.....not quite. And not Christmas, in case you were wondering. It's (drumroll please) NANOWRIMO!!!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, it's short for National Novel Writing Month, a contest that stretches from the beginning to the end of November and in which thousands of people buckle down and write, anywhere from 500 to 50,000 words. The Young Writers' Program, available for anyone who wants to set their own goal, either because they don't have the time or ability to write 50,000 words, or because they think 50,000 words is for weenies, is what I have participated in for five years (and I was part of the first group). I believe the most I ever wrote was 30,000 words.
Then, for those who desire nothing more than to give up their social life and pretty much everything else, there is the 'official' NaNo, where writers attempt to attain that lofty 50,000 word goal. This is not for the faint of heart....and also why any sane person would want to do the Young Writer's Program. Unfortunately for the rest of humanity, I have yet to meet a writer with a shred of sanity left in them...and I am one of them.
So, as I start NaNo and a brand new job on basically the same day, I have found myself needing to reevaluate the time I spend on Facebook and will probably have to go on a Minion Rush fast during all of November. In terms of words, the number 1,667 doesn't sound like very much, but when I'm sitting wide awake and staring at a 49,900 word document on November 30 at 11:58, it will feel like I'm trying to reach the top of Mount Everest before the storm hits. But like Rob Hall, I KNOW I will reach the impossible end.
Cheers!
~Jackie
