Writing – I Did It!

I have no idea how I forgot to post this one!  For the second time in five or six attempts, I completed the NaNoWriMo challenge!  NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and takes place each November.  The goal is to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days.  That sounds like an enormous challenge and it is.  The reality is that you need write about 1,660 words a day.  That’s a goal that’s both easy and hard.  The most important thing you can gain from doing this is to simply keep writing.  NaNoWriMo is supposed to be a month of writing, not editing.  It creates a discipline and frees you from constant second-guessing.  I heartily endorse it!

This year’s project is being edited now.  The title is “Catching Fire and Flying Through the Air”.  It’s a story of a man who loses a job and needs to generate some income short-term.  So he becomes a substitute teacher!  The idea is inspired by Bel Kaufman’s 1964 New York Times bestseller “Up the Down Staircase”.  I was inspired by the concept, and also by the storytelling technique.  It is told entirely through overheard conversations, interdepartmental memos and notes between the main character and her friends and family.  Updating to the 21st century, this story is told with the addition of texts and e-mails.

I’m very excited by the concept, and the teachers I’ve shared the idea with have been very supportive.  I hope to have it ready to go by November of 2018.  Watch this space for details!