In November 2019, I completed NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s an online non-profit, in which thousands of people from all over the world endeavor to complete a +50,000 word rough draft of a novel in one month—the month of November.
My month was a success, and I completed a rough draft of a thriller in the style of The Da Vinci Code. I won’t jinx it by giving away the title, but let’s just say it’s underlying theme is all about the benefits and risks of something called artificial general intelligence, a subject which deeply interests me in the context of healthcare.
Anyway, I may or may not become the next Dan Brown! The book idea is solid, but to make it presentable to an agent would require real work —the rewrite—and that would require a year-long full-time commitment and an entire shift of my mission—something which I am not prepared to do.
So, you won’t be seeing me on the shelves or Amazon anytime soon!
Regardless though, it was a very useful experience because it reminded me of a useful tool for creativity and innovation: In the early stages of creation or innovation, don’t be too judgmental of your new ideas.
Rephrased: No matter how great the dragon will become, it’s easy to kill it as a baby.