Sunday, October 15, 2006

"They told me, 'Be sensible with your new love...'"

All righty then. Here’s the deal: I signed myself up to participate in National Novel Writing Month. Yes, I am crazy; no, I have no freaking clue where I am going to find time to write approximately seventeen-hundred words A DAY in the month of November – or in any month, for that matter. And yet – I feel compelled to try. I have never before in my life felt the need to write fiction; I have always considered myself a craftsman rather than an artist. YOU write it, I’LL fix it. I am not kidding myself that I am attempting to write the Great American Masterpiece; after all, we are meant to write about what we know, and my life, while mostly satisfying and entertaining to me, is not the stuff of which masterpieces are created. However – HOWEVER – I may get a tolerably interesting first draft of some sort of chick-lit-y/mommy-lit novel out of this whole endeavor, so we shall see.
I no sooner considered this craziness, because a co-worker is also signed up and I was intrigued, than a plot and several characters and an outline began unfolding slowly in my brain, mostly at the most inconvenient of times. It’s hard to stop sautéing brussel sprouts to write down the name of your protagonist’s dog, and what kind of car she drives, but hey, we all have to make sacrifices. Nobody here likes brussel sprouts other than me anyway. I am only hurting myself.
I always pooh-poohed authors who said their characters took on their own life and were beyond their control; I pooh-pooh no longer. My protagonist is plunging headlong through my everyday life, informing me of the facts and nuances of her life and relationships in a most dictatorial manner and refusing to allow me my own way.

So, as I said, where oh where to find the time to write seventeen-hundred words a day this next month?
This, my schweet little ‘netties, is where you come in. I must neglect you. So sad, I know. But true, nonetheless.
The plan, as of the moment, is this:
Gina, my intrepid partner in blogging, will still be blogging. And pledge is over, so she will have some time to write, and for this we all are grateful.
And you know I can’t just leave you all for an entire month, especially one in which the event of Thanksgiving with my in-laws provides meaty grist for my blogmill.
But I will be frantically pounding out this feeble attempt at a novel.
Whose main character, while very unlike me in most respects, BLOGS.
(Remember, write what you know.)

So, perhaps the solution will be to send you on over to HER blog.
Maybe.

Or maybe I will just make myself scarce, or pull many posts from my drafts folder.

I don’t know. I have no idea how this whole effort will pan out.
I may very well come crawling back to the real blogosphere, crying and bleeding and dragging my tail behind me. In which case, forgive my absence, welcome me with open arms, and send chocolate.

I am counting on you.
Because I? Am TERRIFIED.

Hold me!

14 comments:

TLB said...

You can do this! I'm doing it too, though in an unofficial way.

I'd love to read it when you're finished.

Sarah Louise said...

My mother said to me, today, when I told her I was going to meet with a writing coach, "You are so alive."

So I say that to you, Babs darling. You are so alive. It sounds like a crazy wonderful challenge.

¡Buena Suerte! (which is Good Luck in Spanish...)

Anonymous said...

Sigh. NaNoMo seriously fucks with the blogging world.

Ok, fine. I give you my permission.

Major Bedhead said...

I've never dared to do NaNoWriMo. It terrifies me. So kudos to you for going at it. Will we get to read it when you're done?

Jess said...

Ahem. You could always post novel excerpts. But how much fun would it be to write a fictional blog? For your character?

I tried NaNoWriMo two years in a row. LOVED it. But didn't come anywhere near finishing either time. I'm tempted to try this year...but during my second month of grad school? NO.

Suse said...

So what is the name of your protagonist's blog?

Peg said...

I'm so excited for you! Have fun and drop us a line when the spirit moves you! Don't worry, Gina will take good care of us.

Bec said...

I like brussels sprouts too!

(I say this by way of distracting myself from the temptation to join NaNoMo: crazy, insane, whacky, wonderful idea...)


YOU will be wonderful. Look at you, you already have a fictional dog!

lazy cow said...

Excellent! I wish you all the best, and am going to make you promise to send me what you write (only if you want to, of course). And I'll be boasting "I knew her when" one day. Good luck, luvvie. I'll be thinking of you.

lazy cow said...

Oh, and I'm glad Gina will be around, I was just going to ask you why she wasn't blogging.

Paula said...

Get your nose to that grindstone! We'll be here when you get back.

Oh, and I love brussel sprouts. Grate a little lemon peel on top. M.M.M.

Anonymous said...

[singing like Ethel Merman]

You'll be GOOD!
You'll be GREAT!
Gonna have the whole world on a PLATE!

Joke said...

I'm not allowed to write a novel. I'd start and wouldn't sleep until it was all done. If someone tried to address me while I was typing away, I'd take out a firearm and shoot them.

If my computer crashed and wiped out my novel-in-progress? There would be carnage.

-J.

Anonymous said...

I'm gonna try, too, but I'm not exactly sure where I'm gonna find the time. We'll see!