About three years ago I signed up to take part of NaNoWriMo, it’s an online contest with yourself. You’re to write a 50,000 world novel in thirty days. At the end of the thirty days you upload it to the site. I thought it was a pretty cool idea when my friend Cory told me about it and so I began.

I wrote the first three chapters. It just so happened that my full time modeling career took off at this time too causing me to leave behind the novel I created. I really hadn’t thought about it in the past three years.

Until I was on the road last month. I was clicking around in my computer and found the manuscript and realized that three chapters is the norm for sending manuscripts out to publishers/agents. I figured, what the hell and took the bull by the horns and started writing the rest of the story.

It took three weeks to finish it. Between shoots, while we were driving and at nights in hotel rooms I wrote my little heart out.

At the end of January I had a 41,132 word novel. I was pretty proud of myself. Especially since this was the very first novel that I’d ever finished. I’ve written a few over the years – but I got hemmed up in the editing process while I was writing.

When I got home I bought a few books on writing and publishing and read them through. Now I’m wrestling with the first round of edits.

I’m super excited. I’m hoping that by March it’ll be finished with all the editing and I’ll be able to start querying agents.

So… that’s what I’ve been doing with my first month.

Wish me luck!