Nanowrimo begins on Saturday!

Nanowrimo. Sounds like the name of a tribe, doesn't it? In a way it is. The word stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge (not a competition) to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. It may not be started before November 1 and it must be finished by November 30. The key is quantity, not quality. Just whomp those words out and see what happens. This is the tenth year that people all over the country will decide to stop thinking about writing a novel and just write one.

The way it works is that when you finish, you upload your novel to the site, not for the content but for the all-important word count. The only way it can be read on the site is if you put bits of it up where it can be read.

My sister Mary and I have decided to do Nanowrimo again this year. We did it in 2003. Yup, I finished, and the proof is a very bad manuscript that has not moved off my desk since then. I also have the tee shirt. I liked the story I wrote, even as I realized that it was a piece of hack writing. At one point, one of my characters died unexpectedly. I sat at the computer sobbing for Joseph, who was such a gentle soul.

I have no idea yet what I'll write. I'm also keenly aware that November is a hugely busy month, with 40 performances. There's no changing Nanowrimo--it's in November, no matter what.

Wish me luck--oh, and let me know if you're also putting 50,000 words on paper (or on computer, as the case for me will be).