If you remember, I set out to participate in Nanowrimo again this year for the first time in ages. Needless to say, I wasn't sure how it was going to work. After all, I hadn't found time to write much of anything this whole year. How was I going to do it during one of the busiest months?
But I had this story idea about a Cinderella re-telling in my head and it needed to get out. So, I signed up. Maybe just saying I was going to do Nanowrimo would make it happen.
And of course I upped the word count I wanted to achieve in 30 days, because I'm insane. But it's okay. Because you see that picture up above? It's part of the screen you get when you "win" Nanowrimo. I saw that screen on November 22nd. That's right. I hit 50,000 words 8 days before I had to.

Tomorrow is Halloween. Also known as Nanowrimo Eve.
Is it not also known as that in your house? Hm.
​Well, in my house, it means I'm gearing up to finally write a new story. With four books releasing this year (a blessing, yes, but a lot too), I haven't had time to finish writing anything. Not even a novella. So, I'm claiming November for myself. I will participate in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time in several years, and I will write a new book.
​At least, that's the plan.

2022 has beena bit of a whirlwind--in writing and in other parts of my life too.
Once again I had three books scheduled to release ... and they all did! Destination: Romance came out in June, starting off my three-book Roadtrip Romance series. In September, I added another novella collection called Love in Any Season. And this month, my second Roadtrip Romance, Roadtrip for Two hit the market. Whew! Even though they were all several months apart, it still added up to be a lot. But in a good way. 
This gives me a total of NINE releases now. I can hardly believe it. But what else have I done?

Nanowrimo is next month.
It starts next week, actually.
Just a few days away.
And I wasn't going to do it.
Didn't/don't have time.
​And yet ...

Where has my brain been this month? See that picture above? That's about it. I've been in Gatlinburg, TN--at least in my imagination.
For the first time, I participated in Camp Nanowrimo instead of the regular version in November. What does that mean? It means I got to set my own word count goals (though I still set mine for 60,000 or more), and it means I could work on a project I'd already started.
I chose to work on a book I'm calling Maid in Love. I started it a few years back and had about 10,000 words done before this month. And how did I do?

While I've participated in regular Nanowrimo several times (at least twelve or thirteen, I think), I've never gotten around to doing Camp Nanowrimo. It's an event they run in July where you set your own personal word goal and tackle it during the summer months, when things maybe aren't quite as busy as November, when the regular one occurs. It's a bit more laid back. You don't even have to aim for 50,000 words like normal. It's whatever you want to accomplish.
And for one reason or another, it's never worked out for me. But I'm changing things up this year.

I finished writing my Christmas novella that's not due until May (it comes out in late September). And I meant to write the third book in my roadtrip romance series this Feb/Mar. But my muse evidently has other plans.
When I participated in Nanowrimo last November, several others participated, too, and we encouraged each other as we tried to get in our word counts. However, November is a hard month, and several fell short of where they wanted to be. So, someone suggested we try again in February.
You know I'm always up for a challenge. Or at least, always challenging myself. And since I'd been thinking of trying to write around then anyway, I jumped on board.

This year was different. I set out with a plan and a hope, and I finished my Nanowrimo story by the 21st--the earliest I've ever "Won" Nanowrimo. My personal goal was 60,000 words (normal Nanowrimo goals are 50,000, but I'm an overachiever), and I ended at 58,118. Not my personal best, but not the worst, either. Especially since I know my story will grow and evolve during edits over the next year or two.
​So, what's next?

When I started thinking about doing Nanowrimo this year, I hesitated. My calendar was already so full and busy, adding one more thing seemed like a bad idea. That being said, I pushed on and decided to go ahead and at least attempt it. After all, even if I didn't "win" this year like I had so many times before, at least I'd have more words typed up than I started with.
Little did I know that my fingers would fly over the keyboard, pounding out several thousand words a day and putting me almost a week ahead. Yet, that's what happened. I am squeezing in writing time in the afternoons I'm home and the evenings when the afternoons are full. Some days I'm doing both. And I'm averaging over 2000 words an hours, guys. I'm shocking myself.
​At the time of my writing this post, I'm sitting at 39,090 words, 14,085 ahead of where a typical Nanowrimo author should be right now. That's basically over a week ahead of schedule.