NaNoWriMo 2011

GFG2G4CUKZFE The countdown has begun. The timer at the National Novel Writing Month website showed me when I saw it last that are 27 days 4 hours left for the kick-off.  Starting, November 1, thousands of people from all over the world will set out to write 50,000 words during the calendar month of November 2011. I am as excited as most others would be. I had of course heard of NaNoWriMo years ago but as an entrepreneur running my HR consulting firm, I just didn’t have the time, or the energy to attempt it. Things changed over the years and in 2009, I was able to successfully complete NaNo, as we call it for short. My novel was called “It Can’t Be You”. It was a psychological thriller. It took me a year more to have it finally published in November 2010 by Cedar, an imprint of Pustak Mahal, one of India’s oldest publishers. The book was well-received and can be ordered on-line at Amazon or Flipkart.

This gave me the impetus to attempt NaNoWriMo again in 2010. This time too I chose the thriller genre which I find totally fascinating. The novel this year was “Lucky For Some, Thirteen”. I am looking for representation/publishing offers for this as it is now complete at over 87,000 words.

Encouraged by my past successes, I would love to complete NaNoWriMo 2011. I haven’t yet planned any theme for the novel. It will definitely be fiction, probably a thriller and I am very tempted to attempt one with a strong dose of historical fiction, setting it in a time which I have myself never experienced, like the 1940s for example. It would be wonderful to complete three NaNoWriMos in successive years.

I am arguably the first author from out of India to have a debut novel published from a debut attempt at NaNoWriMo. You can imagine how close NaNo is to my heart. I enjoy interacting with others in the forums and I have gained much through these interactions. I like to think that I have shared my experiences with others and helped them as well.

The timer ticks on. As I said before, there are exciting times ahead if you were to decide to take the plunge and attempt NaNoWriMo this year. I assure you that you will love the experience, whether or not you actually complete the 50,000 words. If you do, that’s the icing on the cake.