perfidy

Now that the National Novel Writing Month is over, by more than a week, I propose the Procrastinator's National Novel Writing Month, which shall last until further notice. Now that that administrivia is out of the way, on to the status of my novel. Before the end of November, I had actually finished an additional five thousand words beyond the 4300 or so I had already posted. As the deadline approached, and dark forces beyond my control converged upon me, I realized that I had made a great mistake. Several, actually.

First, I picked as my topic something that required altogether too much thought. The storyline involves several things that I have been thinking about for a long time, and therefore wanted to get exactly right – details of space combat, to be sure; but also issues revolving around the singularity, artificial intelligence and the nature of first contact. Getting things exactly right does not interact well with wanting to get it done in thirty days.

Second, I started an impossible recursive exercise wherein the things I wrote in the five thousand words I didn't post required changes in the four thousand I did, and vice versa, ad infinitum. I have largely resolved those issues now, but now is December.

Third, I picked the wrong month to write a novel in. A variety of outside influences militated strongly against any possibility of finishing the novel in the agreed framework. Work, vacations, and finally solo child rearing while my wife was in Kansas are all killer when you're trying to write.

Fourth, I procrastinated. Not as much as you'd think, but I didn't make terribly efficient use of what time I did have.

Now that I have resolved most of my philosophical difficulties, and now that many of the other impediments have at least lessened, I plan to start posting the rest of what I've written, and move on to finish the story. I plan on getting the up over ten thousand words posted within a week or so, and somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand words a week thereafter until the damn thing is done.

As for the fate of baby, I'm not altogether sure what will happen in the end, but at least I know how it will happen.

Thanks all for your patience, and the kind words you've already given.

Before I start though, I'm gonna go read Ian's forklift racing story.