The First Day of NaNoWriMo! YAY!!!

Today, November 1, 2012, marks the first day of a month-long challenge to write 50,000 words during National Novel Writing Month (AKA NaNoWriMo). I'll be joining writers from all around the world as we attempt to reach the 50,000 word mark. My novels are usually around the 80,000-85,000 mark, so I'm hoping to far surpass the NaNoWriMo goal. The daily word count I'm trying to reach is close to 3100 words every day except for Sundays.



As you know if you're a regular reader of this blog, I spent most of October not only launching The Way of Grace  (book three in the Miller's Creek novels), but also doing the pre-writing for book four in the series, Pilgrimage of Promise. Today is when I take the pre-writing and begin to turn it into my lousy first draft. (I call it a lousy first draft because that's exactly what first drafts are. Author Michael Crichton is credited with saying: "Books aren't written; they're rewritten." But I digress...)



Here's an introduction to the main characters and a snippet about Pilgrimage of Promise, though all of it is open to change at this stage in the game:



The heroine for the story is Mona Beth Adams, known to those who've read the Miller's Creek novels as the mother figure for Miller's Creek, Mama Beth. She has the faith of a child, the heart of a mother, and the wisdom that only comes from dependence on God through the hard knocks of life. This story is her journey from youth to adulthood, as she learns to clasp hold of God's promises.





For the young version of Mona Beth I choose Amanda Seyfried, a country girl with a feisty spirit, grit, and determination. For the older version, I choose Dame Judi Dench (minus the British accent, of course).





The hero of our story, though he is certainly not always heroic, is Bo Miller. (If you've kept track of the family lines of Miller's Creek, Bo is Steve Miller's dad.) As a high school heartthrob and young version of Bo, I choose James Marsden. For his older years, another James will play Bo quite well I think--James Garner.





Here's a mock-up cover and a short blurb about the book: A love that stands the test of time... The love between Bo Miller and Mona Beth Adams has survived the worst--family differences, distance, war, betrayal. Now they face the trial of death and painful memories that neither of them want to resurrect. Could a dusty stack of crumbling love letters hold the key to moving past the pain of faulty human promises to discover again the glorious promises of God?



Prayer Request: Please pray as I write this story that I'll be able to adequately contrast the frailty of human promises with the rock-solid promises of God. Pray that God will move me out of the way and let His Spirit take control and write through me. Pray that through the writing of this story lives will be changed for God's glory and His Kingdom. Thank you!