NaNoWriMo Week 3: The End Run · 7:31pm Nov 20th, 2016
On Saturday, November 19, 2016, at around 2:00PM Pacific, I cracked the 50K barrier for this year’s surge of writing on Wavelength Theorems.
You read that right, folks. You’re reading the blog of an author who’s won National Novel Writing Month eight years running. 
Not only that, but this is my fastest NaNoWriMo win to date. My previous record is finishing on November 23rd. Though officially, I can’t validate (and win) until the 21st. But that’s okay. 
Let’s get down with some numbers and I’ll tell you all what this means.
Title: Wavelength Theorems
By: Novel Idea
Current Word Count: 50,571
Daily Average: 2,661
Word Count Total by Day
Day 13: 33,912
Day 14: 35,925
Day 15: 39,147
Day 16: 41,914
Day 17: 45,281
Day 18: 47,477
Day 19: 50,571
So, where to go from here, you ask?
Well, Act I of Wavelengths is complete. So’s Act II. I was planning on a Four Act structure for Wavelengths too. I’m part of the way into Act III, where I start to tackle the real question: is the Wavelengths timeline an aberration that must be destroyed to save the main timeline, or is it an alternate independent timeline that’s stable on its own? (Though honestly, you won’t get that answer until the denouement of the story, but don’t worry, I will give you the answer).
However, I’ve run into a problem.
You see, the Wavelengths Timeline series of stories originally started out as a series of tales designed to help me write the backstory for the reality we’ll come to see in Wavelength Theorems itself. However, as time went by, I started becoming truly invested in the characters I’ve been writing. And I think it’s safe to say that so have you!
I really care about this version of Sunset Shimmer, Twilight, Moon Dancer and the rest of the gang. They’re important to me as an author.
So what’s the catch?
The catch is that Wavelength Theorems was originally conceived (and has been written up to this point) as entirely from the Main Universe (read: canon) Twilight and Sunset’s perspective. A while back, I realized one of my biggest problems was that while I had a great development arc set up for the Wavelengths versions of these characters, I didn’t have character arcs set for the MU Sunset and Twilight. When I finally realized that and developed one, the story started to come a lot easier.
But in the last few days, something else occurred to me. While the concept of seeing both Sunset and Twilight’s reaction to this timeline would be fantastic (especially if they get stuck there for some reason), these aren’t the characters I’ve spent the last twenty stories on!
You guys probably want to know about what happens with the Wavelengths versions!
So, now that leaves me with a few options. I could hop perspectives, but having two Twilights and two Sunset’s perspectives could be hard (while the two Twi’s have different cutie marks to help me differentiate the characters, the two Sunset’s have the same, so I can’t use that trick). I could just shatter my intended back and forth perspective (a technique I’ve used before in other stories) and just go full ensemble.
There’s also the fact that I now have 112,000 words written in Wavelength Theorems that I don’t just want to throw away!
So what’s the solution?
To be honest, I don’t have a clue. But since you folks aren’t actually going to see Wavelength Theorems anytime soon, I have time. I’ll ponder it over and see what happens the closer we get to that part of the story.
But with this question hanging over my head (and a fair idea of where I’m going of with this story now), I think it’s time to put Wavelengths to the side. I’ve decided I won’t be continuing it at the moment for the rest of National Novel Writing Month.
The rest, you ask? Yeah, of course. You thought I was done?
Nope. Just because I won doesn’t mean I get a break. Authors don’t get breaks.
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Actually, Stephen King is a good example of this. Though, since I don’t do horror, I’ve never read a Stephen King book (aside from On Writing), I can respect him as a man who knows his craft. I don’t have to like his stories to know he’s a fantastic author. And one of the things he said in his book is that he writes every day except for Christmas and his birthday. Every. Day.
So what’s next?
Simple.
How Not to Use Your Royal Prerogative.
(For the record, I have yet to spell prerogative without reading it from somewhere without spellcheck throwing a fit).
It’s time to head back and finish the Origins Arc. You know, that story I was going to write after finishing Grading on a Bell Curve? Hell, it’s actually mentioned in the author’s notes!
Ironic, considering that I already have 9,200 words in Prerogative. But I’m going to do a full reboot of the story. I’ll likely use some of the scenes already in it, but they’ll be rewritten. It’ll also probably end up around the size of Princess Celestia: A Brief History. My biggest problem was that I had two stories I wanted to tell in this book. Now, starting from scratch and now knowing what those stories are, I can weave them together far better.
This is the problem with being a discovery writer. Sometimes, you just get lost.
I really need to try outlining again (For the hundredth time).
However, this story will have a surprise character in it. In fact, I may not even put who that surprise character is on the character sheet (though it’ll probably lose some views because of it). I don’t want to spoil it. But it’s going to be fun. I promise!
This is also going to be a wonderful break.
As I’ve said before, Wavelengths is often a dark story. Equestria is in serious trouble and our heroines are fighting through monumental forces, physical, psychological and magical, to save not only each other but the world itself. It’s the story of the rise and fall of nations, the bonds that bind all things together and how fear can drive ponies down paths they never would have thought possible.
And that monsters never see a monster in the mirror.
See? Heavy stuff.
Prerogative is about Sunset sneaking her friends in to see Coloratura after a show.
See? Funny stuff.
God, I can’t wait. I seriously can’t. It’s going to be awesome.
So, here’s the plan.
National Novel Writing Month CONTINUES! Only, it will continue with my new wordcount being from the reboot of Prerogative (Hey, I spelled it right that time!). I’ve got a master document that has everything from Wavelengths, so I’ll just tack it onto the end of it.
Books! Everywhere! 
Is this cheating? Maybe a little? It’s all part of the same series, same general arc, so it’s a gray area. But more than anything (and this is something I’ve been telling you all from the start), NaNoWriMo is about writing. Pushing yourself. Writing something that you wouldn’t have done normally.
I have a bunch of Writing Buddies on NaNoWriMo. I’m actually the first to clear 50K this year. I pushed myself hard this year. I had days where my writing goal was 3K. I had days where I pushed that a few times. I had warmed up for this by doing 2K a day in October. So if you haven’t even cleared 10K (or even 1K), please don’t get discouraged by this. If anything, I want this to encourage you to push yourself even harder.
“Anyone who says writing is easy isn't doing it right.”
― Amy Joy
Every single day at work while on lunch, I have turned off all my screens, shut down Discord and Skype, turned on a white noise machine, locked my headphones around my ears and pounded out as many words as I could. I would have much rather have played Overwatch or World of Warcraft. But I don’t.
Every night, I would watch something with my wife (lately Babylon 5) while we eat dinner, then do the dishes and sit down on my computer and write until I had cleared at least 2K. Sometimes 3K. Sometimes that took forever. I don’t do anything else until that’s done. Usually, I end up going straight to bed after writing.
“I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn't, I would die.”
― Isaac Asimov
On the weekend, I’ve sequestered myself in the bedroom after spending the morning with the kids and typed like my life depended on it. I don’t listen to music. I usually have everything else shut off.
Hell, my writing OCD got so bad that I felt like I was never allowed to play games. If you remember in Long Road to Friendship, Sunset had a compulsion to tell the truth and do anything requested of her. There’s a wonderfully sweet scene, where after weeks of nightmares and torment by her own internal demons, Sunset begs Twilight to ask her to have good dreams and to sleep well… and Twilight does it, though not really understanding why. And for the first time since she was struck down by the Elements of Harmony, she has a good night’s sleep.
It’s kind of like that for me. I have writing demons in my head that won’t let me do anything else. Seriously! There are times when I actually have to ask my wife if I can take a break… and I can’t until she lets me.
So… if you think that this kind of writing is totally awesome and you’d love to be able to pound out words like this… there are people with far more writing demons than I. There are prices to pay for this sort of thing. We all have our hangups and our vices. We all have our own inner demons we must battle in our own way.
I say this so you aren’t discouraged (though everything I said is completely true). I say it to be honest. So you know the truth. So, remember. The show’s not over. I’m still aiming for a minimum of 2K a day for the rest of the month. This is just a few hours of intermission before the next part. Hell, it might be fun to see if I can finish Prerogative before December comes around.
Write.
Write more.
Write even more.
Write even more than that.
Write when you don’t want to.
Write when you do.
Write when you have something to say.
Write when you don’t.
Write every day.
Keep writing.”
― Brian Clark
Okay, enough rambling. Next thing you’ll want to know, yes, you’ll be getting the next chapter of The Alchemy of Chemistry tomorrow.
Another shoutout to everypony who’s left a comment. I’m starting to see the benefit of releasing it chapter-by-chapter, because it allows me to see how the emotional beats are playing from you. Emotional resonance is a huge thing for me.
“You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
I can happily say that I’ve been swept away by more stories than I care to admit. And I really want to be able to do that to you here. I really want to get this right.
Because this is awesome practice for helping my professional materials grow into something even better.
Well, I think that’s all for today. With my big announcement of clearing NaNoWriMo (at least “phase 1”), I think I’ll hold off showing you the cover of Prerogative (Nope. Misspelled that time too) until next week. But remember, tomorrow at 10AM Pacific, you’ll get the next chapter of Alchemy… where you’ll meet someone again… for the first time.
See you tomorrow!
(Have a Sunny by my favorite Human Sunny Artist, aJVL)
Oh, in case you were wondering, my 50,000th word was "at."
...I never get a cool ending word. It's always "the" or "a" or "is."
Oh well.
Congratulations on conquering NaNoWriMo and big thanks for the motivational part. I am having trouble with getting to coding at the moment and the emotional part of the message resonates with me.
Wow, Twi's hair in that first cover is totally styled like all the EqG transformations'. Accidental or ominous? ...Probably the latter.
*Shyly raises hand*
I did it in fifteen days...
Forget him (not really, he's awesome), fimfic's own ShortSkirtsAndExplosions did that for four years, not even breaking for Christmas, updating two dailies at once plus regular oneshots! It's ridiculously inspirational. Go tell him to start again...
Gosh, I can hardly wait until wavelengths eventually gets released! I'm probably more exited than what is considered healthy, but that's great!
Thank you again for the words of encouragement, I've been hovering around 10k for a while but I haven't been able to break it. It's slightly disheartening when I see how much further along and how much more skilled people are when compared to myself (although at the same time I'm happy that they are that good). Hopefully I'll be able to get my butt back in gear for these last few days and break that barrier; although I probably wont even reach the personal goal I set for myself at the start of this thing, I kind of want to see how close I'll be able to get.
Picture any friend of Twilight Sparkle friendly teasing her about she being a huuuuuuuuuuuge dork.
That's what I want to do to you right now. Don't you ever lose this pizzazz, Novel-Idea! You have a great front of a perfect mix between an upbeat attitude and real nerdery.
4310275 Emotions are what make everything real. If I've stirred anything in you, be it motivation or inspiration, may it serve you well.
4310384
15 days eh? I guess I need to take my own advice then and remind myself that everypony does it at their own pace. And it's cute that you think I can get Short to do anything. When I get somewhere around 10x the followers I have now, we'll see. 
4310466 Well, I'm afraid you'll be waiting a while. Wavelengths is set many years ahead of Alchemy. So there's a lot of story to tell until we get there. But remember, November's not over. NaNoWriMo isn't over, not even for me. As long as you write until the last moment, then you've done something to be proud of. Never forget that.
4310595 There's only one possible response to that:
img15.deviantart.net/8cf9/i/2015/246/6/3/sunset_shimmer_smirk_by_mlpcompilation-d987f0a.png
(Seriously, I'm smirking just like that so much my face is starting to hurt.
)
I love the Wavelengths universe so this is wonderful news! It is odd to consider that all this building (with excellent stories) is just to set the background for other characters to take over... Oh well, I trust your writing. Everything so far was been wonderful