NaNoWriMo 2014: Week Three

Okay, let me be the first to admit that I haven’t been keeping everybody updated on my progress through this year’s National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), a (now) international “competition” that encourages participants to write a 50,000+ word novel in the span of the 30 days of November. For you math whizzes out there, that equates to about 1,667 words per day (rounded up), and that’s assuming you want to finish on the very last day.

I took up the challenge this year because I’ve been feeling stagnant as a writer. Yes, I’ve been incredibly blessed to have my first novel, “The Bully Buster,” published, and yes, I feel so grateful that the overall reception has been quite positive. However, any writer worth his (or her) salt, with the exception of authors like one-book wonder Harper Lee, will tell you that writing never stops with just one book or story or poem or screenplay or playscript. Writing is a lifelong journey, and I felt that I needed a kick in the pants to get up and write something new and fresh. So, I decided that I was going to churn out a novel this month.

I regret that I didn’t post any blog updates for Weeks One and Two, but now that I’m over halfway through the novel, I’ll fill you in. I don’t have a title yet (not even a temporary one, because I’m pretty lame with titles), but the basic story is as follows: a private detective named Richard “Rick” Dale, a WWII veteran, has set up shop in 1946 Chicago. He takes on a case with a beautiful blonde named Scarlett Singer (or is that her true name? Dun-Dun-Dun!), as well as a concurrent, seemingly unrelated case from the Chicago Police Department concerning a break-in at the Chicago Museum of Art. Over the course of the novel, most of the characters involved are trying to get their hands on an object that some believe will grant supernatural powers.

So, yes, I’m basically writing “The Maltese Falcon” mixed with “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Sue me (no, that’s not an invitation, Warner Bros. and Paramount). Bear in mind that this is only the first draft (NaNoWriMo rules dictate that there shall be on editing; this is supposed to be your best first effort).

I’m 28,363 words in (and I haven’t done my writing for today), so I think I’m well on my way to “winning” NaNoWriMo 2014. I know where my story is headed, and I like to think that I’m still in control of the characters and various other elements of the narrative, although writing does have a fun tendency of getting out of hand over time, so we shall see what happens over the next two weeks.