IWSG: What about NaNoWriMo? Should I? Shouldn't I?

Yes, it's first of the month, kicking off an event and a deeplly appreciated connection to that writing community known as The Insecure Writer's Support Group.

First, heads up about that Zoom event on November 1. Linda Bond, of Auntie's Bookstore fame here in Spokane, will be interviewing me about writing and Mothers Don't Die on Wednesday, November 1st, at 2pm. You can e-mail Linda at auntiesbooks@gmail.com to have the Zoom link sent to you. I am excited to be a part of this Local Authors Book Club, and looking forward to many future such events for our local authors. 

This month's challenge prompt from the Insecure Writer's Support Group is right on schedule! November 1 begins National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

The short answer is, Yes. Since 2008, NaNoWriMo has kickstarted my writing with challenges in November (drafting), and April (revising). I love being able to set my own writing goals.

Just a little background: I worked my way through college, found jobs in international banking (San Francisco and Los Angeles), corporate consulting (Philadelphia), and teaching (Oregon), always writing "between." Now retired, I combine indie writing with traveling anywhere my stories take me.

Thanks to the jumpstart that NaNoWriMo inspires, my four-volume family saga/historical fiction set in mid-19th Century is now complete: Standing Stones (Scotland), Years of Stone (Tasmania, Australia), Rivers of Stone (Canada), and Scattered Stones (back in Scotland at readers' requests). The Seventh Tapestry, my first art crime mystery, also kickstarted on NaNoWriMo, is now available on Amazon as well.

This year's project, Unleashed Pursuit, began with a dream about a woman police officer on the run who's befriended by a golden retriever. I'm about 20K into the rough draft and hoping to get close to doubling my current word count.

And that's just one of the reasons I'm a fan of NaNoWriMo. If you want to write 50,000 words in one month, that's 1,500 words a day. For me, that's a giant reach, as I usually write between 300-600 words/day. But, with NaNoWriMo, you can set your own goals. For this year, my commitment is 500 words a day. That's 15,000 new words by the end of the month, something to celebrate! 

You can find out more info directly at  NaNoWriMo

You can set up a free account on Nano's website to track your word count every day (another incentive), earn badges, connect with other writers, and even participate in F2F or online write-ins. 

The most important part of this writing month is the commitment you make to yourself about what project you want to work on and how much progress you want to make. 

If you are new to NaNo, jump right in. Have fun and just maybe you'll be surprised by how much you write this November!

Similar to NaNoWriMo, The Insecure Writer's Support Group is another online community that supports us all on our writing journey. All that is asked is to post your IWSG post on the first Wednesday of the month. You may choose (as I have done) to answer the question-of-the-month. Then, read what others have written. IWSG suggests trying for 12 new folks each month. I really enjoy finding out what other writers are up to, especially now that the winter temps have come early (22F last night). 

You might start by visiting (and thanking) the hosts for November: PJ Colando, Jean Davis, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diedre Knight! If you are active on social media, the IWSG Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Happy Halloween! Happy IWSG Day, November 1, and may your writing go well!

NOTE: If you sign up for my occasional newsletter (sent out about once a month), you'll receive a free copy of SNAPSHOT, a mash-up of very short fiction drawn from science fiction, historical fiction, memoir, and coming of age. You can click on the SIGNUP at the side of this page or HERE to sign up (and, yes, you can unsubscribe at any time).