This month I have decided to do my own little NANOWRIMO. Yes, I know that National Novel Writing Month is in November, not July, but to hell with it!

Every November, I promise myself that I will participate in writing a novel as a gift to myself, since my birthday is November 22. Every year I end up mad at myself because I don't even start a novel, let alone finish one. It's like saying, "Here's your birthday present. Oh, the box is empty? Oh well."

I write non-fiction to pay the bills, so jumping into a work of fiction is difficult. I've programmed myself to produce for money.

Yesterday, I had an fantastic idea (so humble!) for a novel while I was getting ready for bed. I ended up writing an outline for my novel while sitting in my pajamas. I mean, in the breadth of 20 minutes I came up with the novel from finish to end. Of course, it's missing details, but the skeleton is there. I've never had the whole skeleton of a novel done before I start, so this is exciting. Usually I just throw mud at a wall and see what sticks. Sometimes it works (I have had some works published in the past) and sometimes it doesn't (I have several half-done novels).