National Novel Writing Month

I don't know if anybody's aware of this, but it's almost November (I know, shocking, right?). Well, every November an event takes place that is only known of a certain community. That community is a strange, elusive, and frightening one: the literary community.

There are those in this community who call November National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. Next month, thousands of adults all over the world will challenge themselves to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. There's also a Young Writers Program where the participant can set their word count goal. Both programs have a website where word counts can be tracked, chat sessions can unfold on forums, and other people can monitor a participant's progress and heckle them when they're falling behind.

Why November? Perhaps because the weather is turning colder and people are more likely to sit inside, and if they're stuck inside, they might as well be writing. Perhaps because writing provides a diversion, an encouraging distraction from the cold tragedy that is the dying year. Perhaps because in November comes the midnight of the soul, and everybody knows that the greatest works of composition come from tormented spirits.

Or maybe because "November" and "novel" start with the same four letters, so November seemed like the best fit for a novel-writing month.

Anyway, I'm participating this year. This will technically be my third year participating, although the first year I did it I didn't use the website and I ended up not finishing the thing I was writing or coming anywhere close to my word count objective. Last year participation was an assignment in a Composition class I was taking, so not only could all sorts of other people see how many words I had, my grade depended on completing it. My manuscript (which I completed) hit about 29,000 words (which was over my goal, since I use the Young Writers Program).

This year I'm homeschooling, so I'm afraid that I won't be motivated enough to finish, but I'm still on the website, which provides a fair amount of oomph. Also, my mother's participating this year too, so we're planning on sort of being each other's accountability partners. And if my best friend, Aloisa, who's still on the fence about participating this year, decides to, it'll provide even more motivation ((evil grin) no pressure, Loie).

That's about all I came to say. I refuse to share any secrets about my story, except that it involves a brave girl, her less brave friend, a horse whose name I haven't fully decided yet (which is kind of causing me panic because it's important), a road trip, a war, and a cameo by a slightly neurotic character who may or may not be based on me. Oh, and it sort of mentions a bird that looks something like this:

 
I might post an excerpt or two on here once I've got going, if any interest is expressed.

Creatively yours,
Pearl Clayton