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NaNoWriMo 2013

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Hey kids! What time is it?

Its the first day of November and that means it is time once again for NaNoWriMo! NaNoWriMo, or more properly National Novel Writing Month, is that time of year when creative people like me undertake the exciting and grueling task of writing a 50,000 word novel in thirty days.

The purpose is to get a first draft completed or at least started if the work is going to be longer than 50,000 words. It doesn’t have to be a good first draft. It can suck eggs big time and probably will. But at least at the end of the month you’ve got something you can edit and polish into something publishable.

I’ve attempted this three times before and I’ve never gotten close to the total. I did at least increase my overall word count each time I participated so I find that encouraging. This time I intend to get all 50,000 words done and hopefully a few more.

Getting this many words in one month is certainly possible. Many people complete the task each year.

More importantly, Walter Gibson, the author behind the majority of pulp novels featuring The Shadow from back in the 30’s and 40’s, completed two 40-50,000 word novels each month. This was at the height of popularity for the magazine.

And for people like Nathan Lowell, Rachel Aaron, or Edward Lorn who can get insanely high word counts in a day this is a piece of cake.

Me, I’m plodding along but at least I’m plodding. I started a new work and set aside Project B for the time being. This was a last minute decision for me. I could have continued with Project B as it will take at least another 50,000 words to complete but it felt too much like cheating to me as I’ve already started writing on it and put time and energy into trying to plot it out.

I spent most of the day today trying to work out the characters, setting, background, and plot for the new work. Many other WriMos have spent the last month working these things out in preparation of starting today. So I’m a bit behind the curve. The important thing is to keep plugging away and hopefully I can catch up soon.

My word count for today – 1006.

Onwards and upwards!

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