How about we talk about something else. Can you tell I'm uncomfortable with this topic? Yup.
Instead, let's talk about NaNoWriMo. That would be National Novel Writing Month, for anyone who hasn't seen that acronym. Here's what the official site has to say about the whole thing:
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.
And I plan on doing it. I haven't written anything substantial since August 2013. That's over a year of having ideas bounce around in my head, maybe writing down the general concept, sketching out a few characters, then abandon them in Google Drive somewhere. I've missed the rush of developing a story, falling in love with my characters, and seeing them through to "The End". It doesn't matter that I haven't done anything with the two novels I've written; at least they are finished and have the option to be edited or turned into something else.
For NaNo, I have a new concept in mind for my story. I am actually trying something new by plotting out where I want the story to go before I start writing. I'm normally a "write whatever pops into your head" person, which can lead to plot issues and the story wanting to end itself way before you do. I figure getting prepped before NaNoWriMo starts is a good plan.
I imagine that devoting a month to intense writing will mean I all but abandon this blog again. It's been good to get on here every day (or so) and pump out a few posts answering prompts. I haven't had much original content sans prompts though, which looks bleak for future posting. Hopefully I'll find inspiration and motivation to blog while I'm crazy busy writing for NaNoWriMo.
Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? How did it go? What did you learn, and how did you approach the crazy month of writing a novel?