It's That Time Again!

I can't believe it, but we are in the less-than-thirty-days countdown to the 2009 NaNoWriMo!

As I look back at this wimpy blog of mine, I can only offer up this excuse - I've actually been doing real writing for the last six months! It has been one of the most exciting times of my life!

When I went to the OBX in June, I carried along a stack of books to read and my laptop to (hopefully) write. My granddaughters are avid readers and had brought books, as well. The eleven year old is a huge fan of anything fantasy. Fairies, dragons, elves, if it has 'em, she'll devour it. It's even better if it is part of a series! Her friends, I found out, are the same; they even have their own fantasy book club.

Yet, I was totally unprepared for what happened the first day as I sat on the beach. As I relaxed in my beach chair and watched her and her sister cavort in the surf, ideas started to float around me. They came thick and fast, and suddenly an entire storyline fell into place - with that same granddaughter as the main character - or at least a version of her.

I quickly reached into my beach bag for my little idea notebook and a pen. Any of you that write will understand how important it was to get the essence of the inspiration down as quickly and clearly as possible. I scribbled and scribbled; first a rough idea, then a simple outline, a few highlights, some brief character sketches and the working title. Whew. When that happens to a writer - it's almost like a high - a writer's high.

During the next two weeks I did very little reading. I bought a larger notebook and each day, while sitting on the beach, I wrote and wrote. Each night I transcribed the handwritten pages onto my laptop. In those two weeks I wrote approximately 30,000 words, and that alone proved to me that, with available time, I can be a successful writer. (Successful meaning that I can formulate an idea, flesh it out, and actually tell an interesting story on paper!)

Since then, I have continually worked on the manuscript. The story has expanded a little, gained a nice amount of flesh, but the storyline is virtually the same as the original outline I jotted down at the beach. The story was obvious in its bent as a YA novel, so that is the direction I went, although I've never attempted that genre. My granddaughter has been helpful along the way - I've asked her numerous questions about how she would react in certain situations - or what would a girl her age think of such and such. When the manuscript is ready, I am going to turn it over to her book club friends and see what they think!

My current dilemma is - do I continue to work on this book during NaNoWriMo, or do I start another? I think my answer will be to set a goal of an "additional" 50,000 words for this book during the month of November. Things are going so well on it - and I've recently done a lot of research for some of the meat of the book - that I can't imagine putting it aside and losing the momentum.

So, continue it is. Onward into the fog! And for all you other WriMo folks out there - happy writing and flashes of brilliance next month!