It’s been a while, but the coof had me on my back for a few weeks, then the Holidays came and went and I’m still getting my bearings with other matters, but, for what it’s worth, I’m still around.

I cannot, in clear conscience, continue to use Facebook. Their censorious practices were questionable enough for long enough, but considering that they are purveyors of falsehoods and propaganda (do the research, it’s out there), they are also unfair in their filtering practices (a.k.a. blocking, let’s call a rose a rose, here) not only of content, but of people as well. Besides, it would only be a matter of time before I got kicked off for posting the wrong thing anyway.

I’ll still be here, for as long as I am allowed.

In 19 days I will either be chattering away on my keyboard or staring at a blank screen, having deleted “It was a dark and stormy night.” Here’s some reference for those unfamiliar with the phrase beyond seeing Charles Shcultz’s Snoopy atop his doghouse on his typewriter.

In any case, The National Novel Writing Month begins soon and I am anticipating it quite a lot this year as I have missed the past few years, busy with studies, the Bug and Life In General. I still intend to draft an idea but it could change at the last moment. It has before. When that happens, it adds a whole new level of urgency and panic to the project since there will have been no forethought, no preparation, no psyching up.

I recommend everyone with an idea that is to be the Greatest Novel Ever and a penchant for writing to give it a try. To make the 50,000-word limit, a writer need only kick out 1,667 words a day. That’s difficult and easy. “It was a dark and stormy night” is only 7 words. There’s a lot more needed to make that daily goal. But once the flow starts, you may have two thousand down before you know it. You can stop there for the day or pound out another 2k. there’s no Daily Count rule. You can do 5k in one day and take a day off if you like. If you don’t cross the finish in time, well, so what? There is no failure in this. It’s for the fun of it. If you make it, yay! You get to download a Winner’s Certificate. If you don’t make it, there’s always next year (and other contests they run outside of November). Nobody will think any less of you. I have a few incomplete tries in my Projects list which just makes me more determined to have a better go at it next time! My best year had me at over 65,000 words. Maybe I can break a record this year.

I see people ask what the “correct” way is to write. As with any creative endeavor, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Sure, there is a plethora of  “guidelines” but none are set in stone, proverbial or otherwise. There are as many different approaches as there are people in the world (and perhaps even beyond). Everybody’s different. Some start with a theme; some with only a character or characters; some work backward from an ending; some will take a seed of an idea and fill in using the classic Hero’s Journey template; some go in with no direction at all and let the characters take them on their journey (this is the most fun for me). I’ve heard about writers who could not start fleshing out their story without a firm outline while others cannot work within that constraint despite the fact that it can certainly be changed along the way.

And that’s only the activity itself, saying nothing about the environment. A dark room, a cabin in the woods, at the kitchen table, on a laptop, desktop, tablet (though I really cannot envision that as being efficient at all), pencils, typewriter, index cards; whatever’s most comfortable. Time of day is often a factor, so find that special sweet spot when you can be most creative. Before breakfast, after dinner, midnight, whenever. The one rule, albeit in my own not-so-humble opinion, is that wherever you write, it should be free of distractions which is not always easy.

Try as many methods as you can and go with what works best, preferably that which is the most enjoyable. If you try to write using a method you can’t stand, it will show through in the work. Write in marathons, write in twenty-minute bursts, whichever is most comfortable.

Writing should be a joy, not a chore.

If you want to write, then I’ll stop here so you can get on with it. There’s an alien creature climbing up the drainpipe. Try writing about what happens with that.

I believe I have decided on the story I may attempt for my NaNoWriMo project this year. This will also mark the first year I’ll be working with an outline. I always loved the “pantser” aspect of the contest (which means “seat-of-your-pants”), because one thrill about coming up with something new is not knowing where it’s going to end. I have to write it to find out.

This time, I think I’ll have the beginnings of a floor plan that I can develop into a blueprint before November. That’s not cheating. You can plan and outline, but no actual prose is permitted until the November 1st.

I had missed the last couple years but fully intend to participate this year. We’ll see what happens.