NaNoWriMo Who in the What Now?

It's finally happened. I'm certifiably insane.

I can't think of any other way to explain what I've just decided to do, unless my daily plethora of vitamins, herbal supplements and antihistimines has combined to make me more loopy than usual.

I'm going to try to write a novel. In one month. Yeah, that's right. 50,000 words in 30 days.

It's a contest of sorts. Back in June 1999, this guy in California decided he could probably write a novel in one month if he got other people to try as well, and asked a few of his friends to attempt it with him. 21 people started the project, and 6 actually finished. The following year 140 or so signed up, and 29 of them made it to the 50,000 word count. This year over 2000 people have signed up, including me.

Granted, I have no idea what I'm going to write about. Plot? Characters? Setting? Beats me. I'll figure it out before Thursday. I hope. Right now, I'm still trying to convince myself that this is an attainable goal, and that I'm not going to sputter out around word #24,872. 50,000 words in 30 days breaks down to 1667 words a day, and if anyone can babble nonsensically for 2000 words a day, it's me. The question is whether I can babble nonsensically for 30 days solid and cobble it into a workable story.

And yeah, I know the story's gonna be crap. I don't expect to be writing the greatest work of fiction the world has seen since Ulysses. But then again, Kerouac supposedly wrote The Subterraneans in three days and nights (with the help of a lot of Benzedrine).

Personally, I think I'll just stick to the coffee, thanks.

I'm not alone in my insanity. One of my co-workers has also signed up, and she hasn't got a clue what to write about either. And I'm trying to get a couple more folks to play with me. Maybe if I get a few more people to suffer along with me, I won't feel like I've just done the dumbest thing ever by signing up for this.

It's not like I didn't have enough to do with my free time. Between work, getting the apartment cleaned and presentable for houseguests (Roger Mexico is visiting over Thanksgiving), keeping Ma Huang from tearing down the new curtains, occasionally making time for social events, and sporadically writing here I don't have a lot of open spots on my dance card. And Christmas is right around the corner. Guess I'll be doing that last minute shopping, just like I do every year.

I suppose this means I'm going to have to budget my time more efficiently. I may have to tape all of the TV shows I watch on a regular basis and save them all for December. I may have to hide my Blockbuster card from myself for a few weeks. I may actually perfect those powers of invisibility that I've been working on for the past few years.

And I will probably end up drinking all of the coffee in the Greater Cincinnati area. Yikes.

So just a forewarning. I may not be the most prolific blogger over the next month (yeah, like I am now), but I'll be popping in from time to time to keep everyone updated on my progress (or lack thereof). The entries will probably be much shorter than usual, so I'll most likely change the settings to show more than one post at a time. I'd really hate to have my readers scroll down for 5 minutes so they can read one lousy paragraph (which will probably read, "AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! I am soooo stuck. I can't do this. What kind of crack was I smoking when I signed up for this bizarre form of torture?")

I just want to see if I can actually do this. I've been rehashing the same plot for over ten years now, and at times I feel like I'm never going to accomplish anything. Maybe if I start fresh and turn off my inner editor, I can pull this off and be able to say I finished something. Maybe this small accomplishement will give me an extra boost of pride and determination, and I'll actually feel like I can get somewhere on the "real" novel. And by announcing my participation in this fiasco, I'm obligated to at least give it the old college try.

So if you see me stumbling around next month mumbling things about word count and plot points to myself, you'll know why. Kindly give me a cup of coffee and point me in the direction of my home. And if you see me on December 1 yelling, "I DID IT! I DID IT!" then buy me a beer and give me a hearty pat on the back.

And for those of you who'd like to join me in the insanity, go sign up. The deadline is Monday. C'mon. It'll be fun. Agonizing, yes. Frustrating, yes. But when it's all over, we'll be able to look back and laugh - probably from how bad our finished products are. What have you got to lose besides a month of sleep?

C'mon. I dare you.