I've been a dedicated NaNoWriMo participant for years. Each November, I challenge
myself to draft a book—or at least the first 50K words of a draft.
In recent years, I've dedicated the month of November to the Zahra of the Uwharries series, published by Level Elevate, an imprint of Level Best Books. I drafted Society of the Sentinelia during NaNoWriMo 2018. In 2019, I revised Society of the Sentinelia. I drafted THE BLIND FAIRY, which I turned over to my editor a couple of weeks ago, at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Last year, I bought a NaNoWriMo mug and drafted book three in the series. My plan for 2022, of course, was to draft book four.
Instead, I'm hitting pause for 2022. I know my limits. After Society of the Sentinelia was published in May, my already full plate began dripping all over my shoes. Balancing book promotion and work on the rest of the series with my job as a marketing director became overwhelming. If you get my newsletter, Micki's Latest Gossip, you know I went back to teaching, which was my original "career passion." Now, I'm a middle grade teacher. To remain a teacher, I had to go back to school for formal licensure. Of course, I decided to go ahead and earn my Master's Degree.
Where did that leave me? Overwhelmed with my plate gushing all over the floor. My shoes had no chance.
Along with my fellow English language arts teachers, I'm participating in a book study and professional development on teaching reading. Then there's all the lesson planning, other required training, meetings, grading, parent conferences, and paperwork, just to name a few of my responsibilities as a teacher. For my graduate work, I've got weekly assignments for my class, plus the final project due after Thanksgiving.
Therefore, while I'll celebrate and mark National Novel Writing Month in my heart, I won't actively participate in NaNoWriMo. Instead, I'll shift my writing and editing sprees to December when I have semester and holiday breaks. I'll do more during the spring and summer breaks. Saturday morning coffee shop write-ins should round me out and keep me on schedule.
Despite taking a NaNoWriMo break in an attempt to balance my plate, I wholeheartedly support NaNoWriMo. I encourage writers of all stages, ages, and genres to challenge themselves to write 50,000 words by November 30, 2022. Follow your passion and celebrate writing during November!
