National Novel Writing Month

It's exactly one month before National Novel Writing Month kicks off.  If you haven't participated before, I encourage you to give it a try.  Writers that sign up scramble to complete a 175-page (50,000-word) novel between November 1 and midnight, November 30.  After three years of giving it a go, I finally succeeded last year.  My reward was a virtual sticker, the satisfaction that I completed the task, and almost 200 pages of a workable draft.

Nanowrimo helped me get past my inner editor, too.  I had to consistently write 10 pages every day (twice that much when I had to miss a night's work for other obligations).  I couldn't second guess my choices, and I couldn't sit and stew over what to write next.  The month trained me to be flexible and to write the scenes as they came to me instead of strictly following an outline.  And, during it all, I was reminded how fun writing was and how many suprises a story can bring when you loosen the reins a little.

Go on, sign up.  You have a month to prepare.