Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

It is coming up again. I have not participated in a National Novel Writing Month before. If you are a wordsmith, you may have tried this before. It has happened every year since 1999. I first heard of this through the “Writer’s Digest.” I have subscribed to this magazine off and on for years.

The premise is to write a minimum of 5,000 words of a novel or memoir in thirty days. The month that has been accepted nationwide for most of this time has been November. If you’re a writer or want to be, join me.

The question to answer first is what story you and I have in mind will become our subject this year. This is the perfect time to bring out the unfinished objects that you had every intention of getting to eventually. They may be no more than an idea written on a napkin or scrap of paper.

I believe I will pick up a manuscript that is the first of a trilogy that sweeps through three genres. This first story is a crime drama that takes place in a medium size city. The next one will be science fiction about a businessman that develops new technology in the energy industry. The final installment will be a political thriller. I have a few ideas for each book.

I have working titles for each of the three. I don’t want to share these because a title cannot be copyrighted. I wrote a short story years ago and was surprised when a famous author used that same title. The book was not one of his best. The plot line was nothing like my story. Someday I hope to rewrite it and I can use the same name.

If you want to begin on the first of November as I plan to do, there is the preparation that can be done. Note any possible plot points, make an outline, record possible character names, and even write their backstories. I’ve done much of this already and will rethink any changes I want to make.

My plan is to publish these pages on a regular basis here. When I complete the first draft of this novel, I will be able to move to the second and then the third of this trilogy. I want to thank you for following me and giving me the incentive to continue writing.

That is one of the keys to being an effective author. Sticking to your writing can be challenging. It is easy to become frustrated that any one idea does not want you to complete its story. As we encourage each other to keep plugging away maybe we can all finish one of our UFOs. We’ll meet here again on the first of November and compare notes.

©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger