I’m thrilled that it’s November and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has begun. It’s a few days in and I’ve written over 5ooo new words of a new novel.

So, what is NaNoWriMo? The goal is to write 50, 000 words of a new novel in 30 days. Over the past 12 years I’ve participated 10 times and I’ve won all but two of those years.

Winning? Well, there aren’t really any prizes. But, you can earn a certificate of accomplishment and bragging rights. What you do gain is a month of disciplined writing and a bunch of words for a new story.

My work this year is yet another attempt at writing book 2 of my steampunk series. Mildred has been very clear that she’s ready for another book. And, I do love these characters. So, I’m at something of an advantage. I’ve already written 100k words about these folks. But, I’ve been a bit stalled on book 2. So, I’ve actually “thrown out” everything I’ve already written related to the next book in the series and I’m starting a new story from scratch. And, amazing things are already happening.

I’ve always taken NaNo with the general spirit of intention. I don’t plot or plan. On November 1 I open an empty word document, change the settings to novel manuscript, and start writing. I’ll tell you, Chapter two is a lot of telling. And, that’s okay. The goal is to keep the mental editor turned off and just write. It’s freeing. The editing will come later if I create something worthwhile. Last year I won and never opened the document again. I think about it sometime, but the story didn’t even being until around 40,000 words. What came in those 40K words? A character development experience that wasn’t at all satisfying. But, I did discover in the last 1ok words that several of my Broadway series characters who have never interacted actually know each other. And, it’s that relationship that will eventually become book 4 in that series.

Good things happen during NaNoWriMo.

If you decide to write, I’m happy to be your buddy. My NaNo handle is Gak13.