NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow! If you have not heard about it before, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to start writing on November 1 and end the month with 50,000 words of a new novel.

This will be my first crack at NaNoWriMo.

It seems a bit insane to try to write 50,000 words of a new novel smack dab in the middle of the special hell that is distance learning. But for me, it also seems a bit insane not to.

Writing energizes me. When I write regularly, I feel like my best self. When I don’t find the time to write, I fade and wilt.

Distance learning has been kicking my ass. Now, more than ever, I need writing to keep my spirits up. That’s why I am trying NaNoWriMo.

I have always wanted to write novels. I actually wrote the first draft of a novel the year before I got pregnant with Pippa. When I was recovering from postpartum depression, I started working on the second draft of that novel. But that work did not feel right. All I wanted to write about was postpartum depression, so finally, I shelved the novel and started working on my memoir.

After I published my memoir in April 2018, I started working on a couple of different novels. I knew I wanted to write fiction, but I had so many ideas, I did not know where to start. Eventually, I settled on an idea I had for a fantasy series. Long story short, I finished the first draft of the first book in that series last May, which felt like a major victory since here in Pasadena, we were in the midst of the Covid-19 shutdown. I worked on a plan for revisions over the summer and felt ready to whip the book into shape.

Then distance learning started.

Working on my fantasy novel and helping my second grader with distance learning are mutually exclusive activities. I do not have the brain power to do both. I wish I could choose the fantasy novel, but life has gone with Option Bat Shit Crazy: The Distance Learning Edition. I kept trying to chip away at my fantasy novel, but I was interrupted by distance learning demands so often, I could have ripped off my eyebrows with frustration. I am used to having at least a couple of uninterrupted hours to write. Getting interrupted every five minutes because my daughter has been kicked off Google Meets AGAIN is suboptimal, to say the least.

Then, my muse gave me the idea for The Distance Learning Activity Book For Parents Just Barely Holding On To Their Last Shred Of Sanity, and that project really did help me get a firmer grip on my waning sanity. I realized that I have to hit the Pause button on my fantasy novel during distance learning, but I still have to keep writing. I just have to work on writing projects that are bit more lighthearted and do not require hours of uninterrupted focus.

I could just start making another snarky activity book. I have a list of at least five dozen ideas and the challenge will be picking which one to do first. I expect I will make several more activity books next year.

But first, I want to try NaNoWriMo.

In addition to my fantasy series, I have always wanted to write a book series about a regular mom’s regular mom life. No magic, no dragons, and no complicated plots that unfold over the course of seven books. 2020 feels like the perfect year to start writing that sort of book.

The working title for my novel is Confessions Of A Reluctant Room Mom. I am so excited to start tomorrow! I was ready to start a couple of days ago, when I uploaded The Distance Learning Activity Book to Amazon and ordered my author proof copy, but that felt like cheating. I want to start tomorrow, on the first day of November and see how quickly I can write a shitty first draft of a novel. I am a recovering perfectionist, so I think NaNoWriMo will be the perfect challenge for me.

On that note, I better start getting ready for our pandemic-friendly Halloween festivities. Good Lord, what a surreal year this has been. Yep, it’s definitely a good year to try to write 50,00 words in a month!