The Start Of Something Big?

Despite having the same number of days as April, June and September, November always feels like a very short month to me. Here in the UK, we've left summer far behind but it still seems too early to start thinking about Christmas. And yet...do you remember how short the summer holidays seemed when you were at school? Then you find time passing even faster, when you get out in the big wide world, with all its distractions. Six weeks ago we were basking in a warm, sunlit Indian summer. In exactly six weeks' time, it will be Christmas Day! It's pretty frightening when you look at it like that. I've decided that this year, I'm going to make the most of November. I've found it's a good time to start a new project - bringing a final burst of creativity to finish the year. 

November is National Novel Writing Month. Are you part of NaNoWriMo?http://www.nanowrimo.org/ If you want to write a novel, encouragement is almost as important as inspiration. The NaNoWriMo website is a great place to find help and support - their forums are a fund of useful information and encouragement.

For the past few weeks I've been doing a big blog tour (see http://rbpp-ch.blogspot.com/, which has involved writing a lot of short pieces over and above the daily word count target for my current WIP. That means a lot of time spent sitting at the computer, which will only only increase as the days shorten and the weather closes in. It was while we were snowed in last winter that I wrote my current release for Harlequin Mills and Boon, Weight of the Crown. I decided then that I needed something I could do indoors during my non-writing time that involved more moving about. It's taken me this long to do anything about it, but I've finally sent my ancient sewing machine off to be cannibalised for spares, and bought myself a new model. It's pretty basic as all I usually do is repairs and make curtains, but after blogging about my urge to do something creative, lots of people commented with suggestions for craft sites. So far, I've managed to make fleecy hats for each of my triplet nephews (and resisted the temptation to embroider them with the names Huey, Dewey and Louie!) and I'm in the process of making draught excluders for our exterior doors. Sewing still involves a fair bit of sitting at a machine, but there are also breaks for measuring up and fabric shopping. That means trips to town,  which is a great excuse for meeting up with friends for coffee and cake....I can see the time is going to go faster than ever this November! 

How are you planning to spend the run up to the holiday season?

Christina Hollis writes Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon Ltd. You can catch up with her on her website, http://www.christinahollis.com, read her blog at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com and on Twitter, where she tweets as @christinabooks.