Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill, Pieter Claesz (1597/1598-1660)
That is the question.
The first time I participated in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, was some fifteen or so years ago.
I was introduced to the challenge by a young friend and member of our Tolkien, or more correctly “Hobbit Hole” fellowship on an Internet political forum. She’s moved on and has become a published author and one of the most prolific writers I’ve ever known.
I’m still here.
True story, do have five completed NaNoWriMo novels. Well, I say completed because I successfully managed to crank out the 50,000 words in one month, not because they’re anything I’d yet want anyone to read. Not yet anyway.
My current novel project is a combination of two of those efforts.
Other unfinished works will, someday, become finished works.
Some. Day.
But today marks the first day of the NaNoWriMo challenge. As of the writing of this post, I have a vague idea of what I’ll write about, but I’m up to taking the challenge.
Fortunately, or not, a work commitment will have me out of town tonight and will place me in a lodging situation where I’ll be both alone and likely without communications with the outside world. Definitely no television. Possibly no Internet.
I can do that, even if it’s a bit of a struggle.
Did I mention wine and a fireplace? I may have left that out.
So assuming that by today I’ve managed to further develop a plot, or a character, or at least a setting, I’ll embark on
The Write Side Shop
this journey.
I can do this, I’ve done it before.
The challenge will be whether I can do it along with my other writing projects and responsibilities.
I think I can.
I’ve set the theatre stuff aside for a while longer (partly because of other writing responsibilities, and because of other commitments), so I won’t be learning lines.
And I realize that the current novel and script may suffer if I focus just on NaNoWriMo.
The important thing is that I’ll still be writing.
Something. Somewhere.
I will let you know the exact moment that I either hit 50,000 words or throw in the towel. Hopefully it will be the former.
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