I finally took the plunge and started participating in NaNoWriMo, the popular month-long novel-writing program to celebrate November as National Novel Writing Month.

The goal is 50,000 words, and I topped 2,200 the first day while listening to Electric Light Orchestra.

As a horror writer, I figured my NaNoWriMo novel would be one of a dozen or so ideas I have for horror novels.

However, I decided to write a romantic comedy titled One Lucky Girl. The idea has been stuck in my brain for about three years, so much so, I have a fully formed beginning, middle, and end in my head.

Here’s the synopsis:

Charlie is a 36-year-old man who falls hard for Dani, a woman 15 years younger than him. When Charlie confesses his feelings to her, Dani lets him down easy, rejecting his love but not his friendship. Charlie understands Dani’s decision, but the Universe is not ready to let the matter drop. After the fateful night, fortune starts favoring Charlie, while Dani hits a stretch of tough luck. Could Dani’s string of unfortunate events be related to her refusing Charlie’s affections?

One Lucky Girl is inspired by a true story. In fact, the opening scene actually happened to me, and it’s almost a play-by-play of the events of that night. Soon after, I wrote a short story about these two people named Charlie and Dani, not to submit for publication but to preserve for a future novel.

Here’s the opening paragraph of the story:

Sometimes life comes down to waiting in a parking lot late at night to tell a girl you like her.  Sometimes death comes down to that as well.  But not always.  Luck can intervene, and Dani was one lucky girl even if she didn’t realize it.  She battled the Universe and the Universe won, but she put up a good fight.

Another inspiration for my choice to take the romantic comedy route is one of my literary horror heroes, Jeff Strand. He writes awesome horror novels, but he also wrote one of the quirkiest, most heartfelt, and funniest romantic comedies I’ve ever read. It was titled Kumquat, and I don’t think it ever received the attention it deserved. However, it showed me that a horror writer can branch out and pen a romantic comedy just as good as anybody else.

When I decided to write One Lucky Girl, I also decided to create an unofficial cover for the future novel. And yes, even a faux cover makes the experience seem more real.

 
So here I go to challenge myself on NaNoWriMo for the first time and pump out 50,000 words in 30 days. I suspect it’ll come down to the wire, but I’m determined.

One thing’s for sure. If I finish One Lucky Girl, I’ll feel like one lucky boy.

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