Accept the NaNoWriMo Challenge

My theme this month is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and I’m so pleased to introduce you to author Regina Felty. Not only has she published several books, but NaNoWriMo is how she kicked off her writing career. She explains why you may want to accept the NaNoWriMo challenge. The stage is yours, Regina!

I’m a goal-oriented personality who loves the gold medal–or at least hearty applause–at the end of an achievement, especially for something I’ve worked months on bringing to fruition. I maintain a planner to keep my life in order. Structure and organization are a priority, or I become overwhelmed.

So, when I decided in 2019 to write a book, the first thing I did was purchase a writing program that would keep my characters, scenes, settings, and plethora of notes in an organized layout. I outlined and presented the story in great detail to my faithful sounding board: my husband. But as is common with dreamers–who have lofty ideas and strategies–the motivation to tap out words on a screen was lacking. At the rate I was going, my novel wouldn’t be published for another decade! And since I hadn’t gotten serious about writing until I was fifty, I wanted this book done before I collected social security.

My research for writing motivation led me to an event called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), where ambitious writers set out to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Yes, that’s over 1,600 words a day for a month. Looking back, I remember thinking that NaNoWriMo sounded more like a Double Dutch jump rope song than the writing cult movement that it is. But I was all in. I created a profile on the website, set up my book project, and was poised to hit the floor (keyboard?) running. I hadn’t factored in that Thanksgiving is also in November, and I host the annual holiday at my house.

What was I thinking?

However, I was determined to do this thing and needed a plan (have I mentioned how much I love a plan?). I decided to wake up an hour earlier and write before work every day and extra on weekends. Most days, it felt like I was just vomiting words on the page. Plots and scenes resembled a 5,000-piece puzzle tossed off a twenty-story building more than a novel-in-the-making. For the challenge, it was all about the word count and I reasoned I would sort it all out later. My daily mantra was, “You can’t edit an empty page, right?”

Whew! I did it. Those coveted 50,000 words in thirty days! Yay me!

But … was the book done? Did it resemble something that would later be wrapped in a cover and displayed on a shelf? Not even close. But it was all about the challenge, and the hope that my words could be shaped into a novel. I mean, who wants to give up after making it to 50,000 words?

I still had a lot of work to do before I could line up beta readers and an editor. But NaNoWriMo was my catalyst. My shot in the arm that this old gal could be an author. Seriously. Of an actual book.

Four months later, my debut novel, While You Walked By, was released. And, let me tell you, March 2020 was not the best time to launch a book from a new author.

But the novel has received almost 6,000 reviews on Amazon, and I’ve since launched four more novels and am working on another to be released in 2025. I no longer participate in NaNoWriMo because I’m more realistic about what I can achieve in thirty days (Remember, I’m over fifty now!). However, NaNoWriMo was the motivation that sparked my writing career.

And, who knows, maybe NaNoWriMo is just the challenge you need to get started writing too!

For more posts on NaNoWriMo, click here.

*****

A young homeless boy.

An old man who has lost everything.

An unlikely friendship that brought healing to both.

Ben doesn’t know what to think when a homeless boy shows up late one night behind Angelo’s Bakery where he works as a handyman. He’d seen his share of suffering humanity on the streets of Philadelphia, but this boy is so young…so vulnerable.

Pushing sixty and feeling as if his life has no purpose, Ben wrestles with his own demons. A recovering alcoholic, he is gripped with remorse over the loss of his wife and son, but determined to stay sober.

Twelve-year-old Aden starts to run when an old man comes out of Angelo’s Bakery and catches him hiding, but something about the man draws Aden to him. Terrified and naive to life on the streets, Aden is forced to forge his survival in the face of dangerous predators and violence after his mother abandoned him.

Can Aden trust the gentle old man who offers him food and a hand of friendship? Will Ben be able to forgive himself and search for his son?

While You Walked By delivers a heartfelt, coming-of-age story about the hope that can be found even in the most desperate circumstances.

Buy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart

*****

Although she has always written to entertain others, it was during her dicult teen years that Regina turned to writing as a source of personal therapy. Besides dividing her time between being an author and her career as an American Sign Language Interpreter, Regina also manages her blog, It’s a Felty Thing, and has a special place in her heart for troubled youth. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.