It’s that time of year again.

Well, I say “again,” but this is only the second year I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month. Last year marked the beginning of when I got serious about writing this book series – truthfully I didn’t have a lot of plot structure and character development to go on. I just knew I had to start somewhere. I didn’t meet the goal of 50,ooo words – I think I got to maybe 22,000 at the most. But that 22,000 got the ball rolling, so it bears repeating: you’ve got to start somewhere.

Starting is the hardest part, I think. Blank pages are more daunting than just about anything I can think of. I’ll sooner feel panicked by empty paper than the prospect of whatever scary new roller coaster opened up at the friendly neighborhood theme park.

Artists are the closest thing to alchemists and magicians you can get. We alone are capable of creating something out of nothing. Whether you work with words, paint, computer generated images, clay, camera lenses, or styrofoam cups, you carry in you the only real magic in this world: creation. And as most creation stories will tell you, before Creation comes the Void, and that’s one of the things artists tend to fear the most. Sure, we’re supposed to look at the Void and call it “Opportunity” or “Possibility,” but let’s be honest. It’s scary.

But I’ll say it one more time. You’ve got to start somewhere. I’m not sure how, but it has to begin.

This is the kind of thing you think of on Day1.

My word count begins tonight.