My Village People

By Nichole Giles

Last week I mentioned that I was thinking about signing up to do NaNoWriMo this year. By publicly declaring my intentions on this blog, as well as Facebook and my personal blog, I am hereby committed to writing a 50,000 word rough draft by December first. Yep. I know I’m crazy.

I chose to go public with my goal because not only will it force me to keep going during the dreaded week two (when I decide my work is crap and I want to quit) but also, I will have to come back here and report my progress. It would be mighty embarrassing to report that I had failed, so it gives me motivation to succeed.

Now, here’s the funny part. I announced my intentions to my various writing groups, and…let’s just say the whole thing snowballed. I now have a long list of writing buddies who have decided to jump in with both feet and dedicate their November to the cause. We’re even holding weekly contests, with prizes. Apparently, it takes a village to write a rough draft in a month.

So, as October draws to a close and November rears its crazy, Medusa-style hairdo, my trusty pink netbook (who I have neglected to name yet—rude) and I will be tucking into the heart and spirit of creation, hoping to bring forth a novel worthy of…well, at least a few laughs.

Thinking about joining us? (Enter scary music and Darth Vader breathing sequence.) Come on over to the dark side and become one of my village people. You can find me in the NaNoWriMo community by searching NicholeGiles (no space, don’t forget the caps). Add me to your buddy list, and send me a message so I can add you to mine.

Also, because of my determination to succeed, for my usual Thursday posts here, you can expect to see a word count report, along with a writing prompt of some kind to help you, me, and my village make it through this journey together.

Happy Halloween, all. Get ready, get set…wait. Don’t cheat! You can’t start until midnight on November 1st.