I first learned about National Novel Writing Month back in 2008. It intrigued me back then, and has come around each year to capture my attention again. I a willing to admit that though this is my fourth year participating in NaNoWriMo, I have never actually finished the challenge of putting 50,000 words onto paper in one month. In the past, I have gone into the entire project with the belief that if I just want to get it done, then it will magically become finished. I even took a month off of writing the blog last year because I was convinced that I’d just be able to do it out of desire to get it done. I did not actually dedicate myself to doing it, or spend time working on it. I didn’t keep myself in a place of accountability for it.
This year, I’ve decided to do things a little bit differently. Firstly, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks hammering out blog posts in advance. It’ll be a shame to have done all of that work if I don’t spend the time it gave me to finish something.
I’ve also put together a bunch of notes and an outline. I’ve never worked off an outline before when writing. I don’t know if I will actually benefit from it this time, but it can’t possibly hurt. Of course, anything I can do will be better than the last three attempts, which have actually resulted in, well, nothing.
Anyway, I plan to keep you updated on my progress each Friday. That way, you’ll all be able to say, “Shouldn’t you be doing some writing?”
Only time will tell if it is successful.
If you want to track my process or become my NaNo-Buddy, you can find me on NaNoWriMo.Org here.