October | 2017 | Graphomaniac – A. Elizabeth West

First order of business–thanks to all who bought a copy of The Shiny Folk and other stories. I hope you enjoyed them. The money from the October sales will be on its way to Unidos soon. The book will still be available on the Buy Me page.

It’s almost November, and you know what that means, fellow writers and writing nerds. It’s nearly time for NaNoWriMo!

For chronic non-link clickers, NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, happens in November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That’s around 1,700 words a day, roughly.

I’m a rebel. I use NaNoWriMo to finish things. Technically, you’re supposed to start from scratch, but hell, I do what I want.

Yeah, I’m drinking milk out of the bottle. Fight me, bro!

Image: Ambro/freedigitalphotos.net

Since I didn’t get very far with Camp NaNo this past summer, thanks to some incredibly stupid distractions, I shall finish Book Two of the Tunerville trilogy. While simultaneously revising Book One, which I just got back from a paid developmental edit.

I expect to be a complete mess before the month is over. I’m unemployed at the moment, but if I get a job before NaNo starts (or worse, during it), it’s going to be crazy. So even though I’m a veteran, I’ve been checking out resources like this LitReactor article by Robbie Blair on how to prep for the challenge.

And here’s one by Leah McClelland on SimpleWriting.org with tips on how to organize your household so you have maximum writing time. If you’re tempted to join the madness and you have a family, prepping beforehand will be critical.

It’s not necessary to sign up–if you’ve been with me for a while, you know I do it on my own, usually. I did sign up formally once and I even have a friend who facilitates a local NaNo group. But I don’t write well in a room full of people; that triggered my anxiety and I didn’t get much done.

The Book Two word counter is in my sidebar already. You can watch that climb if you want. I’ll probably try to post every day in November too. Reporting to you will keep me accountable. I have an outline, so I’m nearly ready to roll. A bit of world-building in my notes, and I should be good.

If you’re doing NaNo too, stop by here or catch me on Twitter and let us know how it’s going. For now, I’m going to enjoy my last night of freedom with a fish taco, a spooky pumpkin, and a scary movie. Happy Halloween!

Photo: Elizabeth West

So I made a little e-book, y’all! And you can help hurricane victims in Puerto Rico with it!

Through October 25, I’m donating 100% of all sales I get, no matter how big or small (hopefully big), to the Hispanic Federation’s Unidos program.

Just go to the brand-new Buy Me page on this site to purchase the e-book (click the link, or it’s at the top on the main menu). You get some stories; the Hispanic Federation gets some money to help people in Puerto Rico; it’s all good.

If you like the book or you think someone else will, please share widely! And thank you!

If you want to make a personal donation to help people impacted by the recent natural disasters, you can also choose One America Appeal, a fund set up for hurricane victims in Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean by all five living former U.S. presidents. Or donate to Oxfam America, which has stepped up in the face of this administration’s inadequate response. You can also give to earthquake relief for Mexico through the Hispanic Federation’s link.