NaNoWriMo Here I Come!

Image by owlbookdreams via Flickr

So, what does a blogger do when she’s in a blogging slump? She signs up to write a novel in 30 days!

Yup, I signed up for National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo.

My assignment — write 50,000 words starting November 1 and ending midnight, November 30.

Those 50,000 words will form what could possibly be the greatest work I’ve ever written. However, it is exponentially more likely that those words will culminate in a hot mess.

But what’s the draw, you ask. There are no fancy prizes for winning (and by winning, I mean actually writing 50,000 words).

That’s the beauty of NaNoWriMo. You’re writing for your own masochistic pleasure. And masochistic it must be because writing can be wonderfully frustrating, and painful.

For me, the reward is in actually setting out to accomplish something I’ve always semi-secretly dreamed of doing (i.e. writing a novel). Having a time limit and a word minimum are necessary for procrastinators like me.

Plus, I’m telling all of my fans (i.e. that would be YOU, dear loyal follower) about my plans because that will help keep me accountable. Don’t you love how I’ve automatically made you complicit in my scheme for success?

So, come November 1, I will be tap-tapping on my keyboard in between attempting to get my son to like solid food, chasing him away from all things gross and/or dangerous, breastfeeding, diaper changing, diaper washing, reading library books before they become overdue and figuring out what to do with chicken for dinner.

Did I mention I have no idea what my novel will be about?