NaNoWriMo 2011: Insanity Begins!

It is that time of year...the time when the smell of pencil shavings starts my blood to boil, when the feel of fountain pen ink between my fingers causes shivers down my spine, and when the mere thought of turkey makes me queasy because I know that time is short.

It's time for NaNoWriMo!

Ugh.

The big problem is that I'm starting to dread November. I've been "NaNo-ing" for six years (this will be #7) and I've "won" all of the last three. I have no idea what I'm going to do this year: no genre ideas, no character ideas, no plots.

I may be in big trouble.

Because tomorrow? NaNoWriMo begins.

I will have very little time for anything but writing. Gaming takes a back seat. So does my television and movie watching, except for those shows which allow me to write and type while they're on in the background. Miniature painting (I have three primed and ready to go) is forgotten. Reading is forgotten. Even my office knows not to expect much out of me in November. Sometimes it makes me absolutely miserable.

Then why do I do it? Mainly because of the feeling you get when you are finished. I have a friend who describes the feeling as "a massive bowel movement following a month of painful constipation." You're welcome for that imagery.

As painful as it can be, there's always a feeling of accomplishment and pride in your work (no matter how badly written it may be) the clock ticks over to 12:01 on December 1 and you have a 50,000-word story that did not exist 30 days ago.

But for today, I feel like Dr. Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein. After telling my family not to let me fail at NaNoWriMo for any reason, I'm now locked in the room with the Creature, who has just wakened, and I'm screaming at my wife and kids: "Let me out. Let me out of here. Get me the hell out of here. What's the matter with you people? I was joking! Don't you know a joke when you hear one? HA-HA-HA-HA....Get me out of here! Open this...door or I'll kick your rotten heads in! Mommy!" [Edited for language.]

If you've done it before and plan to do it again, I wish you good luck. If you haven't done it before, head on over to NaNoWriMo.org, get signed up, and join us for the fun!

One way or the other, I'll see you on the other side of November. Until then, keep your dice (and your writing instrument of choice) dry!