National Novel Writing Month and me

If you have been reading my blog for a while now, this will be very familiar. National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo. It’s this internet contest (for last of a better word) where you make a commitment to write at least 50,000 words (a short novel) in a month. The idea behind this being that many people always say that they want to write a novel "one day" and that you will never get to it unless you have a deadline so why not make November that "one day." It’s an international (despite the name) thing so you have a worldwide support group of other writers to talk to about your quest.

The only "prize" is the satisfaction of finishing a novel. Some people think that this entire idea is dumb. As my husband put it, "Yeah, but after 30 days, you have a finished novel and those people just have their bitterness." So there.

If you have been reading this blog, you also know that I have tried to do this for the last 3 or 4 years at least and have never finished it. So, you may ask, why am I trying it again this year?

If I may use someone else’s words:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

Because I have been putting my fiction writing behind every other priority in my life and I am sick of feeling like I am all talk and no action when it comes to my fiction. I have been putting it aside over and over again because my fiction writing has always been a "what if" instead of a sure thing in terms of making money like the other work I have to do.

I know this about myself from a lifetime of education: I need a deadline to get stuff done. It cannot be a "made-up" deadline. It needs to be "real" enough that I will feel shame if I do not accomplish it.

 I know chances are slim of getting a novel published but, honestly, it’s impossible to get an unwritten novel published so I might as well just do it and see what happens.

November is a terrible month for this contest. It’s the start of the holiday season. It’s the biggest eBay month of the year for me and it’s cold so I just want to curl up and do nothing. I do not care about any of this. I am freaking doing it.

I have, in the first few days of this contest, already written more than I did any other year. Total. I have been reading the nanowrimo guidebook, No Plot? No Problem! for tips and inspiration and it has been a huge help. In other words, I have taken this contest more seriously this year than ever before and it just feels different somehow.

The guidebook suggests telling as many people as possible about the contest. The reasons for this is that, the more people you tell, the more embarrassed you will be if you don’t finish it. This is why I am getting into all this detail on my blog.

Anyway, if you feel like being supportive, I would appreciate it. Just pop in and ask me how the old word count is going or something.

I will try to post word count updates as I go but please expect a lot of pathetic content (quotes, song lyrics, etc) this month as I save my writing power for the book. It’s nothing personal. In fact, yell at me if you do see me blogging because I should be working on the darn book!

Now I am going to tell you guys a little secret. I am promising to myself 50,000 words. But, secretly, my real goal is to finish the entire book, which is more than 50,000 words for sure. I realize this is insane, but I am secretly shooting for it.

And, no, you cannot read any of it. It’s total crap. Let me edit in December and then I will pass it around in the new year. 🙂