The Wind in My Hair

I’ve decided to take the plunge.

“What plunge?” you may ask.  “Is it marriage?  A new job?  How about adopting a puppy?”

No, no and no in that order.  Heck, switch the answers around if you like.

In this case, the plunge I’m talking about is Nanowrimo 2006.  What is Nanowrimo?  Simply put, it is National Novel Writing Month or to explain it another way, it is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

Monumental task?

Hell yes!  To put it into perspective (my perspective, naturally), it took me 30 months to crank out a 90,000 word fantasy novel which I am still editing.

So what makes me think that I can possibly do such a crazy thing in a mere month?  Well… quite frankly, I don’t know that I can.  But I’m certainly willing to try.

The saving grace with this endeavor is:  quantity is key.  Quality can (and usually does) take a distant second.  While this doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a masterpiece (or even a published work), some past winners have gotten book deals out of this and many have gained a certain notoriety. 

And, I can say that I tried and maybe even succeeded.

I liken it to owning a racy convertible.  It’s a beautiful summer day and the highway is beckoning, so you go for a drive.

You’re driving along, (maybe) doing the speed limit, enjoying the day.  But this is a sports car and you’ve never really tried to see how fast you can go.  And look, an empty, straight stretch of road.

So you step on the accelerator, maybe not for long, but enough to revel in the speed of the moment, the feeling of wind blowing through your hair.  You may never do it again, but you’ll always remember the thrill (and maybe the terror) of that moment.

That’s what I hope to get from Nanowrimo.

Now I only have to wait for November 1st so I can get started.  I’ve got my character, my idea and even a bit of the plotting.  It’s almost time to start my engine.

Now, where did I put my driving gloves?