I am going to convince you that sometimes quitting is exactly what you need to do.

In this instance, I quit before I even started. At the same time, I visited a local bookstore (Posman Books in Atlanta) and bought a magnet that says, “Never never never give up,” which is supposedly a Winston Churchill quote. So how does this make sense?

I have participated in Nanowrimo for most of the past several years. The past two years I even “won,” meaning I proved that I put 50,000-plus words on the page of a novel project in the month of November. My plan was to return and win again this year, even though Nano is having a bit of a crazy year, and I know several people who are doing their 50,000 words without actual Nanowrimo. I started a novel last November and was excited to return to it, expecting to either finish it or get pretty close. I carved out a few days from the month—like I always do—deciding to write 2,400 words a day with certain strategic days off. For Thanksgiving. But also this year because I was going to be away at a conference until November 3.

On November 2, two agents said they were enthusiastic about the book I had just pitched them and please send the manuscript along—after I cut 15,000 words. Which means I went back to my hotel room, opened my bullet journal, and changed the heading of my Nano schedule from “Nano 2024” to “Cutting Revision.” Number two.

Because every choice we make is a decision to not do something else.

And never, never, never giving up on The Edge selling this year means quitting Nanowrimo 2024 before I even begin.

Good luck to you writers! I will probably see you next year. And I’ll be busy doing other things, waiting for a moment in 2025 when I can finish the book about the girl and the donkey and the Bigfeet.