NaNoWriMo

First: Happy Halloween. For this momentous event, I dressed up as a Girl Reading Life of Pi*. Not many people saw my costume, but I can assure you it was a good one. I didn't really understand why everyone loved that book so much until I got to the ending. Those last 10 pages are quite interesting.

Now, on to November. On Thursday, I was sitting in the library reading a copy of the campus newspaper when it came to my attention that November is National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). Every year, someone sends me a link to NaNoWriMo and I say, "no thanks". But this year, I suddenly see the merit of it**. NaNoWriMo is the month-long novel-writing contest where the goal is quantity, not quality, and the only requirement to win the contest is to reach the 50,000 word-mark before midnight on November 30th (and your novel can't consist of the same word written 50,000 times). There are many winners, and the only prizes are bragging rights, and having a fairly crappy novel under your belt. I love bragging rights, and feel I haven't had enough of them lately. So: challenge accepted. This month (I mean starting tomorrow), I will write a novel.

In order to achieve this feat I'll have to produce approximately 1,700 words/day, according to the newspaper article. I don't think I'll have time to write every day, though, so my own goal will be to write 2,500 words every week day***. Totally doable, right? Considering November is also National End of Term Essays month, and National Your Manager Quit and Your Boss is Giving You More Hours month, I'm dubious as to whether the task can actually be completed. But you never know.

So, I'm writing a novel this November. Who's joining me?


*To clarify: I stayed home and read a book for class.
**This might have something to do with the fact that this year it was my own idea and not someone else's. I believe I mentioned that I was arrogant last week already. No need to say it again, right?
***I know, I know, this math doesn't add up. We English Majors are above such things as mental math or calculators. We prefer to guess wildly and creatively.