A few moments ago I passed the 20,000 word mark on my NaNoWriMo novel. Woohoo! I am doing the Snoopy happy dance. Okay, I haven’t actually moved, I’m still sitting here with the laptop in my lap, typing this post. But in my mind I am so doing the Snoopy happy dance. (The mere thought of really doing that makes me tired. But imagining it? Hey, I’m a writer, I can imagine it just fine. But there, a graphical type image so I don’t even have to imagine it. Well, I still have to imagine ME moving like that…Nope, can’t do it. Not even in my writerly imagination.)

So much for the update, now for the advice. I’ll keep it short and simple: Trust the process. You’ve been telling stories your whole life. Sometimes they’ve been whoppers. Sometimes you’ve embellished and honed the telling of your story until you are proud of your little creative self. You may even practice telling it to the dogs. (My dogs give me distinct looks of “Not again!” and “Will there be bribes, er, treats this time?” and often sigh out loud when I hone my craft on their captive flappy ears, which is too often, I suspect. And surprisingly difficult to say.)

My point being, you know how to tell a story so tell it already! And once you start telling a story, all sorts of other stories will occur to you, so jot those down and get back to your story. This story. The one you’re writing for NaNoWriMo. You can do this. Believe me, if I can, you can. So, go. Now. Go write! (So much for short, huh?)

Thanks for reading and have fun writing whatever it is you’re writing. And if you’re not writing for NaNoWriMo or any other reason, then bless your heart, you might be one of the sane ones. Peace be with you. :)