I May Be Crazy

You already knew this, but here’s more evidence to support it…

After over a year of not writing creatively in any capacity – meaning no blogs, sonnets, journal entries, prose or anything – I have decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. That’s right.  After months and months of nothing, I have committed to attempting to write a full novel in the month of November. The goal is to write a 50k word novel in a super short period of time.  The challenge is for participants have to write so feverishly that they don’t have time to stop and edit – which means ultimately there will be a first (albeit shitty) draft by December 1.

Right now, I look a little bit like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the middle of November, I’ll probably look like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And when it’s all over, this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why am I embarking on this craziness, you ask?  Several reasons, really.  First, I need to reinvent and recreate my novel.  I think the characters and basic concept are still fairly solid, but the story I wanted to tell 7 years ago (when I started work on it) is entirely different than the story I need to tell now.  Second, I miss writing.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been any good at it, but when I do it frequently, I feel better.  Third, I want to really know what its like to finish something this massive.  But the main reason I’m doing this is because I’m turning 30 this month.  NaNoWriMo is my birthday present to myself. How cool will it be if I can say, “The month I turned 30, I wrote a novel!”?

Short-term goal: At the end of November, when the first scary draft is all written, I’m going to take three weeks in December to edit it as much as I possibly can, and then finally send a finished draft to Roy, to whom I’ve been promising this for years.

Long-term goal: After I’m back in the groove of regular writing, I dont want to let it go again. Hopefully this means more frequent blog posts in the future, more random projects, and maybe – just maybe – a real novel.

So after tonight, I go into lockdown.

For the next month, I may be hard to find.  Please don’t take offense if I don’t respond to texts, answer calls, or reach out to you while I embark on this insane endeavor.  If you really want to meet up with me, you can find me at Century Ballroom on Wednesday nights – but beyond that I’ll be otherwise occupied.

Wish me luck…I’ll see you on the other side.