NaNo is here again!

Tremendous changes in my life require big acknowledgements. Challenging my husband to a novel-off, is just one of the super fun ways I am celebrating our commitment to each other and our kids. (Kisses to you, handsome.)

Novel-off, that's like a cook-off with words. Think of writing a novel in a month as a chilli feed that's gone horribly, terribly wrong. Maybe it's bad beef or maybe the sumptuous aromas attract a swarm of killer bees. Not all of the contestants survive.

Okay, writing 50,000 words in thirty (or fewer) days will not kill you. But it calls for a certain rashness, an inattention to detail that would doom a cook-offs judges to three days of the runs. Luckily would-be novelists have a great fallback option that is univailable even to BoHans (Super Sloppy Slaw, Chilli and Ribs) master chef. Namely...revision, revision, revision.

That first draft/month is all about speed, fun and trying things out. Surprise yourself with both your flashes of brilliance (your fictional words move you to tears on one page and make you wet your pants with laughter on the next) and your badness (your character starts out with one name and eye color and ends up with several others because you can't keep track of them).

Let loose with your rhetorical whims, your historical fictions, your Narrative Nancys and Prose Passions. No worries. The most significant commonality between a novel-off and a cook-off-gone-bad is the amount of wind they generate.

Cheers! and Happy Noveling!