Today is the day! I am taking on a most epic challenge and I will NOT be defeated by laziness, procrastination, or that infamous villain known as Artistic Self-Loathing! Today I begin the challenge set out by NaNoWriMo and I write a book, goddamnit!

November is National Novel Writing Month. For the past decade or so, NaNoWriMo has marked this month with an incredible challenge for writers across the country. It’s fairly simple: in the month of November, write a Novel. There are of course, a few rules.

Firstly, NaNoWriMo defines a novel as a work of fiction no less than 50,000 words in length. In order to ‘win’ this challenge, the novel must exceed that 50,000 word requirement.

Second, the novel must be a completely new work. No writing is permitted before the date of November 1^st, although some preparatory work is allowed such as outlines, character sketches, etc. There are a few more parameters within which this challenge must be attempted, but the premise is fairly straightforward: Write a book in 30 days.

In preparation for this challenge, I have done 2 things:

1. Decided a mere 2 days ago, on a whim, to accept this challenge
2. Drafted a basic story outline, with no ending and a vaguely defined set of characters

I’m feeling pretty confident. I figure, I’ve spent most of my life flying by the seat of my pants, so why approach a challenge like this in any other manner? In my experience, more often than not, too much preparation and planning kills the most imaginative and creative ideas. We’ll see if I hold the same view in about 30 days.

I’ll be posting updates on my progress in this challenge as well as excerpts of my writing over the next month here on my blog. Check back often and marvel at my exceptional skills!

Tags: challenge, fiction, hills of elysium, literature, nanowrimo, novel, november, science fiction, september garland, writer, writing