It’s almost here! National Novel Writing Month, the one time per year that writers emerge from their caves of introversion and try to network with other writers. It pushes us so far out of our comfort zones that we spend the next 11 months recuperating. I’ve used NaNo in the past to make some wonderful writer friends at each place we’ve lived, because it really is the ONLY time to try to find us. If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, it is super easy to sign up at nanowrimo.org and find your people. There are forums by genre, experience, and location.

Last year, I went to a library meetup, gathered my courage, and invited two other writer moms to create the Port Orchard Writing Club. We’ve actually made it a whole year with (nearly) monthly meetups. We also attended two huge writing conferences, AWP and PNWA. It is honestly so lovely to talk writing with other people who ‘get it’—the frustrations, carving out time, and the breakthroughs.

I told myself I would take break after finishing WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU. But…surprise surprise…I had an idea for book #8. While I won’t be sprinting through and trying to draft 50k words in November, I am going to use this month to plan and outline a YA thriller. I want to incorporate my sailing and liveaboard experience and bring a book to life with this unique perspective. I’ve never attempted a mystery or thriller, so I need to pay more attention to the structure of the genre. My plan is to read 4-5 YA thrillers over the next two weeks to get my head in the game, then I’ll attempt to put fingers to keyboard and outline this new baby.

In other news, I’ve brushed off my resume and am starting to search for some contract or volunteer copy/content/edit jobs to build my portfolio. I’m not quite ready to go into detail about this yet, but I feel like now that the kids have settled in school and I have more time/control of my day, I might be branching out. Weirdly, this feels more vulnerable than querying. Hopefully I won’t get firehosed with rejection on all sides!

Love,

Taylor