I have had one nonfiction book published and I've written two others that should be out in the next several months. But fiction is my passion. I love to read it and it's a blast to write. I've written two novels (neither of which are published) and I've had an idea for another one for more than a year, but it's been hard to justify setting aside the time to write it.
First-time novelists must write the entire book before a publisher will consider it—unlike nonfiction books which are sold to publishing houses with a book proposal and written after a contract has been signed. I make a living from my writing, so I can't set aside large amounts of time for a project for which I might never be paid.
With all of that said, I think I've found a good compromise—National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel in 30 days—from November 1 to November 30. Once a person registers, you can log your progress on the website each day and it'll tell you exactly where you stand regarding the goal. My novel will be longer than 50,000 words, but if I were able to write that many words in one month, then I'd be well on my way to getting it done by the end of the year.
National Novel Writing Month is mostly designed for "seat of the pants" novelists—those writers who don't use intricate character development charts or story outlines. They like to let the story unfold in front of them. Since I write for newspapers, I've learned to write much quicker that I used to and while I don't think I'll ever really be a seat of the pants novelist, I already have characters in mind for my novel and I have a good idea about where I want to take them.
So I signed up for the National Novel Writing Month challenge and I'm ready to go. Will I be able to follow through? I have no idea. But it'll be fun trying. If you've ever thought about writing a novel, maybe now would be a good time to stop thinking and talking about writing it and actually do it.
