on the eve of a massive project

So rather than counting down the days, I'm actually counting down the hours now... until the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) officially begins. I somehow decided this was a good idea (because I obviously don't have enough to do...) since I haven't written any lit-type pieces in a while and that's the writing I believe I'm best at and enjoy the most.

I think I mentioned before that there are over 700 Ann Arbor participants this year... that includes some people from Saline and Milan. More specifically it's closer to 750 and if you're one of them then great! We'll all be working to write 50,000 words of a novel from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30. No editing allowed along the way and the idea has to be one you haven't started working with before.

I have yet to narrow down my idea, although I did finally narrow down my genre (that was a tough one for a while) to mainstream fiction. It was too much effort to land on one of the most general genres out there, but it's a start. Before I was considering young adult (which I mean the difference here is really only the age of the main character), fantasy and satire/comedy. I opted out of comedy because I'd rather save those juicy ideas for a more non-fiction type book or a parody of a lifestyle. (Side note: Waiter Rant is an awesome book about the life of a waiter/waitress... came together from a blog... check it out)

I will try to update the blog periodically either with excerpts or updates on my progress. I may speak with a few Ann Arbor residents for a newspaper story, too, if they'll allow it. It's too late to join NaNoWriMo, but I encourage all to join next year if you can. Not everyone finishes, but that's ok. The point is that you're trying. At any given date in our lives we can always come up with a handful of reasons why this isn't a good time to start working on that novel. But that kind of attitude isn't going to get you anywhere. Just buck up and do it while you can. You never know what the end result could be... many writers from this contest have even published their books.

That's all for now.... UofM football will be on soon and I need to start journaling some good story ideas and catching up on my matronly magazines. Hopefully there will be a Halloween movie in there someplace too. I watch Nightmare before Christmas every year for Halloween, and although I already watched it a week ago I might drag it out again. I'm addicted to Tim Burton. Hoping to put Caroline and perhaps Corpse Bride on in the background today, too.... and if only I can find a copy of the Halloween Charlie Brown movie and Hocus Pocus. Those are favorites.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!