The Pressure is On.

October 28, 2009

Last week I joined NaNoWriMo, which stand for National Novel Writing Month. It is a "fun seat of the pants " way to write a novel in one month, by Nov. 30. The goal is 50,000 words. The only thing that matters is output not quality . We are to write write write. We are not to edit or rewrite or send for review. That sort of non sense will be done AFTER November 30. To date their are 86, 724 writers signed up to participate from all over the world. Each writer chooses a home group for all their word count to be credited towards. (See, like that sentence there, normally I would edit it so it does not end in a preposition, or I would Bing it to see if indeed that sentence was ending in a preposition, or I would stop writing and go back to last months issue of Writers Magazine and reread that article about how the English language is changing and ending sentences in prepositions may not be so bad, but Nooooooooo, not today, today I am just writing as if naNo Wri Mo had already started)

I chose Galway Ireland as my home group ,for many reasons. Mostly because I feel so cool getting emails from Galway but also because they only had 27 writers who chose Galway as their "home". Chicago, Champaign and Bloomington had plenty of us fools so I gave myself to the Best City in the West. That's just the way I am . All sacrificing. All the time.

The cost of joining is free (donations needed and accepted) minus of course a few writing tools. Such as a new laptop, my first, and a cordless mouse and of course a carrying case in todays popular blue and brown colors. I HAD TO BUY THESE THINGS. I couldn't hardly enter my word numbers to be counted towards my home group via paper and pen and the snail mail of the post could I ?!?! And besides I'll use the laptop for business on the road, and recipes in the kitchen and cow records in the barn and and and. Rationalization over.

My story line is set in my head. The characters are evolving. Now where to find the time ?
50, 000 words divided by 30 days is 1, 666 words a day. If the average page has 300 words then I am to write 6 pages a day. SIX PAGES A DAY ?!?! Oh Good Lord ! (cry for help) What have I done? Why did I not do the exact math earlier ? This is obviously impossible . Its only 4 days till we start. I'm much too busy for this, too important, too many people need me, I have children, grandchildren, and elderly aunt, a job, two jobs, a husband, a farm, dirty laundry, horses. I have eczema for crying out loud.

Wait.

Maaaaaaybe, I could do less of all the things no one really knows I do or asks me to do anyway. Maaaaaaybe, I could be less of a martyr and more of a writer.
Maaaaaaybe, I could actually do this thing called NaNoWriMo. I mean, its just such a cool name and all. I really would like to be able to say, "done that, been there, got the t-shirt."

Fine. I'm doing it.