I am in the middle of day 15 of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I already won. In fact, I passed the 50,000-word winning point on day 12 and today I should reach at least 60,000. Last year it took me 15 days to win what is supposed to be a 30-day challenge. I don’t know if winning three days faster than last year shows that I’m getting better, though, or only more obsessed. Still, my life has not gone to pieces as I have sunk whole days into writing. (I found it helps to get up at 3 a.m. and write until early afternoon as if nothing matters except getting this novel into the computer.)

Whatever the reason behind my productivity, I am pleased with what is in my Mac. Editing will trim the text (I am wordy), but I will also fill in details to make a richer narrative. For example, I have not yet physically described any of the characters. Thus, it may not get shorter, although I am sure that I can make it much better. Still, in this first draft I’m discovering so much about the story. It has been interesting to figure out how the protagonist (an academic) meets the various antagonists (all yakuza). I had a basic idea for how the plot would develop, but my preconception had precious little detail for any but the beginning chapters. It is a great feeling when the story flows out and the characters’ arcs intersect in exactly the right ways.

Despite having won NaNoWriMo, there’s plenty of work left for the rest of November. I still need to write whole chapters. And I must fill in the many places where I wrote so quickly that I left holes in the text. (This also involves finding and watching all six seasons of The Sopranos.) I have not kept close track of the flow of time through the novel, and my two first-person narrators need distinct voices. Perhaps the most sensitive job is crafting the right response (or sequence of responses) when the protagonist finds his love interest is not the woman he believed her to be. There are months of work left to do. But this first draft is a “proof of concept.” So far, it works. I am eager to finish this draft and start the months of polishing.