NaNoWriMo Starts on November 1

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. Aspiring novelists can join the fun at the website and attempt to write 50,000 words in November. Now, the words don't have to be good or even spelled right, but they do have to be written.

I have the general idea of my story, along with a kind of synopsis/plot--all of fifteen double-spaced pages. Not much, but more than a pantser like me usually begins with.

The task seems almost hopeless now, but when I start, the words usually gush out. If anything, I wind up with lots extra. And however far I get by December first, which I intend to be all 50,000 words, I will have a first draft.

This novel will become Part One of my Regency comedy trilogy. I named the trilogy The Feather Fables because all the books deal with birds. I began Part Three, wrote Part Two, then returned to Part Three. Talk about going backwards, but I had to start somewhere. Parts Two and Three both need a lot of editing because when I wrote them I knew next to nothing about writing. But I did finish. Both are entire stories.

I didn't intend to write a trilogy, but with my reuse of characters, the books developed into one. Part Two is a Christmas fantasy containing a goose who understands English. Part Three has almost no fantasy elements and stars an ornithologist with an embarrassing secret. The ornithologist is present in all three novels, but doesn't achieve his happy ending until the end. Frankly, I adore the guy and want him around as long as possible.

Getting back to Part 1, my hero is fairly unusual--a were goose. A wise woman transforms the hero into a goose because he's acting like a fool.

When I told my husband the premise, he said to turn the hero into a turkey.

A turkey won't work because the story needs a large bird that can fly fast for long distances. Besides, the hero isn't a hopeless case. He starts out as an idiot but changes along the way and a goose isn't quite as unredeemable as a turkey. But, wow, a were turkey, now there's a concept.

Part 1 also contains supernatural spies, a lady mathematician, secret codes and evil shapeshifters.

And only 30 days. Progress reports will follow in the weeks to come.

Thank you all,

Linda