NaNoWriMo Changes Everything

Eleven months out of the year my novel writing takes a back seat to seemingly everything else in my life. I don’t have a signed contract with a publisher to give me a good excuse to say “No, I can’t to that right now, I’ve got a deadline.” And, if I’m honest, sometimes I’m lazy and don’t want to put in the hard work. If you are like me, I’ve got exciting news for you….

NaNoWriMo changes everything.

This is the month that your novel is pushed to the top of the priority list and you crank it out. You will develop some new writing routines. The kids will learn some independence. Your spouse will survive without you. The house can always be cleaned later. Fast or frozen food can be quite tasty (or think: breakfast—it’s the new dinner.) You don’t have to answer the phone…um, maybe keep a blog so friends and family know you’re still alive.

Backstory:

NaNo 2006. Stephanie has been taking the NaNo Challenge for a few years now. She first mentioned it to me in 2006. Back then I could only find time for writing baby scrapbooks and family journals. I decided it was time to give novels a go. I didn’t even look at the website to see what the deal was, I just made an effort to do more fiction writing that month. I ended up with a story that, by the time I reached the end, had a serious logic flaw. But it was fun to write and primed me for NaNo 2007.

NaNo 2007. Both Kitty and Stephanie are gung-ho. I’m interested, but leery of the 50,000 words. They post their words to the website. I, again, never visit the website, but I tell my writing friends my word count. This time, I end up with a story that I like enough to spend the rest of the year rewriting until it’s ready to send out to agents.

NaNo 2008. Okay, I’m in. Really in. NaNo has become a big part of my writing routine. If I can write a new novel every November, polish it off the rest of the year, then submit it for publication every October….sigh, let me dream a little here. Sounds good to me.

And just to prove to everyone just how “in” I’m in—here’s my NaNo ID: kidswriter. Yes, I signed up for real this year. Search for me under the authors tab and add me to your buddies list.

Feel free to leave your NaNo ID in the comments section if you’d like us to add you to our buddies list too! It’ll be fun to cheer each other on.