Ready, Set. . .

Well, Christmas is upon us and for me it means something in addition to the birth of Christ, feeding ham to the in-laws, and sacrificing a tree on the altar of capitalism: This year it's the start of my semi-annual writing vacation. (No, not a vacation from writing.) Like a lot of novelists out there, probably the vast majority, I have a day job. So, I have to work the writing in around the job, usually in the early morning.

However, one of the perks I do get is four weeks of paid vacation a year. So, I use half of it for actual family vacations (like my trip to Germany this year) and the other half I use for intense work on whatever project is on the front burner. Sort of a micro NaNoWriMo where I'm aiming a lot higher than 1600+ words a day. A one person writer's retreat that, this year, is going to run from Christmas to Jan 1st. I'm hoping I'll be able to sprint to the finish with Prophets and have it done for the new year. (Which, if my estimate of the word count for the novel's right, will require something under 3400 words a day for a week.)

Wish me luck.