For the last 12 days (ish), I’ve been participating in Nanowrimo.  I say “ish” because I had a few busy days where I didn’t get any writing done, and as a result, I’ve created a 4,000 word gap that I may never overcome before the end of the month.  How’s my novel?  Not great, actually, but I’m still working on it.

I’ve been really surprised by how supportive and encouraging everyone is in me participating in a project like this.  A friend sent me a text the other day saying “I’m rooting for you!” and my boyfriend checks in regularly.  “Have you done any writing today?”

A few days into my writing adventure, Eric told his parent that I was going to write a mystery in a month, and they had some excellent advice.  “Tell her to put a hobbit or some wizards in it! People like those.”  His Dad also said that since I was writing a mystery I should, “Put a butler in it.  That way you don’t have to wonder who did it.”  He’s kidding, which I feel compelled to add because you may not have met Eric’s dad, and so you don’t know what a delightful and funny fellow he is.  But he is delightful and funny, and this is by far my favorite piece of writing advice for the month.

For some reason, Eric and I have been having trouble sleeping for the last week, which means that at 3:00 in the morning, we find ourselves both awake.  This is the time that Eric has chosen to both (1) have brilliant ideas for mysteries and (2) share them with me. At first, I did not find it charming when he said,

“What about a guy who gets killed at Olive Garden, and the title is: When You’re Here, You’re Murdered.”

“How about: Endless Salad and Breadsticks, You’re Dead!” I grumbled, getting into this brainstorming session not at all.

He shot me down and kept pitching in the middle of the night.  A murder at a Jam Band concert, for example could be Sleeping with the Phishes.

I started playing along. “What if the one about the Jam Band was called Grateful Dead?” Because it’s 3am, it takes me several seconds to come up with the next logical question. “Or, do you think they would sue?”

“Maybe you could change it. Like, When it was Over, He Was Grateful They Were All Dead.”

That might be a stretch, but that’s what 3am brainstorming sessions are for, and it’s just one of the many ways that I feel myself having more creative thoughts this November.