Judy Schneider's Writing Lab

She talked about how she was able to continue to interest her readers without the graphic, sensationalistic details other mystery, suspense, and horror writers had incorporated. She said (and I paraphrase, as the lecture was several years ago) she tried to tap into the basal fears that will never cease to evoke a response in people. She referred to experiences like hearing a bump in the night, being followed by someone through a shadowy alley, or -- here it comes -- driving alone down a dark road on a rainy night.

It came to me, then. I had my opening for my new NaNo novel, and I'd take it from there. Playing the What If? game during the rest of the drive home, I thought about how a character might respond if a person desperate for help (or even needy and bleeding) stepped out in front of her car on that isolated road. Would she stop? Call 911? Keep driving? The possibilities stretched out before me. And from there, my NaNo novel was born.

This year, I spent the month of October in preparation mode. I plotted intriguing twists and intricate turns so that, rather than write a draft during NaNoWriMo that needed gobs of revision to be marketable, I'm hoping I'll be a couple of drafts closer to having a finished product I can offer my agent.

So I encourage you to sign up, this year, today, right now, to participate in National Novel Writing Month. It takes only a few minutes to set up an identity (use your real name or a pseudonym of choice) and get started pumping up that word count. If you begin today, you'll have to write about 2000 words a day or approximately eight manuscript pages. That's a lot, I know, but it's not quality you're aiming for this time around. Start with any old character and put him in a sticky situation facing a nasty antagonist, give him a sidekick and/or a love interest and then write your way out.

NaNoWriMo is an invigorating experience. As the creativity is freed, the laundry piles up, lunch meetings get canceled, and you start weighing the nutritious differences between drive through and take out (hint: take out is better). People will look at you as though you're starring in your own Ground Hog Day movie when you walk into the same coffee shop five days in a row (preferably one with free refills), seeking out the same nook in which to write (usually a booth near an electrical outlet).

It's tough to describe the NaNo experience to non-NaNo writers. My best advice is to give it a try. If you finish the month with 50,000 words, then great. You win a printable certificate that says you did. If you end up with only 10,000 more words under your belt, so what. You're still a winner because you've kicked yourself in the &$*% and jump-started an exciting new project that just might propel your writing momentum for several months or even all year.

Go NaNo, I say! Give it a try, today!