
Recently, one of my sisters read World-Mart and offered similar criticism, adding, “I wish I knew what happened to George.” That got me thinking. Was it right of me to leave readers to assume he too would soon die? What if George’s story didn’t end there?
I’ve never participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) before, and with sound reason. Some years ago, I’d written 50,000 words in one month, and it was an exhausting experience I hoped never to repeat. However, the closer it got to November 1, the more World-Mart began to eat at me. It did need a sequel, I decided, and NaNoWriMo was going to help me along with that.

The author "stats" dashboard is a great resource. It keeps up not only on your word count but also estimates the average word could you'll need in order to reach 50,000 words by November 30. Even more, if you've been straggling (like I have) it will estimate the date on which you'll reach that goal at your given pace. That alone is a surprisingly effective incentive to add at least a little progress each day, even if 50,000 words by the 30th s a bit beyond your current reach. It's definitely helped me.
So, World-Mart fans, the aftermath is coming, and I’m writing it with you in mind. It’s not going to be finished in a month, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.