Note: head over to Goodreads to enter my giveaway for one of ten print copies of The Redemption of Erâth: Exile!
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Tomorrow marks the first day of November, and with the cold air, shorter days and leafless trees comes something of a writer’s festivity: NaNoWriMo.
National Novel Writing Month has been an ongoing tradition for many writers now for almost twenty years; starting in 1999, the goal is to inspire those of us who have always dreamed of writing to turn that dream into a reality. Over the course of thirty days, thousands of people across the globe will attempt to write a 50,000-word novel, averaging 1,667 words a day. Those who complete it will ‘win’ NaNoWriMo, which of course ultimately means nothing but feels great.
The Redemption of Erâth started, as some of you know, as a NaNoWriMo project five years ago in 2011, when I spent the month writing the history and backstory to the series that is now going into its third book. It was an exercise in self-discipline, late nights and overconsumption of caffeine, but it resulted in something that I could proudly call my own: The History of Erâth, a novella-length tale spanning the millennia since the creation of the world of Erâth.
I haven’t participated in NaNoWriMo again since; between my day job and writing the full-length (100,000+-word) novels that make up the actual series of The Redemption of Erâth, I simply haven’t had the time. Also, I often get very depressed around this time of year.
But this year, I feel like I need to take a break. A change of pace. I’ve been working on the third book in the series, Ancients and Death, for over a year now, and although it’s nearing its conclusion, I really want to turn my hand to something slightly different.
The question is, what? Will I actually achieve something that will be worth reading? Or will I have wasted a month of precious creative time writing nothing important at all?
The greatest temptation is to do nothing, of course; finish off the last few chapters of Ancients and Death and move on to the editing phase. I really want to get the damn book finished. But there’s a part of me that wants to delve again into the rich history of Erâth—a project I thought of some time ago is to recount some of the legends and myths of Erâth in a Silmarillion-style compendium of short stories.
There’s also a story that came to me in a dream one night—a mind-bending, hallucinogenic dark story called The Girl Who Killed Herself in Apartment 615. I don’t really know much more about it than that, but it was a very vivid dream and the story sounds cool.
Or I could go off the deep end and write something entirely unrelated to anything I’ve ever written before. Sci-fi, or horror, or an erotic thriller (I hear these especially sell well).
I know what I think I’d like to do, but I’m curious—what would you, my readers, like to see every day throughout the month of November? What would intrigue you the most? Let me know in the comments!
As long as you keep writing is what matters most. Although I love the silmarian history idea. The mystery sounds like creepy fun too.
Thank you! I think I’m going to have a go at the history one for now; it’s been boiling in my mind for a while, and I really want to get it finished. I’ll be posting it as it comes—I hope you enjoy it!