NaNoWriMo = Writing a Novel in Thirty Days

My Dearest Readers,
Ohmygoodnessgracious! HOW DID I JUST FIND OUT ABOUT THIS NOW?!?!?!

I just found out that there actually exits a contest where you can sign up and receive a certificate if you write a novel of 50,000 words during the month of November.

What?!

It's called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and apparently, you start writing on Nov. 1, and you submit your work before midnight local time on Nov. 30. And if you finish, you get all sorts of badges and certificates and the pride that comes from knowing that you-- yes you!-- just wrote a complete novel in only one month.

If only I had known!

*wring hands in despair*

If I had known about this before November 1st, I would absolutely have joined the club. Not that I have any particularly good stories to tell (I'm still looking) or any extra time at all, but I still haven't given up on the idea of completing a novel before I graduate college-- and this could have been my chance.

I would have signed up in a heartbeat, instantly turning into a harried kid typing away like mad in the corner, spurred on by the challenge of writing 2000+ words a day.

But alas, I just heard about this. And November is halfway over. And writing 50,000 words before the 30th means that I would have to write at least 3125 words EVERY DAY, starting tomorrow. To give you perspective, that's about five-- 5, cinco, cinque, cinq-- Times New Roman, 12-pt font, single-spaced FULL pages of writing. And it's all creative stuff, no less. That takes tiiiiime.

I wish I could do it though. I wish ever so terribly that I could. There's just something about setting a non-negotiable deadline that makes writing that much easier. Until there is a deadline in front of me, there's no pressure to get it done now.... which means there's no pressure to complete it ever.

I don't know. Maybe it's not too late? I could fit that in somewhere, right?

Sincerely,
An overbooked yet still optimistically undecided student

P.S. Decision still to come. I'll let you know in the morning.