Here we are, on the verge of the abyss known as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, for those uninformed). I’m not as prepared as I should be, my outline isn’t finished, I haven’t even made WIP cover art for the NaNo project. Hell, the project listing doesn’t even exist yet.

To say, then, that I’m excited would be an underestimation.

 Under A Falling Sky is even still in mental flux, but I’m eager to start throwing down bits and pieces. To right the tale of Tanis and Ashayl is something I’ve been looking forward to for some time, so I’m both nervous and apprehensive about starting with the 30 day deadline.

For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is where we writers are in a literary marathon run to write 50,000 words over the span of the thirty days of November. For the experienced and professional writers, it may seem to be another day in the office. For guys like me, who – at best – could be called rookies, it’s a different matter entirely.

To anyone who reads sentences from writers that include “NaNo”, trust me, I’m not sending off my manuscript on December 1st. It’s actually a pretty common issue amongst editors and agents in that people complete their NaNo event/project, then fire it off for publication. No quality control, no revisions, no editing, nothing.

Not for me. I intend to batter myself to hell and back in order to not only complete NaNo, but also to make sure my story is in the best possible shape it could be in. That also includes, so you know, not just ending the writing because the 30th is over. The story only ends when it’s over, not because the finishing line has been crossed.

Now the story, since I haven’t talked much about it, is a Scifi / Fantasy crossover. There’s everything from guns, naval fleets formed of airships, kingdoms and other governments, magic, and gods. In it, a smuggler and a weaver (magic user) are on the run from the Tribunal, a ruling religious group that has varying levels of control over numerous kingdoms and governments. While being pursued, trying to flee to a kingdom that is friendly to weavers, they uncover what ties weavers to the Tribunal in more ways than one.

This is a genre that I’ve not seen much of, and yet I’ve always loved seeing it implemented. For that very reason, I’m eager to get busy with UAFS, but it’s also because I am just eager to tell this story in as best a way as I can.

To that extent, I know I’ll be either spammy about progress over the coming month or incredibly silent. One way or another, progress will be made. I will see this story told, and to the best of my abilities, even if that means I end up rewriting the thing after NaNo is over.

So what do you say, should we get this party started?