Since I haven’t got anything better to do (that was a joke) and I am apparently into self-defeating behavior (not a joke), I figured I would throw my hat in the ring for the NaNoMoWriter contest.

Why?

Because I have 48,000 words in my first “Urban Fantasy” novel that actually flows well, with characters I really love, and the major plot problems worked out. But I need another 60,000 words before I can throw it to the publishing wolves. Which is where the NaNoMoWriter contest comes in handy. If I do what I'm supposed to do, I'll have the first draft of my novel completed by Nov. 30.

The funny thing is that I had 72,000 words written last week before I trashed part of the plot (it just wasn't working out), which means I just threw out a little over 24,000 words. (See what I mean about self-defeating behavior?)

So, now on top of spending my evenings writing mundane papers about statistics for my MBA course (exceeding 26 pgs in length on average), and spending days writing fun (sometimes) articles and newsletters about living with animals, boring script treatments for upcoming AP World History audio books (to exceed 200 pgs that is due by Dec 30), interesting articles for magazines like Cat Fancy (et al), and interviewing my cat for product reviews on PetsWeekly  (no later than Christmas), I have opted to write the 60,000 words needed to complete my novel no later than Nov. 30.

Of this year….

For all of you non-writers, that's a lot of work. In fact, it comes down to 240 pgs in a month, or 8 pages a day. It wouldn't be a big deal if I weren't working on top of it (as a writer) and going to school.

I think I’ll have to forgo sleep, food, family and friends for awhile as I really don’t know when I’ll be able to take time to do this. But, I’ll figure it out.

Taking on impossible things appears to be the norm for me. Then again, I guess it’s not really impossible - just highly implausible. And implausible is one of the things I have learned to do fairly well, so I should be set.

At any rate - there it is… My new challenge for November. I’ll let you know once my alternate personality(ies) have emerged, as I believe that is what happens when you put this kind of pressure on a person. But, as it is all self-inflicted pressure, I guess we’ll be okay. (I just hope my new personality will like me…)

I’m not sure how to go about posting my word chart, or where I’ll put it, or how long I’ll be able to do all this writing without succumbing to the crippling pain already present in my hands and wrists, but I’m going to give it my best shot. With luck, my “progress chart” will appear someplace soon. You can view it (if you're so inclined) on my "real" blog  for now.

Meanwhile, I am almost done with my 8 pages for the day and I'll probably update my chart tomorrow. It's good to have a goal, I suppose.

Good luck, fellow nanomos. May the muses be with us all…