Happy NaNoWriMo everyone!

This is the first year I won’t be participating. This was a hard decision for me. I love NaNo; I love the festival atmosphere, the feeling of togetherness, the comraderie. I love the message boards where you can get an instant answer to any question. I love the community, the comic strip, the fact that it helps so many people. But I don’t really love participating. The pressure to write daily, the constant sense of falling further and further behind, really doesn’t do it for me. I start to feel meloncholy, looking at how far I have to go rather than what I was able to achieve.

It’s no secret I have a dayjob. On top of that, I do costuming, conventions, and writing for TheDailyWTF. I don’t have time to write every day like I’d want to. And that’s okay! I get plenty done when I’m able to set aside 3-hour blocks two or three times a week. I could probably win NaNo doing that: writing a few thousand words every couple days instead of a steady amount daily. But I’ve chosen not to try.

I have a lot of exciting things coming up. HeartBeats has completed its second draft, and is ready for the final polishing round; I’ll be debuting the cover design soon. My next project is starting to really shape up nicely, and I’ll be ready to talk about that soon. I’m excited about what the future holds for me. I hope you are too!

And if you’re competing in NaNo this year, good luck! My heart is with you, even if my hands aren’t.