National Novel Writing Month
We’re in the international month of goal-oriented novel writing called National Novel Writing Month, or as some of us veterans call it, NaNoWriMo. I’m not in a place to race into the many words of a new novel. I’m working toward finishing edits on my next, Undoing Time, the story of a privileged young woman who winds up time traveling as a spy for the American Revolution, with the help of a sexy fellow time traveler, though he might turn out to be working for the other side. It’s a blend of paranormal romance, science fiction, and historical fantasy.
Undoing Time is a sequel to The Time Gatherer, Book 3 in the Timegathering Series.
What’s Next From My Desk — Your Vote Counts!
I’m also dreaming about writing something new. It might be about a famous 19th century author who becomes a time traveler. Or it might be a sequel to my novel The Invisibles. The story of two very different sisters who inherit a haunted cottage on the coast of Italy ended with the discovery that they have a lost brother, an illegitimate child who was adopted anonymously away from their family. The sisters want to find Baby Boy — and he may want to find them — but what would happen when the ghost of the poet who inhabits their family house finds Baby Boy (Sebastian) first?
Question: If you’re a reader of my stories, which would you encourage me to tackle first? Write and let me know —
Jane Austen, Time Traveler or Finding Sebastian
Cheering You NaNoWriMo Participants!
For those who are racing to put 50,000 words on pages during NaNoWriMo month, God speed! I am cheering you on. This November marathon was how The Invisibles was born. I’m doing my own rebel version, editing or outlining every day, and counting nothing, no pages or hours. But I’m joining in a few writing sprints with pals and happy to imagine the tapping of many keys across the literary landscape.
National Novel Writing Month, which was born here in the San Francisco Bay Area, does many good things. For me, chief among them is to create community for those who team up or simply motivate each other. The very best thing I got from NaNoWriMo was a daily writing practice that is my joy.
More about NaNo here.
There’s no way to count words of hours for researching a novel. All of my stories involve history, which fascinates me. Currently, I’m reading about Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt and how the field of Egyptology arose from it. This relates to the Jane Austen time traveling idea. But like all research, it threatens to overwhelm the writing. History is fascinating, and endless.
National Geographic has a good article on this too.