NaNoWriMo Time!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 
It's the first day of NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month! It's my fifth or sixth time *attempting* to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I never quite get there, but I love the challenge. Maybe this is my year? (I say that every year.)
But this year is different! It's Day One and there's all sorts of shiny possibilities. No plot problems! No flat characters! (I say that every year too.) What will I be working on? Adding 50k to my work-in-progress YA novel that I began here. Since I've returned to New York, I've fallen into the revising-the-beginning trap versus moving forward to just get the first draft done. Although the traditional NaNo challenge is to begin a brand new novel, my NaNo goal is to plow forward on this project and, with that 50k, my word count should fall right into the appropriate YA parameters. Then revisions begin. We'll see. It's Day One! I'll keep you posted halfway through the challenge.
Will you be participating this year? Look me up – my writing buddy is named passportinmypocket. We can help inspire one another. The NaNoWriMo writing community, pep talks, forums and write-in's are some of the reasons I love this time of year. Best of luck with your novel!
P.S. Did you know that lots of famous authors participate in NaNoWriMo? Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants), Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia), and Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events) to name a few. Read the full list here. Success story: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (if you haven't heard of it already, trust me, you will!) began as a NaNo novel!
Reader Comments (3)
Good luck! I've never attempted NaNoWriMo but all this talk is making me want to try it next year. Maybe. We'll see! In the meantime, I'll root for you from the sidelines!
This year could well be your year! It is so good to hear that even though you haven't hit the mark in past NaNo's that you are coming back for more! I worry if I don't make it I will be put off but the buzz is amazing! Good luck! Am off to do a NaNo sprint!!!
Good luck, Jodi! Sounds like fun.