50K in 30 Days

It is definitely that time of year again.

And amazingly I can almost hear the “Whaa?”

No idea what I’m talking about? No guesses? Come on!

Hhhmm…..

That’s right! It’s NaNo time again!!!

Now for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, and have apparently been living under a rock for the past 12 years…

NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month = November

What does that mean?

Simple.  From November 1^st – November 30^th you write your heart out.  Your goal is 50,000 words in 30 days, or 1667 words per day.  Now, those 50,000 words should make up a pretty good start for a novel.  Realistically 50k words, all by themselves only makes up a novella length story, but really – is that something to complain about?  Can you really hear yourself saying on December 1^st “But it’s only 50k… That’s only a novella.”  BIG NO!

If you finish your 50k by midnight on November 30^th you pass into the glorious annals of history (of NaNo) as a winner, and you’ve got a 50,000 word manuscript sitting on your hard drive that can be added to, edited, revised and polished into a full length novel and you got there in 30 days!

That’s not chump change, my friends.

So the big question on everyone’s mind (well everyone who knew what I was talking about in the first place) is whether or not they are going to NaNo this year…

Last year I started with big plans.  Yes, I actually planned last year, thank you very much.  I had the idea for The Gifted percolating in my head and it wanted out.  Take a look at the side of this page, see the progress meters for the stories?  See the one for The Gifted?  See how it’s just over 5000 words? 

That’s me and my spectacular NaNoWriMo 2010 writing fail.

So will I be doing it again?

Hhhmmm….

Probably.  Okay, yes I’m going to do it… but ssshhhh – keep reading.

I’m not really sure that this year’s progress, or accomplishment, will be much better than last year.  Honestly, I’m just as busy, if not more so than I was last year and this year I’m also working part time too. (I’ll tell you all a bit about that next time maybe. It’s something new.  Sort of.)  But this year I’m also going to cheat.  A bit.  Slightly.  Sort of.

I actually got the idea to cheat from another writer who, like me, has a lot on the go right now and doesn’t want to ‘lose momentum’ on the projects that their already working on.  For me, it’s not so much about losing momentum as it is about actually getting something done.  I’ll be shifting back to The Gifted again for NaNo this year.  And the just more than 5000 words that I’ve already written?  I’m not tossing them.  When the story is “completely finished and ready to be published” those words and the beginning that I managed to write last year, will be there.  BUT I have the story to a point right now where it’s almost time for a ‘time jump.’

No, not time-travel, but that beautifully crafted jump in our stories where months pass in the blink of an eye.  Or with the turn of a page, as the case may be.  So November 1^st I’ll be starting immediately after the time jump.  Hello word count = 0! 

Will November 30^th find me at 50,000 words?  I really hope so. Mostly because I’d like to be able to come back and say “Yes, I finished!” but also because then I’d be 50,000 words closer to finishing that story. And remember how I said that while the idea had been percolating, that the story really wanted to be told.  Uh huh, now the characters are nearly as loud and obnoxious as my kids with their demands that their stories be told.  Really, NaNo this year may be my only hope for sanity.

And okay… LOL.  I think I’d better stop now, while you don’t think I’m completely off my rocker, and maybe, I don’t know… Go write something.  But not The Gifted, I’m saving that for NaNo. 

I think I’ll go to Greece.