Here We Go, NaNo

I signed up for National Novel Writing Month this year. I did it in 2007, and actually completed the 50,000 word requirement. What I wrote was hideous and, later when I tried to revise it, I found I couldn't even condense what I'd written into a decent short story. It was that bad. The focus of NaNoWriMo is quantity, not quality, of words. Just get what you can down and then -- aha! -- tell everyone that you did it, that you wrote 50,000 words of fiction and you are that cool.

So I signed up again this year but figured I'd cheat and modify it. What if I just plan to write 50,000 words in November, without the common thread of a novel? What if I just sit my butt in the chair and write? That was my plan.

Ahem, it is my plan. I have plenty stacked against me -- the last month of teaching, my mom's visit next week, Thanksgiving, being dead-tired exhausted from having mild insomnia, taking care of the babe -- so I don't know what to expect. And, though I don't want to always be involved in a project, I'm giving this one a shot. Why? Because I'm a writer. Because when I read this, it made my heart leap. Because I studied writing in college, then quickly abandoned it in favor of "living" (aka. watching TV and drinking beer).

Most importantly, I plan to do it because it's something that's mine, that makes me feel like myself, that makes me feel alive, and that should, in turn, make me a better version of myself.

Feel free to check on my progress and be sure to root me on!