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:
- Writing starts at 12:00 a.m. on November 1 and ends 11:59:59 p.m. on November 30, local time.
- No one is allowed to start early and finish 30 days from that start point.
- 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.
- Planning and extensive notes are permitted, but no material written before the November 1 start date can go into the body of the novel.
- 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
