If you’ve spent any time sewing or building, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Measure twice, cut once.” It means that if you measure your fabric or wood or whatever carefully, you’ll only need to cut it once, which will save time and prevent waste of materials.
It’s why I am conceding the NaNoWriMo prize at 27,745 words.
Writing historical fiction based on my family’s stories requires extensive historical and genealogical research. It has been my goal from the beginning to stick to the facts whenever I can. My NANoWriMo WIP is the story of my great-grandparents’ courtship and elopement. She was a farmer’s daughter and he was a World War I veteran who became her father’s hired hand. I know their general story and was able to write almost 30,000 words of big events, awkward flirtation, and eventual marriage. What I don’t know much about is wheat farming in 1923, the Battle at Verdun, or education in a one-room school house. I could write 20,000 more words of description and scenes, but they wouldn’t be accurate or authentic. I would most certainly need to go back and rewrite them after engaging in deep research. The time and effort of those words would most likely be a waste of the next two weeks. Instead, it’s time to take a deep dive into the time, place, and people of my story.
I’m proud of the progress I made. Letting the words fly without thinking of revising or editing was a welcome change after the tedium of querying, and it helped me build my fluency again. I also (re)learned some good life lessons that I’ll share next week.