Yep, I'm doing National Novel Writing Month this year for the first time! Although it's been going for years, I only just heard about it this year - I don't even remember how I heard about it - so I signed up about a month ago and then forgot about it, thinking I would just casually start writing in November, on my own, and not really tell anyone about it... but then my coworker asked me if I was doing it, and now that it's crept up closer, there's this huge buzz about it on Twitter, on Facebook and all over the blogosphere. Not as casual as I had thought. But that's made it all the more exciting. And it's put the pressure on me to actually do it because, not only do I have myself to answer to, but I have 116 of you lovely You May Say I'm a Dreamer followers and 400 Twitter followers to answer to.
I'm one of those annoying people who starts a heap of projects and never finishes anything - I drive myself crazy with it - so I thought NaNoWriMo would be the perfect opportunity to finish something.
Even if I don't get it published or even show anyone my 50,000 words, I'm looking forward to the satisfaction of getting something finished and showing myself that I can actually do it - I can write a novel - and get rid of the fear of finishing.
So expect to see many posts dedicated to the excitement, frustration and confusion of my first NaNoWriMo experience over the next month (and probably more after that - I plan to edit!) along with a weekly Friday update on my word count - but don't worry, I'll still find time for other posts! Feel free to offer advice or encouragement! Or to ask for it!
So I'm sure you're dying to know... what am I writing about?! Well remember that quirky little story I wrote a ways back about a jar of Strawberry Jam just for fun? Well I'm going to take that and run with it! I've got a few characters, a setting a general plot direction, but I've decided not to plan too much because all too often I "overplan" or "overthink" things and they usually don't turn out as planned, so I'm going to let the characters and the strawberries take me wherever they like. I'm so excited I actually have butterflies!
A jar of jam sitting high on a dusty shelf in a small town New Zealand cafe watches the comings and goings of the town, where everybody who lives there is running away from something. It's a fairly quiet and peaceful place until the cafe's elderly owner and the town's matriarch dies and her granddaughter arrives from the city, bringing her demons with her.
Who else is doing NaNoWriMo? If you are, leave me your username in the comments box and I'll add you! Or you can add me! My username is just Sarah Hardie :)
Good luck fellow NaNoWriMoers! xo
