November is here, which means our 2023 Celebrating All Things Spooky event is at an end and the contest winners are in the process of being notified. Thank you all for your participation.

It also means that NaNoWriMo has begun!

Yes, this is one of those rare posts where instead of covering video games, I talk about writing.

I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo, or the National Novel Writing Month, for years now. It’s a challenge in which writers try to finish a 50,000 word novel in November.

This year, my project is a fantasy romance novel I’ve had on my mind for quite a while. I got an early start at midnight to write the first 2,000 words, then followed up with another 3,000 words when I woke up. Off to a good start!

Since I’ve spent the past few years hitting the 50,000-word goal without it being in too much doubt (although the quality of the writing is another question, as sometimes I run out of ideas before I hit the mark and spend the rest of the words on scenes that will absolutely need to be cut from the finished story), I’m tempted to add an additional goal to work on short stories this November as well. But let’s see how the novel progresses, first.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year?