It's November, and that means we're into National Novel Writing Month, an annual event where writers aim to complete 50,000 words in 30 days (averaging 1667 per day).

Sounds ridiculous, right? Why would anyone who isn't a full-time author put this kind of pressure on themselves?

I don't know. But I've done it for five years and I'm doing it again.

This year already feels different though. Little has changed in my life, but I'm less driven this year. I'm still a full-time teacher, a full-time mom, and editing upcoming releases just like other years, but I feel less prepared and less organized (which, as a 'pantser' who writes with nothing but an endgame is weird).

The only difference is COVID19. We're 20 months in and I'm tired of the extra work. It's in small things I don't notice every day, but it's there.

It's in the masks we have to wash and stock for five people plus 23 students. It's in the sanitizer we stock and continually remind the kids to use. It's in the shopping where I scan for those consistently low-stocked items like Alfredo sauce. It's in the stops for gas and procedures for medical appointments. It's in the daily health checks and emails.

Each of these steals another minute from my already busy day and takes up real estate in my head.

So why push myself for NaNoWriMo?

I. Don't. Know.

But I do know I wrote Redemption in November 2016 and I wrote Junkyard Dog in 2017. I finished The Haunt Vault 6 (Junction, Louis's story) in 2018, Lust Inc. in 2019, and Breaking Birch in 2020 (you're gonna love this series).

So I'm going to do it. Maybe I won't hit the full 50,000 this year, but I'll aim for it once again because I know it can be done.

Besides, it's Boy's story I'm working on and I owe it to my mom to finish it sometime before hell freezes over.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08VHJZ5Q2/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_b08vhjz5q2
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07WRT7SKH/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_b07wrt7skh

 This free site is ad-supported. Learn more
​