Tuesday, November 1, 2016

NaNoWriMo Begins!

For years I wanted to write a novel. I had several stories in my head just begging to be written down, but I typically only wrote when I really felt like it, and I almost always gave priority to other things. Because of this, I often took long breaks from writing, and when I returned to a story, I’d find it needed so much improvement that I’d spend my time editing or rewriting what I already had, and I’d hardly make any forward progress at all.

Then came last November. I’d heard of NaNoWriMo and thought it sounded like a fantastic idea. Knowing myself, I didn’t make any grand pledges of finishing a novel in a month or even reaching a certain word count each day, but I decided to use that month to make writing my priority. I pushed aside all other hobbies and wrote as often as I could. I also forced myself to break my cycle of editing and rewriting, and forged my way through the story, finally getting beyond the opening chapters. Thanks to that, I developed the habits and mindset necessary to finally finish a novel.

Here I am, one year later, on the cusp of releasing that novel. I have a proof of the book on the way, and depending how many tweaks the cover design needs, I’m hoping I can have it released by the end of this month (or December at the latest, but I promise it won’t be long now!). Since I’m still getting the final details taken care of, I won’t be participating in NaNoWriMo this month, but I wanted to give a shout out to the writing project that finally got me to accomplish my goal, and to encourage those who are thinking of participating this year. It has been a great experience! If you’ve always wanted to write a novel, consider this a fantastic time to start.


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