NaNoWriMo

This year I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month. On day 13, I'm up to 19,981 words; the goal is 50,000 words by November 30. That's not a bad number, considering that on the first of the month I really had no plot and no characters.

The story is set sometime after the Civil War in a small mill town. A series of horrible murders leads a young woman to stumble into a web of secrets that will endanger her life (of course), lead her to love (why not?), and ultimately shake the town to its very core.

Not much to live up to there, eh?

I did have a lot of fun the other day writing about the first murder victim. It's kind of a rush being able to decide who lives, who dies, and how they die. I must say that SpecialEd was a bit put off by how much I was enjoying it.

I'm really, really glad that learned how to touch-type in high school. It's one of the best skills you can have, if you ask me. And back then, who knew every home would one day have not just one but multiple computers? Anyway, when I write, I just lean my forehead on the front of the bookshelf above my desk, close my eyes, and let the movie and soundtrack unroll in my mind. My fingers do a great job keeping up with my thoughts.

It really is a lot of fun, and since I'm the only one who's being exposed to my writing, the potential damage to anyone's delicate sensibilities is minimized. Writing really is fun once you give yourself permission to just write. Maybe next year I'll set out to write the most awful book ever written. I already have the first sentence, which I've borrowed from Edward Bulwer-Lytton: "It was a dark and stormy night."