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NaNoWriMo

Friends, I have a dilemma.

As some of you may know, NaNoWriMo is coming up. That stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place every November. I have never participated before and I am seriously considering doing so now. In case you aren’t familiar with the rules, they are:

  1. Writing starts at 12:00 a.m. on November 1 and ends 11:59:59 p.m. on November 30, local time.
  2. No one is allowed to start early and finish 30 days from that start point.
  3. Novels must reach a minimum of 50,000 words before the end of November. These words can either be a complete novel of 50,000 words or the first 50,000 words of a novel to be completed later.
  4. Planning and extensive notes are permitted, but no material written before the November 1 start date can go into the body of the novel.
  5. Participants’ novels can be on any theme, genre of fiction, and language. Everything from fanfiction, which uses trademarked characters, to novels in poem format, and metafiction is allowed; according to the website’s FAQ, “If you believe you’re writing a novel, we believe you’re writing a novel too.”

The thing is, I’m already working on my second novel. It is, therefore, ineligible for NaNoWriMo. I would have to start something entirely new in order to meet the above guidelines. But, that isn’t necessarily the issue. I already have other books in mind and could pick any one of those to serve as my inspiration. But – should I stop working on the current book for a month? Would I become too sidetracked if I did so?

It’s so tempting, though! I feel like I want this challenge. I’m already mentally considering the logistics of it… 50,000 words in a month…

Stay tuned.

xxoo