NaNo and Edits, oh my!

I like a good challenge. There's nothing like it to get me moving, and that's probably why I'm doing the National Novel Writer's Month challenge again this year. After all, my novel from last year was accepted by Torquere Press, so it's definitely possible for this to lead to publication.

So, for the fifth consecutive year, I'll spend the 30 days of November churning out at least 50,000 words of pure, raw draft. It'll be a glorious mess, and when I take a moment to breathe, sometime in December, I'll be ready to tackle the mess and sort out the bits that shine from the dross that hides them.

That's the theory, anyway. Even though this was the formula that worked for me for four years, I've decided to raise my personal bar. You see, I'm also going to be working with my editor on the manuscript for Ghost's Dilemma, that novel from last year. The one which is scheduled to be published in February of 2015.

In a twisted sort of way, I think it's going to help. One of the hardest parts of NaNo is resisting the urge to go back and edit what I've written. Of course, if I go back and edit, I slow myself down and I'll never make my work count for the day, which means it's just a bit harder the following day. My inner editor has heart attacks and fits over the roughness of the draft, and I've had to appease her with allowing small typo fixes.

But this year, I can turn my inner editor loose on Ghost's Dilemma, and while she's besotted with the opportunity to revise that manuscript, I can work on NaNo without the inner nagging for once. This could be the best year yet, as long as I keep the manuscripts straight.