'Novel' means 'new'

I am one hundred percent in love with my NaNo novel.

I'm serious. I can't stop thinking about it. I think I'm even going to work on it today and save my paying work for this evening. I had so many great ideas for it this morning that I was itching to get down on paper (well, on screen).

One of the reasons why I think I love it so much is because it's different: different from anything I've ever written, and different than almost anything I've ever read. Not we-can't-publish-that kind of different (I hope), but different enough to hopefully interest readers as much as it interests me.

That's the way it should be, though, I think. Novel the adjective means new, so a novel should be something new: a story or a point of view or a character the likes of which haven't been seen before in the world of fiction. Plots and characters and settings that are rehashed versions of other books are boring.

Are you writing a novel this November? Make sure it's something fresh and new — preferrably in a good way!