Whew! I finished the Camp NaNoWriMo challenge. I managed to write 50,115 words on the sequel to my first novel, RELICS, which is to be published by Crescent Moon Press. The sequel, PORTALS, picks up a month after RELICS ends.

It was an interesting process. I had the entire month of August to hit my goal, but since my new semester of classes begins today, I wanted to hit the goal a few days early.

Writing under a deadline is nothing new for me. I have my column over at Corellian Run Radio that goes live every Tuesday. And in forty-two weeks I have not missed a column. But writing a weekly opinion column of less than 750 words is far different from writing a novel.

I found the Camp NaNo challenge a great way to kick-start getting back into my novel. I tried this back in June, but got stalled by other concerns and didn’t get to finish. So, I was determined that this month, this time, I was going to succeed.

And I did! It feels great. I even like where I went in the sequel with my wonderful Thulu, La Fi & Company. I adore writing these characters. I did reach a point a couple times where I wondered just where I was going. I fly without a net – meaning I write without an outline. I always know where my book is going, but it oftentimes takes unexpected routes to get there. I love when my characters surprise me and they do so frequently.

Now, PORTALS isn’t finished, but I’m about two-thirds done on the first draft and that feels awesome, too.