OK, fellow NaNoWriMos, how did it go last week? Did you get started on your novel? I admit, I felt a little daunted when the first of November rolled around, not thinking I could do it. I “wasn’t in the mood” to write — but I forced myself to sit in front of the computer and look at my file. I’d written a one-paragraph plot summary and a few brief character sketches of my main characters.

Then I read an email from the director of NaNoWriMo, Chris Baty, encouraging me to get started on “Act One,” along with 70,000 other brave souls attempting to write a 50,000-word novel in a month.

Baty said the first week of writing is epic. “We step onto its stage clutching a few crumpled lines of dialogue, and bearing only the haziest notions of setting and story. And, when the curtain closes on the seventh day, we’re improbably directing a strange and wonderful cast of characters, all of them eager to make their mark on the tale unfolding around them. ”

I love that image. I’m like the playwright, hunched over a desk behind stage; my feather-quilled pen scribbling wildly. My characters have shown up for play practice and aren’t sure where to go, and they only have a few lines to say. But soon, they’ll know who they are, where they should stand, and have more to say! It’s exciting, exhilerating, even.

I could get into this novel-writing thing.

I’ve decided writing this novel is for me. It’s like creating art for art’s sake. Nobody has to read it but me; in fact, I’ve only told one other person what I’m writing. I’m having fun with this, and we’ll see where it goes.

If you’ve read Anne Lamott’s classic book on writing, Bird by Bird, that’s exactly how I feel — I’m taking it scene by scene, with a vague mission in mind, and letting my plot unfold as I get to know my characters. (Note: Lamott’s book does contain some foul language, but it shines light on the writing process and has become one of my favorites.)

Yet, I’m also thinking, well if my novel turns out OK, maybe I’ll show it to somebody someday. I know this rough draft will eventually have to be completely rewritten — but it’s the rough slab of clay I have to create so I’ll have something to work with, to shape in the months to come.

Last weekend, I found a new writing mentor. Several people mentioned I should read Brandilyn Collins’ Forensics and Faith blog where she shares her first novel publishing journey. The urge to go read her story was so compelling that I went and read it, heart pounding, post after post, almost forgetting to breathe. Although she’s now a bestselling Christian fiction author with Zondervan, her journey to publication took nearly a decade, step after step, year after year.

Brandilyn persevered when most of us would have given up. She read everything she could get her hands on, interviewed real people to give her insight into her characters, then wrote and rewrote — again and again. She kept studying the craft. She flew to New York. She flew to Chicago. She attended major writing conferences. She kept on and kept on and kept on.

The amazing thing is to see how God changed her heart in the process of her writing. Although she was a Christian when she began writing, she didn’t devote her fiction to God until a few years into her writing journey. I also learned about the crucial role her agent played in the process. It seems to me that finding a good agent is important these days. Brandilyn’s agent worked with her until the novel was perfectly polished and ready to send out to publishers.

Through her user-friendly blog, Brandilyn has now become one of my writing mentors.

Well, my NaNoWriMo goal is to write 2,000 words a day — which probably means I’ll have little time for blogging this week as I get deeper into this work. So I’ll catch up with you soon.

Maybe the whole purpose for my writing is that I’ll inspire one of YOU to write. So, have you started yet?

Miss ya already!