It's that time of year again where the leaves are changing, people in most of the country don their coats, sweaters, and boots, and everyone prepares for the colder weather by stocking up on firewood, or at least buying a few cans of soup in preparation for foul weather. For some people, November is a time where they don't have to shave for a month. Others spend the latter half of the month preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmastide. Then there's a small group of people who challenge themselves to crank out a novel in just thirty days.
I've always struggled with writing a lot in a short amount of time. Between distractions and my perfectionist tendencies, I've frequently spent a half hour trying to come up with the right word to properly describe a situation. But this year, along with the encouragement of my best friend, essential oils to help stimulate creativity and productivity, and copious quantities of chocolate, coffee, and bourbon, I am eager to overcome all obstacles in my way. My goal this year is to either reach 50,000 words (the typical NaNoWriMo challenge) or finish the novel I started last year, which is currently just shy of 35,000 words. I am estimating the finished product being somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 words, which makes either goal feasible. My daily goal will be approximately one chapter a day, or between 1500 and 2000 words, or a half chapter a day for the longer chapters.
Currently, my Regency heroine, Philippa, has endured the death of her husband and enchanted half the men in the county before she is fully out of mourning. But the Countess' world is about to drastically change as events spin out of control. She finds that her unruly step-son continues to spend recklessly and chooses a bride that threatens the estate's stability even further, and that Napoleon refuses to accept defeat as he returns from his banishment, threatening the entire country. But what becomes of Philippa, the ancient Surrey estate, and her family is a mystery to all but my deranged and devious mind.
For the next month, I'll be positioned, laptop nearby, somewhere between the dining room table, the love seat enjoying the fire, or the bedroom as I cuddle with the cat. So here's to a month of growing piles of laundry and neglected dishes, unswept floors and dusty dressers, empty coffee cups and last minute meals, a lonely husband and limited sleep. And though I may neglect my duties as a housewife for four weeks, I am stimulating my brain and challenging my creativity, which is always a worthwhile endeavor.
