I mentioned last week that I'm feeling the burnout and that is still true. It's not as bad as it was because I've been experimenting with new things, but I can feel it coming. November is going to be a welcome break from the world of vampires and werewolves, I can tell you that much.

I think I'm starting to exhaust my muse. What does that mean? You're lucky because I'm going to tell you.

I'm a vampire writer, first and foremost. I'll never stop writing about vampires and werewolves and mystical supernatural creatures. That is my passion, my muse, and I'll never fully stop doing that. I love being unrestrained by the laws of science when it comes to what my vampires can do. Between Seven and Roan and Ulrich, I'm like a protective mom with her children. I want to let them go into the world, but I want to keep them close to me so they are safe from criticism and scorn. So far, everyone has loved Seven and Ulrich. Roan is getting his introduction next year.

While I love writing about vampires and the supernatural, I'm exhausting myself. I'm running out of steam. It's time to write about something else. That's where Nanowrimo comes in.

I'm going to have the chance to write something different, something completely foreign to me. I've never written in first person perspective, and that's part of what I'm doing this year. I've never written a story where none of the characters can run faster than a speeding bullet or snap an oak in half with their bare hands. I'm doing that this year. It's scary and exhillarating at the same time.

No matter how good you are, eventually writing the same old thing is going to catch up to you. I told myself a year ago that I would never feel burnout. I love what I do too much. But here I am, on the verge. Granted, I haven't had a real break this whole time and I desperately need one. The point is, someday down the road, maybe not tomorrow and maybe not next year, but someday, you'll feel like your muse is exhausted.

So what do you do? Stop writing? No. Never stop writing. NP told me that last year and I haven't really. Even while I've been blocked this week, I've had my finger in one book or the other that I've already written. Dream about something different. Let your mind wander over what it would be like to write something completely different from what you've been doing. Read a new book. Watch a new movie. Sample something different in your life and let it inspire you. Or go out on the back porch with a glass of Captain Morgan and a cigarette and stare at the sky.

But don't stop. You'll find it again. Talk to other people, bounce ideas off of those you trust. Put whatever you do, don't stop.

Would-be writers talk about the novel they wish they could write. True writers talk about the one they're writing. Don't be a would-be.