NANOWRIMO ... huh?

Before Gretel tossed her hummingbird into the flames and scampered down the trail to be reunited with her family, a new story was brewing.  My brain barely had time to rest before another tale began to take shape in my mind's eye.

Fresh characters grew flesh, developed personalities and hefted their backpacks over their shoulders.

A bell at an unknown middle school rang and a new school year started, halls loud and boisterous.

Troubles with bullies, problems to solve and friendships to build ... scenes all impatiently waiting to be spelled out.

A mysterious relic, five eclectic students, a quirky Gifted & Talented teacher and a world that needs saving ... one adventure at a time!

And another challenge to jump into as a writer.  A crazy, impossible, mind-reeling, caffeine-worthy, finger-trembling challenge.  This month I will follow Marcus out of the principal's office and into the main hall of Great Heights Middle School.  Here I will join him on a wild adventure filled with friendship, fraught with danger and sprinkled with silliness.

And in the midst of these 30 days with Marcus and his friends, my goal is to tuck away 50,000 words (gulp!) and end up with a book.  At least, that's the plan.

Of course, I already sat down with our family calendar and attempted to map out the month.  I'll do the math for you ... 1,667 words a day.  And then double that every now and then to make up for days away from the computer for Thanksgiving and gymnastic meets (oh, my head) ... but before I could talk myself out of it, I officially signed up with NANOWRIMO:

National Novel Writing Month

You can follow along with my progress with a peek at the little blue window to the left.  And you can cheer me on as I face this daunting (albeit, thrilling) task.  And maybe you could even send chocolate.

I am anticipating that I will be a tad bit sporadic here, but I intend to share snippets of the novel.  Maybe  I'll even surprise you every now and then with a snapshot or two.