I will not be participating in National Novel Writing Month this year. The choice was pretty much made for me by Life. My work and family commitments make the setting aside of the time necessary to write 50,000 words in 30 days impossible to guarantee.  And since I didn’t complete last year’s event either, I decided it was prudent to go ahead and bow out this year, although I do plan on trying to increase my writing output in November, so that I can be on track to publish THE PRINCE OF GRAVES this year.

Now, despite my lack of full engagement, I want to divulge that I owe my first completed manuscript to the NaNoWriMo methodology. Specifically, about two years ago my desire to be a writer met up with Chris Baty’s No Plot? Not Problem! writer’s kit. It turned out to be just the structured motivation I needed. Not only did I finish my manuscript, I became prolific enough to become a Yahoo! News Military Beat Writer (although it’s now been a while since I’ve written anything for Yahoo!).

So although I will miss out on the experience (and I am truly sorry for that), the inspiration and motivation provided by the good people at NaNoWriMo has already had a terrific impact on me, and for that I am grateful. I would highly recommend either joining in on the fun next month, or getting your hands on No Plot? No Problem!

Have a great month, and happy writing!

WE Linde