And So It Ends...

Life as we know it may now resume.

NaNo is over.

Thank you sweet baby Jebus.

Don't get me wrong. NaNo is fun. At least it's fun up until the last week. That's when you do the math and you realize you're going to have to get 10,000 words a day from now until the end of the month to make it to your goal. It makes you feel like a big, smucky loser and you are sad that you will not be getting a winners badge or t-shirt again this year.

When it's finally declared over, you're just glad to see the backend of it. After a few days of mourning, you're more than happy to shove the POSM (Piece Of Shit Manuscript) of approximately 38,000 words into a desk drawer with a huge sigh of relief.

That usually happens somewhere around Dec. 3rd or 4th.

Thusly NaNo 2011 concludes.

Whew.

Soul-Reviving Reading for Writers

There are several books about writing that I re-read on a regular basis: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland, and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. None of them are about the technicalities of writing, but rather about the fulfillment and connection to oneself and the world outside of oneself that writing can bring.

Writing Down the Bones was one of the first books I purchased when I decided to leave the world of writing for a living and to write for myself instead. Churning out articles day-in and day-out had burnt away my soul. If I continued to do it as an occupation, I knew I would never write my novel(s). Goldberg's Zen approach to the writing process was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Now she's endorsing NaNoWriMo.

Write or DIE

I love this guy. Dr. Wicked is the inventor of the program, Write or Die. He has taken this difficult thing - getting words out - and made it more fun. Which is essentially what NaNoWriMo is about, too. Now I want him to create a program called Butt in Chair, which will actually force you into a chair in front of your computer where you will launch Write or Die in order to hammer out your novel.

My illustration. His quote.

Calling all NaNo-ites!! Or would it be WriMo-nians?

We're not quite half-way through October and I'm already geared up for National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo to those in the know) in November. I've been jotting down story ideas and sketching out rough outlines for about three months. I've ordered coffee and tea in bulk, and there's a stack of snack cakes held in reserve in the pantry. I've washed all my comfy, flannel jimjams, bought a new pair of slippers, and stocked up on that powder shampoo stuff so I don't even have to take the time to wash my hair on the weekends. 

(Sexy lady, no?)

This year I'm taking no prisoners!

I will get my 50,000 words by the end of the month or die trying!

(Probably as a casualty of Twinkie and caffeine poisoning.)

That winner's t-shirt SHALL!! BE!! MINE!! RAAAAWWWRRR!!

*cough, cough, cough*

Yeah, so if you can't tell, I'm pretty determined to get my 50thou this year. I did in 2009, but 2010 was not a very good year for me. I think I was lucky to get a smidgen over 25thou, once all was said and done. The major difference between the two years was in '09 I had an outline, and in '10 I was a pantser. Also in my successful year, I met every weekend with the NaNo group in Norman for a write-in session. In 2010 I think I met with them once.

SHOUT OUT TO THE NORMAN NANOs WHO ARE THE BEST, BRIGHTEST, AND MOST TALENTED IN THE WORLD!

I think I've even managed to coerce a friend into joining in on the NaNoWriMo craziness this year. He even purchased a bright, shiny, new laptop for the occassion.

(Dude, don't think I don't see you lurking there. Now that it's in print on my blog, there's no backing out. It's practically a legally binding contract.)

During the month of November, postings on this blog might be even sparcer than usual. I'm trying to schedule things ahead as auto-posts, but I am finding out quickly that I am not that freaking organized. Maybe I can find a way to work it into my word count.

Nanowrimo - The Breakup

I am thinking about breaking up with Nano. He's just too controlling. It's only week three in our relationship and he's already demanding that I spend all of my spare time with him. I'm working my fingers to the bone to make him happy, but it's never enough. I want time to make art and watch Supernatural while simultaneously texting my friend Brian to debate "Good Vs. Evil Sam" and put my new desk together and finish my house. But I can't because Nano's needs come first.

And what is he doing for me in return? Nothing, unless you count stressing me out. It may be best if I write him 1,667 word "Dear John" letter explaining why I'm leaving.

I'm fairly certain his sneering reaction will be to wave the letter under my nose and say, "Seriously? Why did you waste your time writing this garbage? You can't break up with me! I won't leave until you have 50,000 words! Did you post your word count today?"

In my head, Nano looks very much like Chris Baty's evil twin. (You would never be able to tell them apart except for some reason Nano has a pencil thin mustache which he drew on with a Sharpie. Hey, this scenario is in my head, I can do what I want.) In the beginning, I had such a nerdy crush on him, but I'm afraid that the honeymoon is officially over.

Sweet baby Jesus in a ninja suit, how I hate week three of National Novel Writing Month (Nano for short). The goal is to have 50,000 words by the end of November. At last count, I am approximately 16,000 words behind.

It doesn't help that I'm a "pantser" this year - as in "flying by the seat of". I didn't plan. I didn't plot. I didn't have names for my characters. I didn't think about anything past the first scene, which is, if I may say so, fabulous, though there has been an alarming decline in quality since then.

Ooo. I'm going to name my antagonist Nano Whymo.