NaNoWriMo

Hey, everyone. In case you didn't know, November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo--I know the acronym doesn't make sense, but bear with me). This is about the most fun and extravagant month of the year. Where most people would embark on foolish endeavors such as Christmas shopping and getting sufficient sleep, over 100,000 people will be writing a novel in a month.

I want each and every one of you to at least sign up and try your hand at NaNoWriMo, even if you don't think you're a writer. It's great fun, especially if you can hook up with people in your area and get together in a write-in.

Go to www.nanowrimo.org to sign up. It's simple--50,000 words, 30 days. 1667 words/day. You could probably land that in about an hour a day. Trust me--it's not as terrible as you think it is.

This will be my third year participating, and if you live in the Anderson area, we're meeting for the first write-in on Sunday from 1:30-4:30 at Anderson Public Library's Carnegie Room on the third floor.

Hope to see you all on the front lines of NaNo! Remember, novels like Water for Elephants and my own Double Life were written as NaNoWriMo novels, so just because you wrote them in a month doesn't necessarily lower the quality. Good luck!

Dawson

Post #50

If you have read each and every post on this blog, I commend you for plowing through.

Today I would like to talk about the wonders of publication.

Really, nothing is more satisfying to me than to talk to people who have read my book (some of whom have way more enthusiasm about it than I do). But it's not reviewers on Amazon (who are adults) that I take joy in talking to. It's the people my book is targeted at, the elementary, middle, and high school students who have gotten joy and delight from my novel.

But as I go once again into the publishing process, I remember what it was like last year. If you've gone the twisty, brambly, pothole-filled road of publishing before you know it's a tiresome process. As I begin to do that for Terminal Velocity, the one thing that has kept me excited is that people will read the second book and have tons of questions. I can't wait to talk to them.

If you're on that same treacherous path, then look forward more than anything to talking to the audience. That is the time you will have the most fun with, and it only comes with the process of publication.

This also goes out to those who don't wish to ever publish--you're missing out on the audience's reaction. It's a great part of writing, and it also can influence future books.

That's all I wanted to say today. Pick up a piece of cake for the 50th Post. Or just go to Walmart and buy a cake all for yourself--I don't ship cake to anywhere but my mouth.

Dawson