I’m pretty sure I’m insane. And I’m pretty sure all my readers are going to suffer for it. Can I write a novel in one month, starting from scratch? Well I have no idea. But we’re all about to find out.
Why would I subject myself to this insanity? Or, more importantly, why would I subject you to it? I think it has something to do with the fact that I cannot relax. Sure, I can blow off an afternoon doing nothing but reading a good book. But I can’t relax in the bigger sense of the word. I can’t live a life without deadlines, without stress of some kind. In the few rare stretches of time between Kindergarten and now when I wasn’t in school, I was worried about going back to school. Or blowing off school to go find myself while solo backpacking through Europe. Or buying a house. Or painting a house. Or preparing to do something significant. With. My. Life.
If all goes well, I’ll be graduating with a Master of Arts in Technical Communications in December. (You might think that at this point that I would be more certain about whether I’ll actually be graduating, and more importantly, obtaining that degree. But you should see the hoops I’ve had to jump through. Reams and reams of paperwork. And everything needs about 100 signatures. I work for the government and even I know a bureaucratic mess when I see one. I’m almost positive I’ll miss something and be forced to go back to high school as a result.)
Now all that work is coming to fruition. I’m afraid that once I graduate for good I won’t know what to do with myself. I’m afraid I’ll just wonder around for months on end going “Did I leave the stove on?” (And no, going back to school again is not an option. I even wrote myself a letter in the rare instance that I’m tempted. It basically says “Are you f**cking crazy?”).
Um..anyway. Yes. December. End. Of. School. So what to do with myself? It makes perfect sense to kick that off my future aimlessness with a month dedicated to writing a novel. Perfect sense. Because I don’t see how a full time job and a life can possibly interfere with this plan.
The problem? Well, I have no idea what to write about. Any suggestions? I’m totally open to ideas. What I really need is a random word generator. For the ideas. I need a noun, a verb, and an adjective/adverb. For instance:
Sticky Paperclip leaps gracefully.
Bottled popcorn sings tragically.
No. I don’t think either of those will work. Well, as a plot for a book anyway. Maybe? I don’t know. This nonsense kicks off on Monday. I’ll try to check in as often as I can. Posts might be shorter, but more insane. And snowball people may or may not make an appearance. It all depends on how far down the rabit hole I get.
Let’s Rock.
[UPDATE: I think I've got a plot. It's a bit weird. And it's definately not writing what I know. We'll see how it goes. If it doesn' work, I can always revert back to writing about my own life. But my own life is so...you know.]
Teann
October 29, 2010
aaawww, IIII WAAAANT a Master of Arts in Technical Communications. Whatever you decide, I think your talents will shine through. Good luck.
Suzanna
October 29, 2010
Oh, I’ve done Nano two years in a row. The first year, I actually completed the novel. The second year? Not so much. I don’t want to participate in it this year because I’m actually trying to rework what I wrote the first year. And, yes, it will drive you nuts. You’ll probably end up rocking back and forth in a corner, speaking gibberish.
Agatha82
October 29, 2010
I tried Nano last year and loved it. Haven’t got time to do it this year but have fun and write about whatever comes to mind, maybe tell the story of your magica goldfish
girl normal
October 29, 2010
Oh man! I should. Maybe next year. I think I’ve got a story I want to tell. But come to think of it…there’s no reason it can’t involve magic goldfish.
Bob
October 29, 2010
Good luck writing your quickie novel, does it have to be a continuous story or can it be a series of musings??? You’re very good at those.
Perhaps you could detail your rise from a twitchy kindergartner to master of all you survey.
Well at least all you can see from your ladder painting the house. You already have a built in cast of characters. Your ramboesque fly swatting boyfriend, your cats, and the creepy cable people that stalk your every move. See it writes itself!!
Just follow the old saying, Write what you know. You’ll be fine. Good Luck and happy writings.
fightoffthelethargy
October 30, 2010
I will buy your novel.
girl normal
November 2, 2010
Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Jessie Spielvogel
November 1, 2010
Lol i am done in december too! good luck!
Average Girl
November 6, 2010
I’ve always thought “write what you know” is kind of BS. Write what you want to know, or are interested in knowing. Glad you have an idea, and I hope it’s going well…