In a few days it will be that time again. That time when my friends will wonder if I’ve fallen off the face of the earth and my husband will be grumpy because I am not spending enough time with him. That time we call…NaNoWriMo.

For those of you unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and–despite being called “national” it’s actually a global phenomenon. The goal? Write a 50,000+ word novel between 1 and 30 November. The prize? There is none–this is all about staying motivated and encouraging others to reach their goal while you reach yours. So if you think you have a book inside you, why not give NaNoWriMo a try? Just think how pleased you’ll be when you write “The End”. And this gives you a good excuse to be anti-social for a while. 😉

This is going to be the ninth time I embark on NaNoWriMo, and I hope I finish on time. I’ve got a busy November ahead, so I will have to pace myself and make sure I finish my 1650 words/day. My novel this year will be entitled Near Enough to Hold. I have two very different story ideas swirling around in my mind, but I think I have a pretty good idea which of them I will write. And as always, I will post rough and very unedited chapters here, so you’ll be able to follow my progress.

I also made a mock-up of a cover to help me stay motivated. No, this isn’t the final cover. I don’t own the rights to this image. I am just using it as inspiration for when I write. Whenever you get stuck, you need something to “unstick” you, and I think this will do the trick.

If you think you’re ready to give NaNoWriMo a try, head over to the official website. There is still time to sign up and it doesn’t cost you a single penny! Even if you don’t finish, the fact that you tried is impressive enough! 🙂

Happy writing (and reading)!