I always think of August as a transitional month. This month in Texas is always hot, but 2011 has been a year like no other that I can remember and I’ve been here a long time. My mom doesn’t remember one like this either and she’s been here a lot longer than I have. We’ve only had about 1.5 inches of rain in the Panhandle of Texas all year. The thermometer reads 100+ more days than not. Thank you God for air conditioning.
August is the month everyone purchases school supplies and new clothes – Back to School season. Teachers go back to work in preparation of the first day of school, which for us is August 22. College students head for campus, purchase dorm stuff, text books, and pay tuition for the coming Fall Semester. Working moms look forward to fewer calls during the day from her children asking if they can go to the pool or reporting on a sibling’s behavior.
Most people seem to settle into a routine that follows the school year. If you’re a stay at home mom or dad, then you have more time during the day to set aside for writing. For more mature writers, for me at least, there is a sense of change and schedules. People are back from summer vacations or taking their last trip before school.
Our thoughts, as writers and readers change. There were some great summer reads, but excitement for new releases in the fall and all those great holiday releases will expand the pile of books by your favorite chair or expand your files on your Kindle or Nook.
Writers are setting goals to accomplish before the end of the year. We have five months left – almost half of the year before us. Make your goals reachable but challenging. Myself, I can get overly ambitious sometimes and then as the writing process takes place I shift my self-made deadlines with an eye on reality. One goal I encourage writers to prepare for is to participate in National Novel Writing Month, November. The challenge is to write a novel draft in 30 days – 50,000 words. The NaNoWriMo website gives you sign up and tells how to officially participate. Even if you don’t reach 50,000 words in 30 days, think about how far you will have progressed during that time and just keep on writing. It comes out to about 1,600 words per day and you can take Sundays off.
