It's NaNoWriMo Time Again!

It's November 1st, which means it's NaNoWriMo time again. For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is over 30 days to write a 175 page novel, or 50,000 words without stopping. That means no editing whatsoever. For those how have an internal critic/editor sitting on our shoulder on a daily basis, like I do, telling you that every word you write is total crap, NaNoWriMo is a godsend. For the next month, I just write, and write and write. And hopefully at the end, I have something salvageable.

Last time I did this two years ago, I wrote 250 pages of a YA novel that ended up in the bin, but it got me excited enough about my premise to totally rewrite the novel in a month with a new plot and a new set of characters which I might never have done if it hadn't been for good ole NaNoWriMo. Part of the reason why I did NaNoWriMo the last time was because I knew that Lani Diane Rich had written her RITA award winning first novel, Time Off for Good Behavior during NaNoWriMo. I figured if she could do it, so could I.

This time, I'm better prepared. I have more of a handle of what I want to write and that thing called plot. My characters are fully fleshed out in my head, and I have a list of scenes that I want to incorporate into the story. Also, I've written down 5 character adjectives for my hero and heroine that I'm going to try and plant the seeds of in every scene. I'm off to a pretty good start, I've written 4 pages so far this morning. Of course, the first day is always the best.

This caps off a pretty awesome week so far. Yesterday afternoon, I got to go to a taping of The Daily Show with that god among men, Jon Stewart. Totally fab. I highly recommend that if you know you're going to be in New York a few months in advance that you try and get tickets. It's a short taping since the show is only a half and hour. The hard part is standing on line and waiting to get in. Fortunately, I brought a friend with me to chat to, although I have tons of research books that I could have been reading while I waited.

Even the warm up comedian was funny for a change. Then when I got to my night job, I found out I was getting a $50 because there were so few people working last night. Yippee! Mama needs a new pair of shoes.

Now excuse me while I go check my word count.

Thanks for reading!

EKM

This is your brain without sleep!

This is exactly what I wish I could be doing right now. I didn't get home from work until 3 a.m. and I've had about 4 hours of sleep and I'm dragging. If only I lived in Spain where I could be having a siesta right now. Instead I'm here at work making notes on the book I hope to write during NaNoWriMo in a few days.

So far, the plotting and the characters are coming together nicely. I had planned on working on my YA partial that I started back in May, but these characters just came to be, begging for their story to be told, ever since I saw this final scene on "I Wanna Be a Soap Star."

Yes, the premise of my new novel was inspired by a reality TV show. And aspects of my own life. Yet, I already know these characters intimately and the scenes that I want to write and the parts of the city where my characters live. In some ways, this book is going to be a valentine to New York City in the fall, and how magical it can be.

But right now, I just want to put my head down on the desk and nap.

Thanks for reading,

EKM