NaNoWriMo Returns!!

I just got my e-mail informing me that NaNoWriMo is starting up again. I participated last year but didn't finish. I did, however, write a lot more than I ever had before, so I'm hoping for a victory this year.

For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month." The idea is that during the month of November you write a short novel. 50,000 words, to be exact. It's that simple! That breaks down to 1,666.67 words a day, though you might want to go ahead and throw that 1,667th word in there just to get ahead of the game.

Last year's novel was a bit of a tragic tale about a man and how he copes with the fact that his wife was left brain damaged in a swimming accident. I enjoyed writing it, and wouldn't mind getting back to it some day. I ended with a paltry 20,188 words, but that's just 4,912 words short of halfway!

My novel this year is going to be TOTALLY different. I'm going to write a fantasy novel. I love the idea of inventing my own little world. I've already got a map drawn up and some ideas with where to take portions of the story. I need to settle on exactly what the larger conflict of the book will be though. But, chin up! I have the rest of October to think of that stuff.

Three cheers for NaNoWriMo!! Whee! I'm already giddy with excitement.

Some advice to first timers:

1. Don't worry if it's not an spectacular. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to hit 50,000 words. You can edit and tweak all you want later.

2. Have a plot in mind. You need a basic idea of where you're going or else you won't know how to get there. Things go a lot more quickly if you're not wandering aimlessly.

3. Have fun! Yeah, yeah, I know it's a lame thing to say, but that's what this is all about. Enjoy your time writing, and when it's all over you can truthfully claim to have written a novel!! And who knows, it might actually be good!

4. Visit NaNoWriMo.org early and often. They can give you much better advice than I can, you can commiserate if the need be, or even look up writers from your area. Plus, visiting the site gets you into that crazy, whimsical NaNoWriMo frame of mind.

By the way, be sure to check out my awesome "NaNoWriMo Participant" pic to your right. Oh yeah. You know you want that pic. Sign up!