Ready, set, write!

Okay, gang, get ready for Novel in 90 Days, complete with lessons I've learned, am still learning, and stuff I wish I'd learned a long time ago. If you're planning on coming to class (and even if you're not), have a favorite novel's First Page ready to go.

We're going to talk about getting started, setting attainable (but BIG) goals, how to dive in, where to dive in, and how to stay afloat once you're in up to your eyelashes.

We're going to talk about ideas and how to tell if they can carry the kind of book you want to write. We're also going prepare our left and right brain for the task at hand.

Left brain, listen up: We're going to make lists, we're going to practice timed writing, we're going to journal, we're going to talk about interviewing sources and research, and we're going to read in order to tighten up those fat, flabby frontal lobes.

Right brain, loosen up. Take a walk. Pet the dog. Make a list of things that make you happy. Describe the intricate details of the thing or circumstance that makes you happy. Splash in mud, take a hot bath, visit the library and soak in other writer's work through the happy osmosis that takes place in libraries.

Choose a soundtrack for your novel, choose a movie that puts you in the mood to write your novel.

And get ready. We're about to write a book . . .