NaNoWriMo Approacheth

National Novel Writing Month is bearing down upon my head! Whatever will I write about? Whatever will YOU write about? Don't know what I'm talking about? Oh, let me tell you of the terrors and triumphs of NaNoWriMo...

For someone who has always wanted to write a book, NaNoWriMo is an inspiring challenge. Give yourself a deadline, and the words will just pour fourth. That's the premise anyway.

What NaNoWriMo does is give you 30 days--the month of November--to write a 50,000 word novel. Doesn't sound like much, right?  After all, it breaks down to about 1,667 words a day. Totally doable. To make it easier, you're joining approximately 360,000 other writers around the world to accomplish the same task.  You're a team!

And then you start crunching out the words.

I can only speak for myself, really, but during those 30 days I have cranked out some of the worst drivel of my entire life. Inane dialog. Unnecessary descriptions. Superfluous words. Just to get a word count!

It makes one question one's worthiness as a writer. It makes one question one's sanity. Relationships suffer.  Health suffers. Typing fingers suffer.

Don't fret! There is help! The Office of Letters and Light (I don't make this stuff up) has a website full of suggestions, connections to other local NaNo'ers, and inspiration at http://www.nanowrimo.org/. You're not in this alone. There's also a fantastic book called No Plot, No Problem: The Low-Stress Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo. I find it to be quite handy for any aspiring writer.

But in the end, if you've stuck with it, you have written a book.  Look, Ma! A novel of my very own! The satisfaction is immeasurable, and that's a good thing. You're not winnin' anything else for that piece of piddly writing.

However, you can bask in the glow of success. You're a writer! You've written a book!

Go forth to plod and plot.
See you in the bookstore--when I'm not plodding myself!

Pamela.