NaNoWriMo is Here!

As I’ve said in the past, I’m a writer. For many writers, the month of November has particular significance. It is National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo, for short. I’m not sure if NaNoWriMo started before November was declared as National Novel Writing Month or if that’s why Chris Baty and others chose November for their experiment. However it started, NaNoWriMo has grown into an international event. During this month, writers from all over the world attempt to “write a novel in a month,” or, to be more specific, to write 50,000 words during the month.. Why? To say they did it, of course! Oh, and maybe for the winner’s logo they get to download from NaNoWriMo.org. :)

Anyone can be a winner. All they have to do is write 50,000 words on their novel during the month of November. Truth be told, they could just pretend to write that many words, trick the word counter (which really does only count words) and get a winner’s logo. Why bother, though? There are no monetary awards (unless the novelist sells the book to a publisher) and the bragging rights won are pretty hollow if won through cheating.

I’m one of tens of thousands of writers who attempt this heroic feat. I’ve participated for three years, this will be my fourth. I won (meaning I wrote 50,000+ words) in 2005 and plan to win again this year! You can watch my progress at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/34061.

. . . . Here again!

There is an old proverb that states it doesn’t matter how often you stumble and fall as long as you get up one time more than you fall. My first attempt at blogging fizzled, but I’m here to try again.

I’m Stephanie Shackelford and this last year has been full!

I moved twice during that time, once from out of country, then a few months later to a different area on the other coast. I wasted no time getting involved in both those areas while there. That accounts for some of the reasons for not writing consistently in this blog. Truth be told, though, there is a small voice inside me that keeps insisting that, while I could patter on about all kinds of things, surely I don’t have anything of significance to write about. So why bother?

I’m an aspiring novelist, though. Someday soon I hope to be a published one. I want to connect with those, hopefully many, people who read my stories. One of the best ways to do that is a blog. It is also touted as a sound marketing step by numerous other authors and their publicists. If there are people who will want to read my books, it seems reasonable that many of them might also want to know a little about the author. So putting my ramblings up on the Web for all to read might not be so arrogant after all. Even if it is, I’m ignoring that voice and listening to the one urging me to “Get up and get busy!” Hope to see many more here soon.