NaNoWriMo 2019: Getting Ready

November starts this Friday, and that means it’s time for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Participants attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript between November 1 and November 30 during this annual, Internet-based creative writing project.

In the past years, I cheered on my writer friends that squirreled away free time to plug at their keyboards in hopes that they would reach their goals. This year, I have decided to dip in my toes and write along with them.

My project will be a complete revision of an earlier premise I had. With a new plot, protagonist, and heaps of research, I hope to make great strides in my daily writing. I am most concerned about getting enough time to write during the day and preventing distractions—squirrels! Hopefully, I can sneak off to a quiet place and fall into the groove of my new book.

Some of the methods I plan to use to keep me on the task will include writing with Scrivener—they have a convenient template for this event and a distraction-free writing environment. I also plan on turning off my phone and notifications while I write. Sorry, Facebook, and Twitter friends. I might not respond to your posts right away.

This writing will be an intriguing challenge for me but will also give me a short break from finishing my editing on Emerson’s Guide to Playing with Sand before I start querying. If I get enough written during NaNoWriMo, I will have something to tide me over while I wait for agent and publisher responses.

I’ll try to keep you abreast of my progress and share any highs and lows with an occasional post. In the meantime, good luck to all you writers embarking on NaNoWriMo 2019. May the words flow and time be in your favor.