Another year, another novel. I set out with some goals for the novel, and here's how that played out:
1) Finish it. Managed this one with a few hours to spare. It's 69.4K words, which isn't as long as an adult fantasy novel should be, but much will be added in edits, so that's not a big problem.
2) Produce a strong, non-stereotyped female lead. I think I did a good job on this, but only reading it will tell. One's memory of a novel as it is written is a bit strange.
3) Set up the possibility for a series of one shots in the same world/with the same characters. Done, and done.
4) Create a convincing world. Um...5 out of 10, maybe? 4 out of 10? This needs some work. A lot of good ideas, but many of them not realized until late in the book, so that I've got to go back and fill in many details in earlier portions. Also, finally realized that the flavor of the book is off, so I'm changing that, too, from slightly-off-of-generic European Fantasy Land, to the more fitting and satisfying suggestive-of-East-Asia Fantasy Land.
5) Represent people of color. Slight success. Improvement spots already noted, and will be made to happen.
6) Manage to not hate the story. Well...working on that, still. We'll see how it plays out. Fix it in post, right?
All of which means, I've got a hunk of book. Medieval city based fantasy with focus on religion and magic and two MCs and a nebulously developed world that needs a lot of work and naming conventions that need to be stabilized and improved and word choices that really need to be expanded for certain words.
Not my best NaNo. Probably my worst. But also the one which I actually had goals for beyond finishing, and that makes it trickier, it appears.
I'm setting it aside until later, and then I'll read and start to fix. Next year, probably, early, but I can't be sure. Whenever I'm ready, and it's ready, and I'm not editing for publication on other books.
