Sunday, October 30, 2011

NaNoWriMo starts in less than 2 days.  The starting point is looming, dangling in front of me like a carrot on a stick, and on Tuesday, November 1st I will catch it.  Normally I would be nibbling on that carrot a little before the starting date, planning my plot, setting, characters; struggling to form an interesting main conflict and resolution (always the hardest part for me).  But this year, I am going the extreme "No Plot? No Problem!" route. 

It's not that I didn't try to plan ahead.  I racked my brain, trying to come up with a great story idea, but nothing I could think of excited me.  I ran my ideas by the Geek and he agreed.  There was no magic, no thrill to them.  It was like dangling a thistle from a stick; not exactly something that was going to entice me or any potential readers to bite.

I started thinking that, like last year, I might just skip NaNoWriMo and work on the editing of another novel – certainly the more practical, responsible route.  But the truth is, that just made me sad.

I love NaNoWriMo.  I love the thrill of setting new, fresh, previously unread sets of words to the page.  I love watching a story mysteriously form itself in my head and subsequently on the page.  I love the challenge and the motivation of writing 1,667 words every single day for a month.  And, for these reasons, I have looked forward to November every year since 2005 when I first discovered the wonders of NaNoWriMo.

So, I am going to write.  I have no plan; no outline, no plot, no setting, no characters.  I am attacking the event this year armed only with excitement, a desire to write, and the knowledge that whatever the outcome I will enjoy the process.