NaNoWriMo.org

Ok, so I made a vague and ambiguous reference to the fact that I am a Wrimo a few posts down. What exactly does this mean?

It means that I'm going to write a 50,000-word book in the month of November. Or die trying. I figure November is the perfect month to try a stunt like this because (1) it appears my schedule is wide open... the only things I'll be doing is three conferences totalling 17 days of the month, being in a wedding, throwing a bachelor's party, moving into my new condo, and desperately trying to get enough play practices in for this year's Christmas play at our church (Dec. 3-5). (2) Thousands of other people from 30 other countries around the world will also be attempting to write a 50,000-word book this month. (3) My friend Gus is among those people. (4) I've completely lost my mind.

How large of a book is 50,000 words? It's the same size as: The Great Gatsby, Brave New World, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Adventures of Tom Sawer, and Of Mice and Men. That's right, my friend, NOT a novella... a novel! Which would make me... that's right, a novelist! How novel.

Do I expect to succeed? No, not really. Will I write a lot of crap? Most likely. Will it give me a kick in the pants and jump-start the creative juices that are currently dammed up inside of my noggin'? Yeah, I hope so.