National Novel Writer’s Month…am I in?

So yesterday began National Novel Writer’s Month (NaNoWriMo), which is a kind of awesome idea that I was completely unaware of until this past October. It’s one of those things where you have no idea how you could have missed it because the second you know about it you see it EVERYWHERE. Anyway, you can read more about it by using the link below (since my Mac is still refusing to link for me) in case you are even more behind in the world than I am.

It’s a pretty great idea. In a nutshell you commit to writing a 50,000 word novel in one month, the month of November. The idea being that while you will likely not write the great American novel, you will be a whirling dervish of words and will produce more than ever before, and maybe some of it is salvageable and maybe just maybe gets you over that creative block that so many of us languish under. In addition, if you actually commit through the site there looks to be all sorts of interactive things and motivators and help and advice and everything. I suppose it’s also a good way to make connections with other writers both near and far and there appears to be a sharing of information and novels and critiques. It all sounds pretty good.

I’m not doing it. I thought about it, but was still on the fence when commitment time came. I’m going to think about seriously committing for next year, and in the meantime I am going to try to do it on my own (and in my own way) anyway.

I don’t know that it will be 50,000 words, and it WILL probably be crap, but I’ve been languishing in how to write part II of a trilogy I have in mind, a book called Lola LeFever, which is part two in my trilogy. Part one is written (ironically it is almost exactly 50,000 words) and has been submitted and handily rejected by one agent (just this past September). I have just (last Tuesday) sent out a query on part one to a second agent, which will likely amount to another solid no. But one of these days someone is going to say yes, and then they’re going to look at the epilogue, which sets up a cliffhanger for the second book and say to me, “So Kelly, have you written the second book yet?” I’d like to be able to say yes.

Unfortunately I really set myself up to be screwed here, because Lola LeFever is all told from a villain’s point of view (Lola) and while I think it is a great and kind of radical idea to ask a reader to identify so with the villain, after spending the first book identifying entirely with the hero, it is really difficult for me to write a villain (because I’m so good you see . Anyway, I figure what better way than to just force myself to do it in 30 days…maybe something salvageable will come of it.

What’s the worst that could happen? Seriously…love your thoughts on that…

http://www.nanowrimo.org/