National Novel Writing Month ~ NaNoWriMo

November 1st starts the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. The purpose is to write a 175 page novel (approximately 50,000 words) in one month.

From NaNoWriMo website:

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

I have decided to participate, notice the web badge on the sidebar, because I think this might be just the push I need to get the writing out rather than simply thinking about it. I also tend to work better when there is a deadline and the "write on the fly" phrase appealed to me. Will I be able to write 50,000 words? I really don't know. I do have a tendency to edit a lot and this time frame will not allow for much if any editing. So I'm interested to see how well I can curtail that inclination.

My fourteen year old daughter is also participating. She surprised me not because she is writing, she loves to write, but because she has been planning this for months! She has the story planned, knows how many chapters she needs to write and approximately how many words per chapter she will need. I was shocked when she told me since she is not a planner and organization is not one of her stronger attributes.

I have a story worked out in my head but am terrible when it comes to outlining. I truly despise outlining, always have. The characters and setting are there as well as the conflict and back story. It's simply a matter of getting it on paper or computer screen in this case. Even if I don't write 50,000 words I think the experience alone will prove to be something I won't regret.

So to all that are taking part in this endeavour ~ good luck and most importantly, have fun!