S. W. Raine

There’s nothing quite like returning to Captain Keenan and his world. This November, I found myself diving back into his sky pirate adventures, and it felt like reconnecting with an old friend. This year’s writing journey was a little different because I stepped away from the official NaNoWriMo organization. But between my regional writing community and the sheer joy of storytelling, it didn’t feel so different after all.

Reconnecting with a World I Love

Captain Keenan’s world is a place that feels alive with every airship battle, every alchemical infusion, and all the quick-witted banter. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the characters and their antics until I started writing again. Returning to Captain Keenan and his story reminded me why I love telling his adventure.

Every time Keenan made me laugh, surprised me with his decisions, or forced me to untangle a sticky plot, it felt like coming home.

A Challenge Without Plan B

As I mentioned here, I went into this challenge with two projects lined up: the second installment of Captain Keenan’s spin-off series (Plan A) and a steampunk choose-your-own-adventure story (Plan B, in case I got writer’s block). Spoiler alert: I never touched Plan B.

That doesn’t mean it was all smooth sailing, though! There were plenty of moments where I stared at my screen wondering what to write next. But I was so in love with the idea of continuing Captain Keenan’s story, I’d almost forgotten Plan B existed!

Stepping Away from NaNoWriMo (Sort Of)

After 17 years of participating in NaNoWriMo, I decided to step away from the official organization this year. It wasn’t an easy decision, but my local writing community made the transition seamless.

Over the years, our NaNoWriMotown region went above and beyond what NaNoWriMo required, organizing daily write-ins, gaming days, movie night socials, and even additional events like Midway Madness and One Last Push parties, among others. This year, NaNoWriMotown became its own nonprofit, First Draft Detroit, and kept all those traditions alive.

Between Discord sprints at all hours and planned events like the Boot Camp day, I barely noticed the difference. The support, the camaraderie, and the sheer fun were all still there.

The Pantser Dilemma: Wrestling with Structure

As a lifelong Pantser (someone who writes by the seat of their pants), I decided to try outlining this time using the Five Act Structure. Predictably, my characters threw the plan out by chapter five.

What really threw me for a loop, though, was when my characters stopped leading me forward. They waited for me to decide what happened next. It was… unsettling. Eventually, I figured out the problem: my villain.

I couldn’t figure out her “why.” I dove into her backstory, but something still wasn’t clicking. My friend and accountability buddy helped break it down in terms I understood (the Marvel universe and, more specifically, Loki and Thanos), but it wasn’t until my bff helped me step back and see the bigger picture that everything fell into place. Once it clicked, the story took off in a whole new direction.

A Funny Sprint Moment

During one of the writing sprints during Frenzy Boot Camp, I had an amusingly ridiculous moment. There was a minute left on the timer, and I’d just finished the chapter. But I wasn’t about to lose out on getting those last few words, so I… improvised.

Here’s what I wrote:

“He needed it. It called out to him. And I need to keep writing to finish this sprint because there’s less than a minute left. Whee! This is fun. I lost my A key and it sucks because it hurts my finger.”

Yep. I actually wrote that. And yes, it amused me so much, I had to share it.

New Revelations for Captain Keenan’s Series

This book confirmed something big: Captain Keenan’s spin-off series will be four books long. Writing this installment was exciting because I got to plant seeds for an overarching revelation that ties into characters from my earlier book, The Techno Mage. And returning to Captain Keenan and his world allowed me to expand the scope of his story.

Connecting the dots between these books has been so much fun. It’s one of those moments where everything starts to feel bigger and more epic, and I can’t wait to see where it all goes.

A Proud Writing Mom Moment

This year wasn’t just about my writing—it was about my son’s too. For the third year in a row, he participated in the challenge and hit his goal! He decided to continue the Pokémon fanfic he started last year, and seeing him so excited and determined was inspiring.

Watching him reach his word count goal was a proud moment as a mom. The fact that we get to share this writing journey together makes it even better.

Writing is an adventure, and this November reminded me why I love it so much. I fell back in love with Captain Keenan and his world, wrestled with some big storytelling challenges, and celebrated my son’s writing success.

I’m already looking forward to revising this draft and uncovering what’s next for Captain Keenan.

Do you have a favorite series or character you’ve fallen in love with? What makes them so special? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below and share!

Raine