NaNoWriMo 2005

i’m thinking of doing NaNoWriMo this year, even though i’m not a fiction writer, though Alchera Project #38, which i just completed (such as it is) is fiction. but i’ve had such a hard time writing for the past couple of years, and this might help.

you have to write a 50,000-word novel (obviously, it doesn’t have to be the Greatest American) from November 1-30, 2005. not before, not after, but during the month of November. you can write outlines and make notes and stuff, which of course i don’t have, but the actual prose writing takes place next month. the only goal is to reach 50,000 words.

should i bother? i thought that working on the various Alchera Projects would get me jump started, but it hasn’t, really. well, unless you count writing something halfway coherent the night before it’s due.

part of my problem is self-editing and revising as i go. this seems to me like a giant freewriting exercise, and that could be a good thing for me. in the past, i’ve even typed with my eyes closed so i don’t dwell on diction, syntax, and grammar. wouldn’t that be something? write a 50,000-word novel with your eyes shut.