NaNoWriMo

I started several posts today, and they reminded me of vaguebooking, those posts on Facebook that suggest something is wrong without being able to come out and say something’s wrong. If you’ve noticed something strange, text me. I just reset my phone, so I think we’re safe from NSA. Maybe.

So, instead of vaguebooking, let’s talk about the biggest writerly event of the year: National Novel Writing Month. And how I’m probably not going to do it, even though I just had the best idea for a new novel. It came to me in the shower this morning. I thought about taking a trip to see a Native American burial ground, and then this idea popped in my head like, “No, you will NOT go hiking. You must WRITE!”

The things I do for my craft…

As I said, I have this great novel idea. I’m going to flesh it out today with an outline from Libbie Hawker’s Take Off Your Pants. Then, I’m going to work on Breaking All the Rules, because I outlined it this week, and there are some really cool opportunities I missed when I started writing THE SEX and kinda forgot about plot. (Marie-Anne, I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!)

Getting back to NaNoWriMo: I’ve participated seven times, and won it four times. Each win was a different elf book. What can I say? I love writing about my elves.

I won’t do it again without an outline. Outlines are key to successful writing.

I may be asking some of you to review my outline to make sure it doesn’t suck. What good is writing to an outline if it sucks? My goal for November is to write as much of the first draft as I can. As long as it doesn’t suck, I’m okay with that.