What the heck is NaNoWriMo? And is that why this blog has been quiet?

Answer #1. NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month, which lasts from November 1st through November 30th. Or, as they plug it on their wonderfully inspiring website, “30 days and nights of literary abandon!” (Yes, they include the exclamation point.) The idea behind NaNoWri is to write a novel — 50,000 words — in a month. Thousands of people join together in this collective writing marathon.

Answer #2: Yes — that’s why few blog posts this month. I’m using NaNoWriMo* to force me into writing the first draft of a novel which I’ve been mulling over. The only thing I can say right now about the novel is that it’s historical fiction, explores two separate time periods, and is mildly revisionist/feminist. Oh, it’s also not set in Venice, as The Lover’s Path was.

And yes, I am officially out of my mind, with everything else going on here. I already have another book underway, new iPhone apps in development, a gallery to run, and a daughter to raise.

But, as NaNoWriMo asks, if not now, when?

So new blog posts will be coming soon — December 1st is around the corner, which is when NaNoWriMo ends. After that, I’ll hopefully have a *very* rough draft of a novel that I can edit and expand as I see fit.

I hope you’ll wish me luck at reaching my 50,000 words! Right now, I’m up to about 33,000. Between holidays and travels and so on, this is going to be a squeaker of a finish. If I can get in 3,000 words a day, I should be able to do it. Since I’m of a decidedly non-athletic bent, this is as close to a marathon as I’ll probably ever get.

And, on a related note, I wish my U.S. readers a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I know that this has been a complex year for a lot of us, but there’s still much to be grateful for.

See you all at the finish line!

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*If any of you are also doing NaNoWriMo, please feel free to buddy with me. My user name is artandwords — you can also check my word count progress there!

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