author: Nicole J. LeBoeuf

That work-for-hire thing? Yeah. The signed agreement is in the mail, and the editorial outline is open on my computer. Along with an interview release form to be given to interview subjects. 15,000 words. Hoo-boy. By the third week in October.

It's times like this when a writer sits back, glances at the calendar, looks up at the ceiling, and says, "Great Gods in alphabetical order. What have I gotten myself into now?"

Meh. No worries. It's just the usual pre-project panic. I get this way on November 1st, too. It's no biggie. Dude, I can do 15,000 words in three days. The rest of my allotted time I can use for research and editing and fact-checking and interviews and the inevitable additional panic attacks. It's cool.

Speaking of which, the NaNoWriMo forums are open and un-kerbluggled. By which I mean, the sign-in link works (John tried it out), the log-in link works (I tried that out), and posts are appearing at the speed of light. Boulder has its own regional forum this year for the first time; if you check it out, you'll see what we'll be up to this weekend. Come join us!

Now, about that novel. No, this one, not that one. About it, this:

Less is more.

Well and good. Only question is, which "less" is it that will serve best as "more"? That's what's taking me so fricken' long, dammit!