NaNoWriMo is Upon Us!

I work for the University of Utah, providing IT support for multiple departments on campus. Last night there was a scheduled power outage at one of the buildings I support, so I came in early first thing this morning to make sure all critical systems were A-OK (previous power outages have caused major problems to some systems). Fortunately, all systems came up just fine, and as I waited around for the rest of the employees to show up (to make sure all PCs turned on properly), one of them approached me and asked about my latest book The Network. This is one of the many reasons I love about being an author.

She had heard me talk about the book several times and had shown interest in the plot. Throughout the past couple of years, she has asked me about it. She asked for an update today and I told her that it was published and available. Her face lit up. She asked for the ISBN and instantly looked it up on Amazon. She was ecstatic, going off about how she has loved to read ever since she could sound out letters into words. She gets up every morning at 4:30 just so she can read for an hour and a half. That's awesome.

Not enough people leisurely read anymore.  Steve Jobs said "The fact is people don't read anymore." Dang. That sentence makes me want to cry. Are we too wrapped up in the world around us? Or do we just not like to read? I commute to work every day via public transportation. I spend most of that time reading. Leisure reading, if possible. That's 2 hours every business day. I look around sometimes and see people staring out the windows, doing nothing. That's fine. If what they need is some quiet time on the bus to think and ponder, that's great. But it just seems like a waste of time! Any time I see someone reading a book, it brings a smile to my face, particularly if it is a book I have enjoyed myself.

I've also noticed a lot of people remarking that reading is "nerdy" or "geeky." I don't understand this, but if this type of learning is considered nerdy, I'm all for it. And I'll keep it up, and I'll keep writing.

Speaking of writing, NaNoWriMo is upon us! Ahhhh! This Friday, National Novel Writing Month begins. For those of you reading, and don't know what NaNoWriMo is, every November is National Novel Writing Month. I have had a few successful NaNo's. Core of the Nations and The Network were originally written as NaNos.  50,000 words in 30 days! Sound easy? Give it a try. You have 2 days!