“I use Grammarly for proofreading because little green grammar gremlins are one step closer to taking over the world.”

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWri), so I decided to use it as an opportunity to write book two, Deadly Race, in my Deadly Series. The edits for book one, Deadly Bloodlines, is in the hands of my critique partner and beta reader so I’m ready to jump in November 1st.

Car photosDeadly Race is about a female race car driver in Cayman. I’m still working on the blurb, so bear with me if I’m sparse with the story details. I was inspired by this car which was parked close to my workplace on my way back from lunch. I thought, “How awesome to drive a car like that in a race?” and wa la, a story was born.

They used to race cars in Cayman in the 90’s and I remember going to a race in the sweltering heat and humidity and don’t get me started on the dust from the marl race track. But, when I saw the drivers racing around in their homemade fashion cars, I was sitting on the edge of my seat.

Another reason I wanted the main character to be a female race car driver is that I love living vicariously through my characters. In my first novel, For the Love of Jazz, I got to sing jazz on stage. Something I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the guts.

Serial killers fascinate me. So, in Deadly Bloodlines, I got to be the serial killer and the person who puts them away. With Deadly Race, I get to be a race car driver. How cool is that? It might not be the same as getting in a car and racing around the tracks myself, but it’s a close second.

I spent this past week pouring over the outline and spending time with all the characters in preparation. One thing that really helped was Kristen Lamb’s blog which provided an interesting view to preparing for NaNoWri. I didn’t finish the first time I participated, so I’m extremely apprehensive this time around. Not so much about completing NaNoWri, but finishing my book within the designated timeline. My aim is to write two books a year, a self-inflicted punishment an important goal in my 5 year plan.

Another thing I did to prepare was to read the book 2,000-10,000 How to write faster, write better, and write more of what you love. Long title, but a great book with tips on how to ramp up your daily word count. I’ve been in editing mode for the last few months and I need my writing and word count skills sharpened for NaNoWri.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR NANOWRI OR OTHER BIG PROJECTS?