And NaNoWriMo begins...

So I've joined the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge this year, which pretty much means I've promised myself that during the month of November, I'm going to write 50,000 words. For you number junkies out there, that means (with a little rounding) that I need to write 1,667 words everyday for thirty days in order to meet my goal.

As if writing 1,667 words everyday weren't enough, there are also some challenges hidden within the month that often times people don't stop to consider.

1. The only words that count are those that are part of my story. So these words that I'm typing right now don't count. Bummer.

2. Typing on a computer means that you have easy access to get sidetracked (especially if you have a web browser open). So if I want to hit my goal, that means no tweeting, scoping friends' activities/pics on facebook, or reading web comics (WereGeek, Devil'sPanties, Looking for Group, Penny Arcade, Girl Genius) until after I've put in my time.

3. Family & friends don't really understand the draw of the contest. So what do you get if you make the goal of 50,000 words. Do you, like, win a prize or something. The answer (sadly, sort of) is no. I don't win a prize. BUT...I do get to say that I was able to write approximately 175 pages of a novel in just 30 days. How many people can say that?

4. A pretty big holiday falls in the middle of all this madness. Give you a hint...it centers around an inordinately large bird whose entrails have been removed and replaced with stuffing (or dressing depending on where you're from). That's right. Thanksgiving. Kind of a big deal, if your family is anything like mine. I don't think they'll be giving me a rain check on the family gathering just because I have some writing "thing" to do.

5. Every writer I've ever met has an internal editor. This ridiculously critical inner self that is convinced that no sentence is ever descriptive enough or believes that the plot is too shallow or that you, the writer, is too focused on "telling" rather than "showing." Quite frankly, this is the biggest challenge of all...learning to tell that pompous, self-righteous, overachieving bastard to take a hike (at least for the month of November).

With all that being said, I'm feeling pretty confident. (It still being the first day and all). I've managed to write a whopping 1,822 words despite distractions, getting locked out of the location where we had our "Write-In" and helping some young writers get started on their 9,000 word goal for the month.

Only 29 days left to go...