Alright, people. The last few days of October are upon us. That means binge-watching Halloween movies, making those last minute costume adjustments, and counting down the minutes until all the candy goes on sale.
For writers, however, it also means that we are a mere 36 hours away from National Novel Writing Month.
I’ll be honest with you. I never really understood the idea of scampering to write a novel in 30 days. I thought, if it’s meant to happen, it will. Like relationships, you can’t push your craft. For a lot of us, National Novel Writing Month is every month. However, not every month has it’s own movement, own website, own army, really, of writers willing to take the plunge and risk it all.
Before, I really didn’t like the idea of being timed. I didn’t like the idea of following a trend (I’m kind of a rebel like that). I don’t like anything to be forced. I really like doing my own thing, dancing to my own beat, and not being pressured or influenced. But the more I thought about it this year and the more people I talked to, the more I thought, hey, this actually sounds like a lot of fun. I’d also recently had an idea for a YA novel that I would probably be putting off forever had I not been talked into NaNoWriMo.
I’ve got to tell you, I am super stoked to be participating this year. It gives me something to talk about with friends and it gives me a brand new community to be a part of! All of us are offering each other encouragement and I just love that. I will say, however, that I am not telling a soul my super secret pen name. I have a number of reasons for this.
First, I’m afraid of failure. I think everyone is on some level, but I’m so afraid of it that I usually don’t even tell people I’m attempting something until I know it’s not going to fail. For example, I didn’t tell anyone that I actually know (apart from family and very close friends) that I’d written Cemetery Tours until a few weeks before it was released! No one knew that I’d been working on a book for over a year. Everyone was shocked, because usually I’m a huge blabbermouth. I like to share and tell people things. Of course I do! I’m a writer! But this is another one of those unsure projects, and if I fail, I don’t want anyone to know.
Secondly, the book I’m writing is Young Adult and let me tell you, it is not a ghost story. It’s not even a little scary. It’s pure fluff. I’m pretty sure if a lot of my readers (heck, a lot of my friends) knew what I was writing, they’d roll their eyes and go, “Seriously!? Are you kidding me?!” My school would probably demand my Master’s degree back. It is that silly. But I’m kind of loving it. It’s pure guilty pleasure.
Are you doing NaNoWriMo this November? Sound off in the comments section!
In other news, Cemetery Tours 3 is still moving right along. I still don’t know when I’ll have a release date for it, but I’m really enjoying writing it. I really hope readers enjoy it as much as the first two. Again, it’s different, but I think it’s a good different.
Speaking of Cemetery Tours, I’m going to be participating in a friend’s book release anniversary celebration. There will be giveaways and Q&As and lots of other cool stuff! You should check it out here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1481550198784895/?sid_reminder=8758610241320386560
Finally, and I can’t believe I forgot to share this with y’all earlier, but I wanted to let you know that MY SISTER is going to be performing in Lubbock’s Moonlight Musical’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS! She’s one of 8 Tech students asked to participate in the production. It’s a HUGE honor for her. She got to sign a contract and everything.
The production features mostly professional and equity actors including Ken Page (the ORIGINAL Old Deuteronomy on Broadway and the DVD and the voice of the antagonist in The Nightmare Before Christmas whose name I don’t know) and a little YouTube star named Todrick Hall. I am so jealous that she gets to work with these amazing and awesome actors, but I’m hoping that since I’m family, maybe I can get a picture with them! Anyway, I am so, so, so, SO proud of her and I can’t wait to see the show! Here’s an article about it: http://lubbockonline.com/entertainment/2014-10-15/moonlight-musicals-production-cats-using-more-professionals#.VFB_QUJRHzI
A Platform of Sorts 