I’ve been slowly gathering together material for my 30-day novel. While on the one hand it feels a bit of a “cheat” (it’s not, officially) to be doing this sort of prep, the fact is I don’t feel comfortable completely winging it (the nature of the story is such that there’s background that needs to be set and explained, and a fairly large cast to be fleshed out).

On the other hand, while I have a rough outline and idea of what I’m doing (and even a title), I don’t really have an outline. Worse, I don’t (like in a number of previous novels, as well as campaigns) have a good idea of what the climax or conclusion look like. That’s worrisome, but that’s how it goes.

I do believe, on the other hand, that I am going to make the effort public, i.e., share the Google Doc I’m doing this in with anyone who cares to read. So folks who want to follow along (and offer encouragement! please!) can do so. And, who knows, maybe you’ll be reading the next Great American Novel. And if that doesn’t pan out, I do have some inexpensive real estate in Florida that you might be interested in …

I have to confess, I’m in minor dread about November. I was looking at some previous NaNoWriMo efforts, and seeing how much 1500-2000 words actually is, and pondering doing that for 30 days straight. Daunting. I mean, I can ramble and digress with the best of them, but I do want to tell a story. I just don’t know where it’s going.

So more details on where that all will reside (and how to find the latest-greatest) as we get closer. I still have another week to fret until Sunday, 1 November.