Yep. I deserve the adoration of the population. 50,037 words.

I'll probably do some sort of reflection on this eventually.

So, I've been doing NaNoWriMo.

Actually, right now I'm procrastinating on NaNoWriMo.

What I do find interesting, though, is how different NaNoWriMo work is from other writing I've done. Normally when I write either (A) I'm writing an analytical essay, so I don't have to enjoy it for it to be good, or (B) I'm in the writing mood when I sit down to work.

It is very difficult to bring yourself to write consistently when you really don't feel like it (see re: right now).

Another thing. Lately I've been reading a lot of very artistic, very "literary" novels. I did not realize it, but they really did impact my style. I had two false starts on my NaNoWriMo novel I had to throw out simply because I was trying to be artsy and it wasn't my voice at all. I find I like the style of science fiction and fantasy novels much better: they do not draw your attention to the prose, but simply present an interesting plot, character, or world, and let you explore. It's far simpler and much better.

As it is, though, the first few paragraphs of my NaNoWriMo novel still have that particular stylistic flaw, and it keeps cropping up. I'm working on excising it, because I really only enjoy writing when I'm working in a more natural voice.

So. Now I'm procrastinating. I'm sitting at a table at Jittey Joe's in the SLC and thinking about writing. I'm kinda wishing for a distraction, though I know I shouldn't. I've got a date tonight and Nathan's movie thing, so . . . I gotta get this all done now.

(please distract me)

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the space of one month (Nov 1 to Nov 30). The emphasis is not on quality initially, but simply on meeting the word goal (the slogan is "No Plot? No problem!"). This comes to an average of 1667 words daily--about two pages, single-spaced.

I intend to do it this year. Will anyone here join me? You see, I'd like to bring a lot of people--at UGA especially--together to work on this; the idea is that if we're all working on this, we can encourage each other, stop each other from dropping out.

By the way, December is editing month. November is writing month. We're just writing ALL we possibly can, not even going back to clean up until later. It's largely for those of us who've always intended to write a longer work but procrastinate on it. This forces you to write and gives you a rough draft, so if nothing else you have experience in long works of fiction.

To sign up, go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/

If you plan to do it, please comment here (and if possible give contact info). I'd like us who do this to all stay in touch, possibly get together to write, et cetera.