November is National Novel Writing Month. If you have never heard of it, go here to check it out. I heard about NaNoWriMo a few years ago, I believe it was 2006, from some writing friends on SparkPeople . At the time, I mostly wrote poetry and considered writing a children’s book, but hadn’t really considered writing a novel. I certainly had not considered writing 50,000 words in 30 days or less, but somehow on November 9 found myself creating a profile and two days later started writing.

Somehow, I won. I met with other wrimos in my town for write-ins, joined in the forums for word wars, and had a great time of it. I met PolarBear60 who turned me on to FMWriters, which really made me look at my writing in a totally different way. Until then, I wrote for me, because I needed it, because I wanted to. I never considered sharing my writing with others. I never considered even trying to get published. But, after that first NaNoWriMo I began to change. My writing changed, both the process and the products. After that first NaNoWriMo I started to challenge myself to write more, to explore different styles, to edit my writing and to share it. This year for the first time I re-wrote one of my novels. I am now in the editing and polishing process and soon it will be in the hands of my beta readers. I have shared some of my poems on g+ and I started this blog. While writing is still something I do for me, it is more than that.

     So, it’s almost November 2014 and I am considering yet another novel. Have you ever thought about writing a book? Do you keep saying that you will do it “one of these days”. Well, one of these days is just around the corner. I’ll be hanging out on g+ with other wrimos sprinting my way toward 50,000 words and another win. I would love to see you there.

Little River Canyon – AL