Dear friends and family

For the second year in a row I have managed to write the 50,000 words necessary to be considered a NaNoWriMo 'winner' ('officially' 50,101). One thing that is interesting about this year's effort is that there is still quite a bit of story left to write at the end of the month. It's also a somewhat better story (though, not that much) than last year's.

If you care, you can see my author profile here (don't miss the link to an excerpt from the story).

What's next? When can you read the whole thing?

What's next is that I'll probably add the missing bits to the story in dribs and drabs over the next couple of months. I also want to get back to another story I started at the beginning of the year that was interrupted by house hunting, moving and finding a new job.

You'll be able to read the whole story after I add the missing bits and write (or edit) the second (or maybe third draft). The current form of the story is pretty much unreadable. The plot and characterizations changed over the course of the month. About 20% of the words that I wrote during the month are in the count but no longer contribute to the story. But I think I will try to finish it next year and make it available to those that want to see it.

Thank you to everyone that put up with me during the month, especially Judy, who gave me the space to do my thing.

And finally a plug for NaNoWriMo. As far as I'm concerned, this is a complete blast. A frustrating, time consuming, life wrecking, life enhancing blast. If you've ever finished (or just quit reading) a novel and thought to yourself 'even I could have written a better book than that,' you owe it to yourself to try sometime. Pick up or borrow a copy of 'No Plot, No Problem' by Chris Baty, read it and join the fun next November!

God bless,
Bill