 |
| Photograph by Andrea Allen |
So...a friend talked me into giving NaNoWriMo a chance this year. And I have to say, that I am exceedingly nervous. For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Its a challenge put forth by various sponsors to write a 175-page, 50,000 word novel from November 1st to November 30th. Its a seat-of-your-pants approach designed to get the words on the page...no editing allowed. Yikes!
For anyone interested in joining or learning more about it. Andrew over at The Write Runner did a fabulous post yesterday all about it. He even has a countdown clock and everything.
Now, writing by-the-seat-of-my-pants is the EXACT OPPOSITE of the way I go about writing a book. I am a planner. A list-making, outline-constructing, plot-blocking fool and the thought of just...writing is sort of putting me on edge here. You see, they SAY that joining gives you permission to "Write With Abandon", but that probably doesn't take into consideration the incredible depth of my control issues.
So...I am going to work on my Snowflake program during the month of September and October...really plot out where I want this book to go, and THEN...I can write with, you know, semi-abandon.
You see this book, Bayou Blue, is the third in a series of Romantic Suspense novels that I'm looking to publish for the Christian market. The series is called Shades of Hope, and I truly hope to find a home for them soon. The first two are complete and delivered so getting this one done will put a nice feather in my cap.
In December I want to begin converting my Intelli-Trace series to screenplay...a task that looms over my head like a black cloud roiling with lightning. A huge task, yes. I am currently studying how to format and write a screenplay and its VERY different than writing fiction. Its going to be a wonderful and terrible challenge.
For now, I am constructing my NaNoWriMo profile page, putting my synopsis and what not in the novel description section, and begging people to join and be my writing buddies. Oh, and I got a nifty word counter all ready and on my side-bar. Pretty, yes?
I encourage you all to join in on the fun and "abandon" during the month of November. Though you may not go about writing in the seat-of-your-pants manner normally, its said to do wonders for those that give it a go. I'm willing to try...what about you?
Until next time...Go Write!