Sheryl Monks

I have decided to participate in the Dzanc Books Write-A-Thon, which will take place December 17-20. I plan to write for the entire weekend, only taking breaks to eat and sleep.

Not only will it be a treat for me to have a dedicated time for my writing, but hopefully this will also benefit Dzanc. Dzanc is a wonderful non-profit independent publishing company that supports literary magazines and small presses, and publishes fantastic work. Also, Dzanc funds writing programs in public schools in both Michigan and New York where creative writing classes are not offered. They also sponsor the Dzanc Prize, which benefits not only the writer awarded the prize, but also pays for a community-based project lsuch as writing workshops in prisons or cancer centers.

I would be honored if you would sponsor my writing this year. Your dollars will help Dzanc Books to continue to support great writing and foster the creative talent of public school kids. If you'd like to pitch in, please click on the following link which will take you to a page where you can make a donation: Dzanc Write-A-Thon Sheryl Monks

If you would like to get involved in the Write-A-Thon, please email Dan Wickett at dan@dzancbooks.org

Well, I've come to a screeching halt on the novel writing. For the time being anyway. I happily accepted a position to teach English at Wilkes Community College mid-semester, so I'm having to play catch up. I love my classes, by the way. I have great students, which makes all the difference.

I'm not counting off nano just yet, though. I have 12,000 more words than what I started with, and for that I'm extremely pleased and inspired. There's a lot of rubbish in there, but still and all. There's probably no chance I'm going to make the 50K mark, at this point. Not by Nov. 30. But I plan to modify nano into a 3-month marathon. So hopefully by the end of January, I'll meet that goal. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

I decided to attempt NaNoWriMo this year. I've made the word count goal for the past two days, but I've lost lots of sleep. Feeling like a zombie, but my friends say that's good for letting go of my very strong impulse to self-edit. I need a jolt, though, so I'm hoping this helps me establish a disciplined daily writing regimen. I have a tendency to do anything except plant my butt in the chair and write. So if you have the same problem, maybe nano will work for you, too. Check it out: www.nanowrimo.org. Add me to your buddy list.