NANO IS COMING. Feel the rumble.

Ahhh. It's getting closer. Can you feel it? The rumble of Nanowrimo, growing closer and closer, with every passing day.

That would have been a more effective sentence, had I not typoed at first the "fumble" of Nanowrimo, growing closer and closer.

And fumble might be closer to the truth.

I'm trying to get okay with the fact that I might not win this year. Since I first started this crazy Write a Novel in a Month thing, and this will be my fourth year attempting it, I've won every year (winning is writing 50,000 words, no matter if the book is done or not, which in my case it never is).

But this year? Ack.

I'm writing Book Three in the Cypress Hollow Yarn series, and I'm loving it, which is kind of weird. It's hard, naturally, because I find first drafts difficult. First drafts are like knitting really, really long sleeves. I don't like them. They are unwieldy and unnatural. Edits (and backs and fronts of sweaters) are where it's at.

I plan on hitting 50,000 words in Book Three this week (and I only started it 6 weeks ago! Woot! Cruising! See? And it's super fun.)

But to throw another novel on top of that one? AM I INSANE?

One word: Yes.

I heart Nanowrimo.

I love the energy of it. I love the craziness. I love the out of control optimism that is COMPLETELY gone by the middle of week two but comes galloping back by end of week three. I love Chris Baty and his tallness and I love the Office of Letters and Light and all the people that work there and make the world a better place. I love the refusal to believe by so many that it can't be done. Because it can.

I love that there will be people who will have won by the second or third DAY. Put THAT in your writing hookah and smoke it.

So this year: It's a Young Adult paranormal for me. IN FIRST PERSON PRESENT TENSE. I know. The form voted most annoying at her novel prom, right? (Second person wasn't even invited, so we can't talk smack about her, no matter how much we want to.) I'm so excited I could just spit. It's such a break for me, so far away from anything I've ever written, and I sometimes can't sleep for thinking about it. I'm going to write at night, and I'm going to write fast and hard, and not let it take away from my "real" writing which I do in the morning. But I know that there are a couple of really scary things this November to think about:

1. If writing the YA affects my voice in Book Three, I'll have to stop writing it. Period. (But it'll just put it off for a while. It will happen.)

2. If I don't have time, I don't have time. I've never tried working full time, twelve hour shifts (and plenty o'overtime as well), writing 2000 words a day on an ongoing project, and 2000 words a day on a new project. That's a lot of words. It might not pan out.

See me making preemptive excuses? That's not like me. I HATE to lose at anything. You might have already noticed. But I don't want to do what I normally do, which is to hurl myself at something so hard I end up breaking myself into little upset pieces. I'm going to have fun, that's all. If I'm not having fun, that's another good reason not to do it.

But I'm gonna give it my best damn shot. And I get my aim from my mama, friends.

Funny aside: I was emailing Erika and she mentioned she thought I should enter a challenge where the goal was to do nothing. After the screaming inside my head died down, I figured out the name of this challenge: Nono. HAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Comments

[caroline]

oh, girl, you SO rock. and you inspire me... shall I do it (nano etc, not the nono. got that one down pat)

[Jeanne B.]

"Nono". HAHHH! Love it.

Well, I have to rethink my approach to Nano because I'm in the middle of writing a Personal Development book and that's classified as non-fiction (according to the bookstore, though Law of Attraction Detractors might claim otherwise).

I do have a couple of novels started... hmmm... looks like I have a week to decide!

Rachael, if anyone can keep that schedule, it's you. :-D

[Mel]

I think I'm going to mix third and first person. Past tense, mostly.

[Stacey]

You do nanowrimo? I would love to read your stories! Do you have them up on the internet somewhere?

[Lorette]

NaNoNoMo! (national nothing month!) I'm there if you need a buddy.
I'm so signed up for Nano, too, though unlike you, I have no clue what I'm writing. I'm committing to starting a new freaking job, knitting a complicated cabled hooded long jacket, and writing a novel. We're all nuts, which is part of the fun.

[Someday I Will Finish That Fantasy Novel Sara]

I can't do it. I've just started a final (I hope) re-write of the surrealist fantasy romance action adventure I've been working on forever, and I'm not a good multi-tasker. :) When I'm ready to do my next novel, I will do my own NaNoWriMo -- in January or February.

I will cheer you and everyone else on however! I <3 1st person and young adult.

Have fun!!

[Marie]

As a YA librarian I'm dying to see what you write for the YA audience!

[beverly]

You're a rock star super hero to even consider working on your current novel and a new, totally different one. My current novel is taking a one-month nap. We need a little time away from each other anyway, and I'm super excited for a month with my soft-porn-writing nerdy heroine.

I'll be cheering you on with abandon!

[Tracy in Qatar]

Just for the record: Items 1 and 2 are not actually "really scary things." They're just reasons why you might not win.

I say you win if you have more fun than usual. And I think you will.

[Jody Mellenthin]

you astonish me! I love the equation - writing=knitting sleeves! Sometime I would really love to talk with you about your writerly side. Meanwhile, keep up the inspirational GRAND work!

[GoodEnoughWomans]

Love the NoNo idea! So funny for you.

I think I might do Nano, which is sort of crazy. Kids. PhD. Work. Etc.

If I do it, mine, too, will be young adult! But not paranormal. CRIME.

Oh, and I asked for Kindle for my birthday which is this WEEK! If I don't get one, I think I'll buy it for myself.

[sophie littlefield]

uhhhhh....R, pal? you can so fucking do it. I know you can. Love, your pal, - S

PS better to overdo. Better every time. To hell with moderation.

[Gwen]

I'm doing NaNo this year and actually feeling optimistic about it, because (1) I'm not overly busy otherwise, and (2) I actually have An Idea, which is way more than I've had either of the other times I attempted it. So, good luck to both of us!

[Harpa J]

I'm not going to do the Nano thing (I hardly know what it is anyway) BUT November is going to be my super duper writing month. Yes it is. No (or almost no)pattern writing, no exhibition, as few distractions as possible. Writingwritingwriting. That is almost Nano - isn't it?