The Craziness Begins - Naner-Naner

A week ago I posted on FaceBook that I was diving into the craziness of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Midnight was approaching, and I was excited and nervous about the challenge that lay ahead.

A friend, chiming in with her vote of support, suggested I start a blog discussing my daily reflections on my day's writing. "Really?" I wrote back, "After hours of pouring words out you're suggesting I write more?" I hope she saw between the digital lines that I was smiling.

I mean, I actually thought it was a good idea. As I said, I was nervous about stepping up to the challenge of 1667 words everyday for 30 days - in a row, and problems always feel less...problematic when shared.
Of course, when you read that 'real writers' like Stephan King have strict writing regimes where they write 2,000; 3,000, X,000 words per day - well then you feel like a whinny baby quaking at the thought of a mere 1,667. On the other hand, if Mr. King falls short of his daily goal, only his wife knows.

NaNo encourages you to post your daily count: accountability my husband (a psychologist) will agree, helps with task completion.
NaNo suggests you collect writing buddies: people who will agree to give you a kick in the pants when you begin to flag, and who grab you by the digital hand and twirl you around when you're making progress (thanks Ona!)
NaNo encourages you bribe yourself with handy piles of chocolate - is it a coincidence that it begins right after all the post Halloween candy sales? I think not!
But mostly, NaNo encourages you to surround yourself with like minded people who 'get it'. No one in the digital world of the NaNoWriMo forums doubts that you are a writer, no one tells you to stop wasting your time, or that you should be doing (insert school work, chore, other practical achievement here).

Writing is a solitary business.

Except - during the month of November, when close to 300,000 people worldwide, on every continent (yep Antarctica too!), band together as a collective with the goal to write 15 trillion words, and announce to the world: We Are Writers!

Speaking of accountability...week one of NaNo concluded at midnight. I'm doing fairly well. I am 822 words short of where I need to be by the end of the day. I can do that. It's the next 37,000 I'm fretting about!

In the immortal words of Mork: Naner-Naner....
    To 50,000 and beyond!