For those of you who are unaware, November is National Novel Writing Month. Several hundred thousand insane people from all over the world take up the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of November. It is a frustrating, exhausting, task that is also exhilarating and fun. This is the third year that I have taken on this assignment, and I am happy to report that I am 30,000 words into a story whose worth is questionable. In 2007, I wrote a murder mystery featuring my ex-fiancé as the victim, and last year was a coming of age piece. This year, the jury is still out as to just what kind of a story I am writing. I may not know just what it is yet, but I am about two-thirds of the way to the finish line.
This past Sunday, the 15th, was the halfway point in the month, and we had a little support group gathering at Boswell Book Company for local Nano authors. Rochelle Melander, a writing coach who is partnering with us this year, was present to offer helpful tips for avoiding writers’ block. We were also fortunate enough to have a guest author from Chicago, Libby Fischer Hellmann. Ms. Hellmann writes crime fiction and her latest book, Doubleback, was chosen by the Great Lakes Bookseller Association as one of their Fall 2009 “Great Lakes, Great Reads!” She offered useful guidelines for structuring chapters and keeping readers enthralled. Many thanks to Rochelle and Libby for donating your time and expertise.
~Sharon
This blog posting was authored by Sharon, but technical difficulties prevented her posting of it. Pay no mind to my name below.
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