Do You Have a Book in You?

Next month, along with thousands of other writers, I will be attempting to write a complete novel for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). In order for me to accomplish this goal, I will need to double my daily writing output from 1,000 to 2,000 words. While this is a challenge, it’s not impossible; I do hope my friends and family will forgive my absence over the coming weeks, though. I hope to pop my head up for a few days around Thanksgiving.

This morning I was thinking about all the people I’ve known over the years who told me they had a novel in them. If you are one of those people, now is the time to prove to yourself and everyone around you that you do: sign up for the NaNoWriMo challenge. Put your effort where your mouth is. Don’t think about the 50K word goal – just write every day for a month and see where you are at the end. NaNoWriMo offers a multitude of peer groups to join; if you need even more support, I highly recommend joining the Book Junkies on Facebook.

From my personal experience, I can honestly say that writing one book has the potential to open your creative floodgates. It took me six months to write The Thief of Todays and Tomorrows. Before I was done with it, though, I had ideas for several more novels. My NaNoWriMo novel will be my eighth book and I’m sitting on at least six more plots.

Stop telling me you have a novel in you – write it down and share it with the world.