Today is one of those days when I have to admit I can’t do it all. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) starts on Sunday. For the second time in my life, I will be trying to write 50,000 words in 30 days or less. The first time I participated in 2013, my goal was to break through the fear that had me writing chapter one over and over for a decade. I succeeded in producing a bad first draft then began the arduous task of editing while researching poker history for details to enliven the good ideas squashed between all the muck.
This February, approximately one year into the editing process, an idea hit me which changed everything. I decided the entire setting was wrong as a new world came into view. To my surprise, I became excited to scrap everything I’d written thus far and start anew. Not too surprisingly, that’s been easier to conceive than to do. So, I gave myself a deadline – NaNoWriMo. I have three days to finish sketching my plot, ponder character motivations, and paint the details of the world where it all takes place. Sunday, the next draft begins.
It’s time for me to focus. I will post sporadic updates on Facebook and Twitter, but, for the most part, I will be immersed in writing my novel until December. Until then…
Rachel Hoyt 