When that little voice inside my head suggested it, I should said, "Naaaaa, nooooo," but instead I clicked on the link and filled out my profile, registering myself to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Never mind that that I'm also obligated to celebrate Thanksgiving and ringmaster kids out of school for a week in the month of November. Oh, and then there's the Christmas shopping. And, I just remembered, freelance writing deadlines. I should also leave some room in there for the unexpected, a guest who always arrives around holiday time.
I guess I signed myself up for the annual NaNoWriMo for several reasons:
1) My clicker finger has an unpredictable twitch.
2) I feed off of a challenge. It's an incurable sickness.
3) I need some structure and a deadline to finish a project.
4) It'll keep me off FaceBook and Twitter.
5) I don't like to cook. This will give me a lame excuse to banter around.
For my project, I've chosen a book my sister and I began eons ago and have never completed. Love Letters From a Stoic is about the cut-and-dry WWII love affair between our third cousin and her Navy husband. It began with a sealed envelope on which he scribbled Open only if I do not return. In 1995 my cousin's husband, who had lived his last years in a nursing home, was dead and that envelope with those words was still on her dresser, unopened.
Don't go telling me I'm cheating because Love Letters From a Stoic isn't a novel. I can argue that it is a novel in the same way that Half Broke Horses is. Both are based in truth, but because the characters are no longer around to verify the facts, some of the details will have to be extrapolated from what my sister and I think we know. Therein lies the fiction.
To keep myself on task, I'm promising to share excerpts with you throughout the month. I'll be eager to get your feedback.
I guess I signed myself up for the annual NaNoWriMo for several reasons:
1) My clicker finger has an unpredictable twitch.
2) I feed off of a challenge. It's an incurable sickness.
3) I need some structure and a deadline to finish a project.
4) It'll keep me off FaceBook and Twitter.
5) I don't like to cook. This will give me a lame excuse to banter around.
For my project, I've chosen a book my sister and I began eons ago and have never completed. Love Letters From a Stoic is about the cut-and-dry WWII love affair between our third cousin and her Navy husband. It began with a sealed envelope on which he scribbled Open only if I do not return. In 1995 my cousin's husband, who had lived his last years in a nursing home, was dead and that envelope with those words was still on her dresser, unopened.
Don't go telling me I'm cheating because Love Letters From a Stoic isn't a novel. I can argue that it is a novel in the same way that Half Broke Horses is. Both are based in truth, but because the characters are no longer around to verify the facts, some of the details will have to be extrapolated from what my sister and I think we know. Therein lies the fiction.
To keep myself on task, I'm promising to share excerpts with you throughout the month. I'll be eager to get your feedback.
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2 comments:
I signed up too because I need structure and a deadline to finish a project! I hope it works. So far I'm not off to a rip-roaring start!
Oh and you aren't cheating - you're writing creative nonfiction! We attended a writer's workshop about it at the beginning of October. I think either Dawn, Pam or I will be sharing what we learned soon on 1st Writes. I'll give you a heads up when we do.
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