Nicole M. Miller

‘Tis that time of the year again. NaNoWriMo! For those of you thinking I just spouted a bunch of gibberish, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month and takes place every November. The goal: 50,000 words in 30 days. It is a time of freewriting with no looking back. Last year, I found it a liberating experience. Until recently, I was very concerned about this year’s NaNoWriMo – because I couldn’t decide on an idea to write! I have an idea notebook of about 60 ideas (historical and contemporary) and of those, about 25 historical fiction ideas that are solid and ready to write. The idea I picked for NaNo? Not...

I reached the 50,000 words for National Novel Writing Month within the 1st and 30th of November, but my novel was far from being over. Now, I’ve reached 77,000 words and can say the story is all wrapped up nice and tight and actually “finished.” Thank you everyone who encouraged me along the way. It is still weird to think I finished a novel that I love after only two months! Watch for more news and updates about the manuscript, “A Long Way from Home.” Check out the excerpt in the “My Books” section.
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I reached just over 53,000 words in 28 days. Not too shabby! So what does this mean now? Well, aside from officially getting to post the neat little picture to the left, I have a new (mostly completed) manuscript. To pitch this novel to the publishers I’m aiming for, I will end up with around 70,000 words, so I’m going to keep my pace and get the rest finished. Then, polishing and pitching time! What did I learn? I re-learned my love of writing. After spending years writing, rewriting, editing and tweaking In Dawn’s Shadows, I’m a little sick of that process. So letting the creative juices flow for this...

At more than 37,000 words in my National Novel Writing Month project, I get the inpsiration to expand my plot, add this, add that…So I imagine this will be much, much longer than the 50,000 words for November. Thus, I know this will not be “finished” by November 30. But I am excited for this project and I’m so excited to see all my other writer buddies doing well with their manuscripts as well. I know it sounds silly, but I’m already looking forward to next November! 😉

In efforts to avoid working on the much-needed editing of my other WIP, I have been getting lots of “NaNo-ing” done. I passed the 30,000-word mark today and am getting to the “good” parts of the novel. Things are moving faster, emotions higher, much more at stake… I realize I haven’t posted much about this book, so here is an excerpt for you! PROLOGUE 1931 “Madeline! Wait!” Twelve-year-old Madeline Barker pushed through the brush of the apple orchard and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Her heart raced, not from the sprint, but at the news she’d received. This isn’t fair. “Madeline?” She reached Apple Creek and...