going all in

Good news, my friends. Something exciting happened since I posted Monday morning. No, I did not land a literary agent — the rejected queries are mounting, but I'm seeing it all in a positive light I'll address another time, but it's even better.

I got my groove back.

Hot on the heels of my disappointment at failing to cross the Camp NaNoWriMo finish line with 50,000 words written in July, I was resigned to sitting August out, too. But then it happened. It appears I was bitten by the inspiration bug.

While microwaving a frozen dinner for lunch at home Monday, I was patiently waiting when it hit me: I knew the first line I wanted to use to open one of the book ideas I have sitting on file. This is not unusual (Fact: I often come up with good one-liners for my various stories while doing mundane tasks, such as driving or cooking). I try to be prepared for these sudden jolts of inspiration, so I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote the line down.

It didn't stop there. By the time the microwave dinged, I had written several solid paragraphs. And the ideas were still coming. I returned to work with about 500 words hand-written in my notebook, and the motivation and excitement to keep this story alive.

It's a departure from the project I started in July, but I think that's a good thing. Experimenting with different genres keeps me on my toes and fulfills the different creative outlets I want to take.

I'm taking this as a sign to ride this story out. Yes, it means I now have one completed novel and two others stalled about 10,000 words along, but a deal like this is too good to miss.

So, I've changed my aforementioned intention: I'm in for August. Will I hit 50,000 words? I hope so. Will I be crushed if I don't? No. I'm already off to a good start, and I'm excited to see where this story takes me.

Stay tuned for updates.