Well, I must say that it's an exciting time of the year. Halloween is literally a week away, Christmas is coming up and the snow is on it's way. But that's not all that's going to be happening in the next little while.
In exactly a week from now, the most intense writing challenge to grace my attention EVER starts up. It is a myth among masters, a legend among the literately talented... and possibly the most ruinous thing that I will ever partake in.
I am talking about NaNoWriMo, the most insane idea ever thought of in the writing world. The idea is simple: Write a fifty thousand (50,000) word novel in 30 days, ie in the month of November. However, as NaNoWriMo veterans will tell you, it's not that easy.
With a little bit of application of mathematics, I have realised that you would need to write at least 1,667 words EVERY DAY on average if you wished to complete NaNoWriMo without cheating. This is a phenomenal amount, especially for those who find it difficult to apply themselves.
In a fit of insanity, I signed myself up for NaNoWriMo today. After the infamous Skald of Skald's Tavern (See 'Sites to See') let me in on the concept and gave me the web address, I immediately set off to apply. Now I'm worried that I've just made the greatest mistake of my writing life.
It's not the fifty thousand words that bothers me so much as the timescale and the sheer amount of stuff to write. By my estimation, it'll take around two hours every day to get all that I want done done, if that makes sense. Then there are the weekends, which will be filled with writing non-stop. I'll break for meals and stuff, but past that it'll be hands-to-the-keyboard speed-typing. Weekends are difficult, as I want to use them for sleeping in, but can't as I'll be wasting precious time if I do. So I'll miss out on sleep, which constitutes a fair amount of my R&R time.
In short, I'll become a crazed, story-writing recluse for a whole month who also happens to be an weird guy who sets his alarm for seven in the morning on weekends. In other words, a slightly distorted version of myself.
With seven days to go until this change must take place, I am preparing myself for the arduous and dangerous challenge that I have just been handed. I'm frantically brainstorming ideas, searching for characters (and their respective names) as well as a good world in which to set my novel. The thing I'm most worried about is that my chosen plot won't tide me over. If it doesn't, then I fail my first year of Nano, as writers affectionately call it. But if I manage it, then I'll have a morale boost and a whole truckload of experience under my belt to boot. So despite just having signed my own death warrant as I'm sure I have, I may just have a glimmer of hope.
I have a week until the most frantic month of my life begins. Wish me luck!
If you want to find out more about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) then follow this link to the Nano website.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
If you're fool enough to pick up the gauntlet and need a friend, search me up. My username is Timothy Turpin.
Looking forwards to you all joining me!
This is a mad Professor signing out.
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