is usually not about the part of the story I am currently focused on.

Ninja at Law was about 70% complete for initial draft. I was on a conference call and the end of the book just popped into my head. Three chapters worth. I jotted down some quick notes but spent the rest of the day terrified I was going to forget it before I could dump it out.

So then I had a book 85% complete but missing the fourth fifth. I struggled a bit figuring out how to connect what was written because the ending that sprang forth didn’t quite match where I had been heading. Eating dinner last night the missing part surged out with an elegant solution that not only matched up the separated parts but retroactively added two character arcs I hadn’t realized I was building.

Am I just lucking out here or is this a thing that happens?

NaNoWriMo

As of today I’m 55% complete with the NaNo goal of 50,000 words in November. My head start will get eaten up a bit as I am also 2 chapters from completing Ninja at Law. Once that completes for first draft I will be returning to Weavers to incorporate about 6,500 words worth of dialogs.

w00t!