NaNoWriMo Prep

It’s that time of year again! NanoWrimo!

I always get a little excited at the possibility of drafting an entire novel in 30 days. I’ve tried the whole “pantsing” thing and I stink at it. I guess I like to know where my story is going ahead of time—even if I just use a loose outline. I already have my entire NanoWrimo novel outlined and ready to go for next month.

My book idea is the same as last year’s: a girl visits Arches National Park with her family and discovers that the arches are actually portals to another world.  Perhaps this time I will be successful and actually follow through with writing the book. I have yet to even get 7,000 words in any year that I have participated. Basically I have sucked it up big time.

Something I hope will help me going into NanoWrimo this year is that I will have a bit of momentum; I have a few projects already in the works.

I am finishing up a children’s picture book this month called Zombie for President. It’s a book that I hope will be a fun way for kids to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of the President, as well as how (s)he is elected.

I will also be wrapping up the text to an early chapter book called Creature from the Black Cocoon.

I am working with two really awesome illustrators on these projects and I am super excited to be able to show everyone more as the release dates draw closer.

My husband, John Herzog, is also getting ready to launch a Kickstarter for his art book, Craptastic. It seriously is amazingly awesome—and I am totally unbiased. It will have a forward from Jess Smart Smiley, and some blurbs by people like Michel Gagné. Like I said, the book is great.

Hopefully all of these projects will help keep my writerly motivations alive and kicking going into NanoWrimo. We shall see. Either way, it’ll be a fun couple of months.