While I take a break from the completed draft of a novel I've worked on for years, I've decided to start something new. And what better time to do that than in November?

For those who may not know, November is National Novel Writing Month. Basically, the crazy writers of the world attempt to write 50k words in 30 days. It's insane, infuriating and sort of awesome, and I can't wait to give it a go. This year, unlike the past few times I've participated, I'm not aiming to hit the 50k goal. I really just want a solid start on my next novel. And NaNoWriMo provides just the inspiration and motivation I need to do that.

My next novel stars Cat, the sassy, scene-stealing best friend of my last main character. I've been working on the outline for the last couple weeks and I am stoked to get started!

To get into the story, I've been listening to a playlist of songs that remind me of my characters and spending way too much time on Pinterest. I love that I get to call this stuff "research." I mean, look at all the pretty!

The soundtrack for this novel has been completely different from my last one. Lighter, sexier. These two songs specifically have been on repeat:

I really feel like Cat's story is going to be so different from Tierney's, and I'm looking forward to the challenge. It will be a nice break before I start revising Tierney.

How about you? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? How has your writing been going? Isn't Jared Padelecki pretty?