Heads Up

I mentioned in my post of September 25th here that I would like to participate in NaNoWriMo, but couldn't do it in November because of the upcoming holidays.

My critique partners and I are talking about doing our own version of NaNoWriMo from mid-October to mid-November.

We discussed it again this morning, and it looks like we're going to start on Wednesday, October 10th, and end on Thursday, November 8th.

That means we're making a commitment to write a 50,000-word novel in thirty days. That's 1,667 words a day or a little bit under seven pages a day (double spaced, 12-point font, with one-inch margins). The idea is to focus on output, rather than editing. The editing comes later.

For the past two weeks, I've been working on an outline so that I'm clear on the flow of events and conflicts. I'm hoping that having a roadmap will help me to turn off my internal editor.

If you're interested in joining us, start sharpening your pencils, filling the cupboards with food so that you won't have to waste time shopping and preparing your loved ones to get along without you for thirty days.

When the going gets tough, the tough get writing.