We’re five days into National Novel Writing Month and I’ve got a confession to make: I haven’t been keeping up with it very well. I’ve written a little bit and brainstormed a lot, but I’m nowhere near where I should be in the grand scheme of NaNoWriMo. There are a few reasons (or excuses) for that.
First of all, I spent a long weekend in Houston and didn’t return until Monday afternoon. At that point, I was exhausted and had a lot of unpacking and pictures to go through.
Second, with only a little more than a month before Backstage is released, I’m devoting most of my time and energy into making sure it’s ready to go by December 8. Those of you who’ve published your own books know that that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for much else.
Finally, I’ve been having a difficult time figuring out how I wanted to begin my NaNo book. I think I may have figured it out last night, but I’m still not 100% sure. Sometimes, you can’t force it. You just have to let the words come naturally.
I am, however, SO excited to see so many of my friends and colleagues and total strangers participating in NaNoWriMo this year! It’s a fantastic way to get people writing and to get some fantastic new books out there. It’s also proof to me that the written word is thriving. There are so many rumors and reports and literacy and society’s love of reading being on the decline, but even if they’re true, there is so much love for NaNoWriMo and so much enthusiasm and excitement for reading and writing new books that I can’t help but feel optimistic about my trade and profession. I love books so much. I always have. And it’s so encouraging to see so many others sharing that love.
NaNoWriMo will always hold a special place in my heart, particularly because it gave me the opportunity to write something new, something that I guarantee I would not have written otherwise. Boy Band is the book that was not supposed to exist. And now, here it is, a year later and I’m getting ready to release its sequel. How cool is that?
For those wondering, that little guy in the picture is Simon the NaNo Dragon. He’s my November writing buddy.
Fellow writers and aspiring authors, enjoy your NaNoWriMo experience. Write well. Write what you love. You never know what may come of it. And if you get behind (or if you haven’t started on time – oops!), don’t get discouraged. After all, it took me TWO months to finish Boy Band. All you need to know is that you can do anything. And you will. Just keep writing.
A Platform of Sorts 