November is National Novel Writing Month, or #NaNoWriMo to everybody involved or aware of it. This is an international competition, which has no prizes and no entry fees. Participants are simply expected to write a novel with a word total of 50,000 during the month. 

It is a wonderfully simple way of motivating yourself to finally write that story that has been festering in your head for all these months or years.

#NaNoWriMo

I have entered this competition.  Having published my debut paranormal romance novel, Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), in July this year, I now need to write the sequel.  Indeed I need to write the whole Redcliffe novels series, but this is my starting point.  I decided that NaNoWriMo would be the ideal opportunity.  It would motivate me to actually finish another piece of work, instead of procrastinating and avoiding the inevitable.

My sequel is called Love Kills (A Redcliffe Novel) and picks up the story of Cornish bookshop owner Jessica Stone as she recovers from her life threatening injuries sustained from a werewolf attack.  She is settling back into normal life, but struggling to deal with the reality of having a vampire boyfriend, and werewolf friends.  She is also working through the revelations that she is a witch, and deciding whether she wants to pursue her training and unlock her powers and abilities.

Finally, Jessica’s best friend and business partner has just given birth.  The new baby will throw up all sorts of challenges between the friends, and also between Jessica and her lover Jack Mason.  That is where my story stands at the moment.  As of today (Monday 7^th November), my word total is 19,148, and I am very pleased with that.  It was easy to start my novel because the story was already in my head.  Indeed, I had begun the story while I finished writing Love Hurts, but I had to separate the novels out, and make time to write Love Kills.

That is why NaNoWriMo is important to me.  I have informed all of my close friends and family about the competition, and warned them that I will become a social hermit while I get my novel finished.  My plan is to complete the 50,000 words, and hopefully even write more than that as quickly as possible.  I certainly have the story; I just need to find time to write it around my duties of motherhood and housework.  But now that I have told people, they will expect me to complete this challenge, and that is my motivation.  NaNoWriMo, I will succeed!

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here.