A little bit of this:

And a whole lot of this:

I’m trying to focus more on that first one, but the whole thing is crazy scary.

The road to this point has been paved with hours of writing and rewriting, disappointments, standing in the shower crying and cussing like one of those American Idol contestants who get rejected and flip off the camera, and all sorts of other highs and lows. And there’s a great big part of me that is freaking out that I’ll mess this chance up, let my new editor and team down, or worse, never get really, really good at this thing called writing.

But I’m going to stuff that part down into a drawer, one full of mismatched socks and other useless items, and just keep on going, day by day, word by word. Because this journey has taught me a lot of things, especially this – I’m not alone! I’m surrounded by awesome friends and family, great writing buddies, a terrific agent, and tons of people who want the best for me and this book.  And that feels like this:

My resolution is always the same – write more. Last year, In order to create a more “writer-friendly” environment, I moved my office out of the dank, dark basement and into the pool house where I can at least SEE people frolicking in the water while I work.

I got the posters on the wall at the last writer’s conference I attended, and they make me happy when I come in every morning.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen an increase in my productivity like I’d hoped. I think it’s the view.

Who told my husband he could come out of the basement with me?

Anyway, here’s hoping you have a 2013 full of great books and lots of writing time!

Man, you sit down to watch one episode of the new Dallas, and the next thing you know, months have passed and you haven’t blogged once! I blame J.R.  In addition to rehashed dramas from the 80′s, I’ve been kinda busy with this thing agents call “revision”, also known as “rethinking every sentence you’ve ever written.”

Yes, I’ve been revising AGAIN. It’s been annoying, but through it all, I’ve learned one very important lesson – write it correctly the first time. Man, had I only know. This time I cut out almost 8,000 words! I know it seems like a lot, but since the entire manuscript was 67,000 to begin with, it’s not been too hard. Once you start “killing your darlings” it gets much easier.

Besides revising, I’ve also completed 14 picture books. Well, if you consider the mini-books I write for my daughter every morning and put in her lunch box, picture books. It started on the first day of school, where for some crazy reason, instead of the usual lunch box note, I folded an index card, wrote Moon Pie’s First Day, and made up a story. Guess what she wanted the next day? And the next day? Now I’ve written such masterpieces as Moon Pie Goes Fishing, Moon Pie Skips School, and Moon Pie’s Sleepwalking Adventure. Even though she’s a 5th grader, she still enjoys them, and reads them to her friends at lunch! Then she comes home and tells me what they think – “It was funny, but Brooke wants more illustrations.”

Awesome. Just what I wanted, MORE REVISION.

Almost everyone I know hopes to one day write a book, has an idea for a book, or has a half-finished manuscript under the bed just waiting to become a finished book. My friends have a lot to say, obviously. Maybe it’s because the first thing God did was “create” and we’re made in His image, but writing a book is a goal for a lot of people. I don’t know WHY we all want to write, but I know why most of us don’t – time. That’s where NaNoWriMo comes in.

November is National Novel Writing Month, for real. There’s a website and everything. The goal is to complete a 50,000 word manuscript in 30 days. Think it’s crazy? NaNoWriMo began in 1999 with 21 participants. Last year there were over 200,000! It’s become such a phenomenon that I was told not to query agents in December because their in-boxes are full from just-finished NaNoWriMo manuscripts.

NaNoWriMo is perfect for people who need a deadline, a goal, or to be with other crazy people doing the same thing for encouragement. It’s free to participate, and if you complete the goal, you WIN. Not a prize or anything, but you don’t become a Mary Faulker by sweating the small stuff.

MARY FAULKNER (1903-1973) 904 books

South African writer Mrs. Mary Faulkner, whom the Guinness Book of World Records ranks as history’s most prolific novelist, wrote under six pen names, including Kathleen Lindsay. Her novels include There Is No Yesterday, Wind of Desire, and Harvest of Deceit.

Sign up! Besides Thanksgiving, what else does November have to offer?