All aboard the NaNo Train

LET’S GET READY TO NANOOOOOOOOO.

It’s nearly mid-October and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is less than three weeks away. What? How did that happen?!  The fake spider webs in bushes and tombstones in front yards and good Lord the pumpkins, well now they're everywhere. Turns out those are the reminders of NaNo AND Halloween.  

The occasional tweets and emails are increasing daily (much like pumpkins on porches) as people are committing, plotting, outlining.  Or saying ohhellno and slamming the door.

Crunch time.  Do you plunge into the frenzied, mad dash to 50,000 words or continue your life as is?  Because Nano isn’t a toe-dipping-to-test-the-water kind of endeavor. No one can “sort of” Nano. Once the calendar crosses into November 1st, half a million people across the globe will fling themselves into the month-long endurance test to churn out their novels.

I gotta say, that’s the draw for me. No one writes alone. I participated last year for the first time, crossing the finish line with a few days to spare.  I know back then that I blogged about my love/hate relationship with Nano but that was last year. (here's the link for that post) 

All the anxiety and swearing and staring at the blinking cursor with dull, bloodshot eyes because omg I need to catch up because I only got 1000 words yesterday; all that is just a distant memory today.

What I remember most is the camaraderie and the fun. The pep talks from authors, conversations at the write-ins, kick-off and Thank God It’s Over parties, the word sprints and hashtags, the glowing satisfaction of a plot twist pulled out of your...head that not only works but also changes the direction of the book, a 180 wheelie. What a rush! A caffeine and adrenaline fueled rush to 50,000 words.

To know that at any time during November, day or night, someone somewhere was out there writing, ready to whip out a #1K1hr (1000 words in one hour hahahaha I know right? But it’s oddly doable) or frowny-face their word count or wail about their story losing steam. Even epic stuckiness is more bearable when others are sharing your misery.  

There are a million reasons NOT to get your Nano on.  Responsibilities! Commitments! Exhaustion! My feet hurt! All valid, probably. And don’t forget these beauties -  Headache! Don’t FEEL like it! So busy! The house is FILTHY! Shopping! THANKSGIVING!

*takes a deep breath, puts Pepto and Cheetos on the shopping list*

I’m jumping aboard the NaNoWriMo train again, guys. If I cross the finish line, awesome, Go Me. If I don’t, I’ll have a head start on either the next book in my paranormal romance series or a less sucky version of last year’s urban fantasy or the bones of a completely new book. Awesome, Go Me. Downside - uh, not that much.

I know I’m deciding late – the last prep meeting in my area is this weekend – and that I have a sh*t ton of work to do (a sh*t ton is nine...teen...thousand times larger than a metric ton for you curious types) between now and then but I’ll be armed and dangerous (armed with my pen and Pepto and dangerous to those around me because I’m tired and my back probably hurts) and ready to play come November 1^st.  But it's never too late, as long as it's still October. And we have *counts squares on calendar* 19 days to go. Gird your loins and let the prep work begin!

Because NaNoWriMo is all about shiny possibilities and none of those million reasons can trump that. ALL ABOARD!

WRITE ON;