Halloween night I spent multi-tasking: handing out Halloween candy and visiting with the parents (the only trick-or-treaters we get are people we know, all of four families), watching the movie “Water for Elephants,” based on Sara Gruen’s book (that I loved), a NaNoWriMo novel, and working on my outline for my own NaNoWriMo novel, “Full Circle.”

And now it’s November 2^nd and as I look around my great room I see orange pumpkins and other Halloween decorations. A good

Halloween is over, isn’t it?

sign in some ways. Instead of allowing myself to be distracted by household chores, I’m devoted to the novel I’m writing for NaNoWriMo. And it isn’t about Diana the Huntress after all! (Bad sign: my husband hasn’t put away the decorations either.)

I’ve decided to take the easy way out. I’m writing the fourth and FINAL novel set in Woodbury, NH. (What is a series of four novels called, anyway? A series?) This one is from the POV of Olivia, the daughter of Anne, who is the protagonist of the first novel I ever attempted. The one I started in 1986. Too many years ago to calculate using your fingers and toes so I’ll fess up—that’s one year shy of thirty years.

Using an existing setting and characters for NaNo feels like cheating. OK, to some of you, it is cheating. But it is probably the only way I will win. I’m enjoying myself, knowing that 1) there’s a high likelihood that I’ll win (I’m already ahead of my goal for the first two days of November) and 2) I am going to be done with this series, with these characters, with this setting.

Yup, hard to admit but I am ready to move on to new territory.

I have a feeling that I am going to end up with one novel written from four (or maybe just three) points of view instead of four (or maybe just three) separate novels. As long as I end up with something to show for all of this time spent writing, I’ll be happy. And that means a published novel. Or maybe three. And that’s called a trilogy.…