This is insanity. Why would I sign up to do National Novel Writing Month? If I go along with the website’s recommendation, I will have to write like 1600 words a day to make the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days. How can I do this and pay attention to anyone in my family? How will the animals get fed? Must I forgo showers?

There are three main reasons I’m committing to this madness.

• External motivators are effective — It is way too easy to let other things get in the way when it comes to writing. Having a specific, measurable goal makes me get my butt in gear.
• Friends are fun — I’ve been trying to get connected to other writers in my area and this seems like a good way to go that.
• There’s a novel running around in my head — I’ve had this story idea for over a year and since I haven’t been able to shake it out one ear, I figure this is a good time to see where it leads.

NaNoWriMo_2 (Photo credit: nataliesap)

Have you ever thought about writing a book? If you have, what would it take for you to actually do it? The way I look at it, even if I don’t finish (but I will finish, doggone it! I’m going to make NaNoWriMo say uncle!) I will have a great deal more to work with than I do now, with characters and ideas contained in my brain and causing me to get a glazed, far-away look in my eyes when a new thought joins them. Maybe you should check out NaNoWriWMo’s website and decide if you’re a closet novelist!  P.S. I do plan to check in here during November, but please forgive me if I use this as a procrastination tool rather than a place for deep content during this time.