NaNoWriMo is here!

It’s November and NaNoWriMo is here!

So this is National Novel Writing Month, a special treat for writers to challenge themselves to write a 50,000 word book manuscript in a month, on average 1600 words per day.

I admire those who can, but I could never pull it off. When I’m not writing, I’m a busy stay-at-home wife with lots of responsibilities at home. I don’t have the time to write that much.

Part of those responsibilities include cooking and baking. A fun energy had me interested in making sugar cookies, the type you roll out and might cut into shapes. These are my latest toys. Here is the result of the latest batch, thanks to a recipe I’ve been fine tuning, and food coloring I’ve been experimenting with.

The tiny cookies are the samples. When I was a girl watching my mom and aunt bake, they’d always have the cakes they made and a sample to try out. My samples are the leftover dough when I didn’t have enough dough for using another cookie cutter. It’s just easier to roll up the pieces and have them bake on the sheet.

Returning to writing, although I can’t manage 50,000 words in a month, I can pull off 50,000 words in three months.

I just finished on Saturday October 30, my latest manuscript which I began on August 1, a first draft.

After this, I’ll get into the revisions, but I have another manuscript that I finished earlier this year that’s already in the first round of the revision process. I should submit the last of the chapters soon, but I really have to go back and revisit a few chapters that need not just editing but a thorough rewriting as part of the revision process.

My goal is to write two manuscripts per year. I began writing the current manuscript I’m revising sometime last December, I believe, and my goal was to have another manuscript done by then. I beat my deadline by one to two months, I’m glad to say.

I could have started the latest manuscript by September, but I wanted more leeway in case anything cropped up, so August it was.

How did I do it? Writing sprints have become my friend. My phone has a timer on it. I set it for at least one hour per day. If I have more time, I take shorter sprints of about half an hour. That can mean as much as two hours of writing spaced out during the course of the day. Each sprint is a solid stretch of uninterrupted time to write. If I need breaks, I stop the clock.

I have ideas for the next project, but I’m entering my off season of writing. That off season is for editing, revising, taking classes, and even writing in a different genre.

Another new thing I’ve started is to undertake an internet and computer fast at least one day in the week. I couldn’t believe how much more I got done. I was able to read more.

Here are some of the books I read.