Tag: YA thriller

Winner, Winner!

I did it! I completed NaNoWriMo this year and wrote 50,000 words during the month of November. Were they amazing? No. Were they passable? Also no. Were they completed? Yes.

That’s the funny thing about writing. I don’t always enjoy it, it’s like pulling teeth some days. But I always enjoy having written. Something about delayed gratification, I guess. I am well on my way to finishing my 3rd book just this year, and that is way more than I ever expected at the beginning of 2023. Ending the year by winning NaNo is the cherry on top, and I’m trying to ride the momentum train as long as I can. I also got a t-shirt because I am normally terrible at celebrating accomplishments. Conor was like, “Are you excited you’re done?” and I replied, “Well, I still have 30k left to write before the draft is done, so kind of?” I’m a pro at moving the goalposts.

I’ve never written a thriller before, so I knew this book was going to be challenging. Since NaNo ended, I’ve added another 12,000 words to the draft, with about 20,000 words left before the rough draft is finished. Holding a thriller plot in my hands is like scooping up dry sand at the beach. I’m barely hanging on and trying not to lose the pieces escaping through my fingers. If at the end I haven’t lost too much of it, I’ll consider the rough draft to be a success.

This project has three 1st-person POV, each with a different/distinct voice, everyone has a secret, everyone in the story must have motive for the crime committed, everyone knows different things at different times and I have to reveal it all at the correct pacing for the genre. There is a past mystery to solve, and a current timeline I’m also working with. The two need to tie together. Oh, and each character needs a complete and satisfying story arc.

There are 76 tabs open in my brain at any given time. Christmas. Celebrations. Correspondence. Family. Gifts. A 6-year-old’s unicorn birthday party to plan.

So yes, I bought a t-shirt.

Love,

Taylor

Now I’m one of the cool kids

Halfway Through!

I’m halfway through NaNoWriMo, which means I am staying on track to actually complete it this year! I almost feel like making a post about it is jinxing myself, but the words are coming pretty easy for this book, which is definitely a surprise.

I think it’s due to three things:

  1. A supportive partner. Hands down. I am dropping balls left and right with regular life and he’s there to catch them. Last night he was in the middle of asking me about something and goes, “Never mind. I just realized we should just discuss this once November is done.” I only have so much brainpower, and right now it’s fueling the creative side, not the logistical side. He gets it.

2. A habit established over the summer in my mad scramble to finish WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU before the PNWA conference. That project was 7 weeks straight of writing every day. NaNo is only 4 weeks long. The word count is higher per day, yes, but I had lots of practice to get my brain in shape for November in the months leading up to it. I just keep telling myself, only a few weeks left! I’m not finishing a whole book, just 50,000 words of one. It feels manageable.

3. I don’t feel as much pressure to get this story perfect. I’m able to have more fun with it as I go. As the years go on and I write more books, each one feels less precious. I know that’s a weird thing to admit, but it’s kind of freeing. I don’t agonize over my drafts for a decade. I’m not sinking years and years of effort into one project. My fountain of ideas is endless, and I can see a project through from beginning to end by simply sticking to a process. It’s not my life’s work. It’s a YA thriller that can be comped to Netflix’s Outer Banks. Don’t get me wrong, I love all my books, but it’s easier to separate my emotions from it compared to back when I thought finishing my first book was equal to climbing a mountain.

The confusing thing about NaNo is that even though I’m at the 50% mark, I’m only about 30% of the way through my entire book. I had a moment of panic yesterday when I thought my pacing was completely off before remembering that NaNo is only getting me 50,000/80,000 words. My story beats are where they’re supposed to be, thankfully.

To sum up the NaNo experience so far, I’ll leave you with this quote from EL Doctorow—“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Now it’s time to get my 1,667 words done for the day.

Love,

Taylor

I present this stunning visual representation of my first draft. Please note the crash helmet.

Book #8 and NaNoWriMo

It’s almost here! National Novel Writing Month, the one time per year that writers emerge from their caves of introversion and try to network with other writers. It pushes us so far out of our comfort zones that we spend the next 11 months recuperating. I’ve used NaNo in the past to make some wonderful writer friends at each place we’ve lived, because it really is the ONLY time to try to find us. If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, it is super easy to sign up at nanowrimo.org and find your people. There are forums by genre, experience, and location.

Last year, I went to a library meetup, gathered my courage, and invited two other writer moms to create the Port Orchard Writing Club. We’ve actually made it a whole year with (nearly) monthly meetups. We also attended two huge writing conferences, AWP and PNWA. It is honestly so lovely to talk writing with other people who ‘get it’—the frustrations, carving out time, and the breakthroughs.

I told myself I would take break after finishing WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU. But…surprise surprise…I had an idea for book #8. While I won’t be sprinting through and trying to draft 50k words in November, I am going to use this month to plan and outline a YA thriller. I want to incorporate my sailing and liveaboard experience and bring a book to life with this unique perspective. I’ve never attempted a mystery or thriller, so I need to pay more attention to the structure of the genre. My plan is to read 4-5 YA thrillers over the next two weeks to get my head in the game, then I’ll attempt to put fingers to keyboard and outline this new baby.

In other news, I’ve brushed off my resume and am starting to search for some contract or volunteer copy/content/edit jobs to build my portfolio. I’m not quite ready to go into detail about this yet, but I feel like now that the kids have settled in school and I have more time/control of my day, I might be branching out. Weirdly, this feels more vulnerable than querying. Hopefully I won’t get firehosed with rejection on all sides!

Love,

Taylor