Introduction
Hello, my friends! I have come to make an announcement regarding the month of November.
There will be no book reviews.
The whole month.
“Le gasp!” you say. “Why?!” you say. I have my reasons, and I’m about to give them, so just hold your horses. Unless you are instead riding a pony, to which I say, “Good luck.” (I’ve never fallen off a horse in my life. However, I have fallen off ponies so many times that I’ve lost track. So rather than holding your pony, I would suggest holding on to your pony and praying for your life.)
I do apologize for the lack of book reviews. Technically, I will still release one review to make up for the one I didn’t release last Friday. (Things got crazy. Almost as crazy as riding a pony.) However, I will be unable to focus on book reviews or even reading this November. Instead, I will be prioritizing something else across the month of November–NaNoWriMo.
What Is NaNoWriMo?
If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard of NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo is a challenge over the course of November. The goal? To write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.
It’s a crazy flood of words that keeps on pouring until you wonder if you can even write one more word. Yet you keep pushing. Keep persevering until you wrap your hands around the prize. Until you see the progress bar finally fill up. It’s a wonderful feeling to finally finish. To type those blessed words, The End.
My Choice Regarding NaNoWriMo
Now, I am aware of the recent controversy over NaNoWriMo and the debates whether or not to participate. I struggled over this decision myself. For weeks. But in the end, I chose to do NaNoWriMo again. It felt as though God were prodding me to do this. Why?
Because last year was the first time I participated in NaNoWriMo, and the results were astonishing. This slow, unmotivated, struggling writer was suddenly faced with a deadline and a goal. I wrote like a whirlwind.
50,000 words in one month! After years of struggle, I had finally finished the first draft of my novel. Now, one year later, I am halfway through the second draft of a story that took two and a half years just to get on paper the first time. And guess how many more words I need?
That’s right. 50,000 on the dot.
Also, although I have been consistently writing 1,000 words for months, in the past few weeks, I have begun to taper off. School is a constant presence. Work takes up the time schoolwork doesn’t, and I’ve suddenly become very, very tired. My writing slowly trickled away until I wrote next to nothing for a couple weeks straight.
In the past few days, I have been slowly building back up to 1,000. Yesterday was the record–I wrote 800 words. I hate that this is my new “high,” but these are my circumstances and I must accept that right now, school and work are my priorities. I have to work for the consistency that came so easily before.
On the plus side, I now have the money I need for marketing and writing! I’m purchasing my own laptop today–so I don’t have to keep stealing my dad’s–and I’ve been buying all the writing craft books I needed before. I especially recommend Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes by Carla Hoch! It’s very illuminating and just plain intriguing besides that. I can’t wait to write the big fight scene in Sons of Starborn using my new knowledge.
Conclusion
All to say that as of now, the only things I will be posting are writing updates, and the next chapter of Monarchy and Mayhem. That means no book reviews, and no December chapter of Monarchy and Mayhem (since I would usually have used November to write and edit the next scene). If all goes well. I may not post anything and instead focus my entire effort on NaNoWriMo. We’ll see how things go. Wish me luck, and watch out for ponies!
Until next time,
Astor
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