NaNoWriMo!

First of all, for the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every year during the month of November, thousands of writers all over the world pledge to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
Last year I didn't plot my book out ahead of time, and ended up with a plot that flew all over the place and was about as far from a publishable book as you could get. I got to 35,000 words, realized it wasn't working, and put it aside.

There's a reason the agents and other expects view NaNo with skepticism and strongly urge all participants to plan out their plots ahead of time! I had to learn that the hard way.

This year I have my novel completely planned out and I'm ready to see if things work better this year. I've got a plot I'm extremely excited about. It's based on several years of accumulated thoughts, and is going to be the scariest thing I've ever written.

Now what is that picture floating on the left side of the screen? That, my friends, is the NaNo Meter. It is now tradition for me to draw one of these up every year and post it on my bedroom door so that my family can visually watch my progress. (Yeah, I get a little obsessed with statistics sometimes).

There are just three days left until this year's marathon of writing begins! I'm terribly impatient. If it wasn't for the release of Scrivener Beta and the necessity of finishing up the Nov I&F, I'd be terribly tempted to start writing early...

...but don't worry. I'm holding strong. For now.