Getting Ready to Write a Novel in a Month with NaNoWriMo

Well, you've always wanted to write a novel someday but have just never "gotten around to it". Here is your chance to get that creative boost you've been looking for! Or so I was encouraged in the article National Novel Writing Month

Apparently, November is the National Novel Writing Month and to celebrate there is a challenge for all writers and wannabes to give their pens a workout by writing a 175 page (50,000 words!) novel beginning November 1st and ending November 30th. I'm intrigued! I'm a writer! I want to write a novel! I need a kick in the pants!

OK, you've talked me into it. I'll sign up. After all, I need to get ready right?

Visiting the website I browse through the "How it works" page and the FAQ's page. So far so good. I select "I'm 13 and over and signing up for the first time". Still doing good. Donation? Ha! I'm a writer remember. But I really like the idea of postponing chores until December. I wonder if I could actually get away with that. Now to get connected and find a region to participate in. Wow. My entire state is a region all its own. Isn't that the truth?

50,000 words in a month. That's over 1,600 words per day. With two children under two. What was I thinking? Now my palms are sweaty and my hands slipping on the keyboard. My head is pounding the mantra "What were you thinking?" That little whispering voice in my head? Yeah…it's screaming.

Take a deep breath. Relax. You don't need to sleep for a month. It'll be just like college again. I think I might enjoy this. Hey look! 290 words already! No problem!

All I need is a great topic. We all know how easy it is to write about a great topic. When you have that inspiration the words just flow out of you faster than bath water out of the tub when my two year son is playing.

Now there is a great topic. My children. There is plenty of humor, adventure and hair-ripping excitement when it comes to the good times as a mother. Like the time my son decided to find out whether cell phones float in the toilet. Or the time my daughter cried for no reason for two hours straight and the neighbor called the police. Yeah, that was really exciting.

But hardly the stuff of novels. So what to do. I need a good plot. Thankfully a friend told me about a website with over 2000 plot ideas. Hatch's Plot Bank is supposedly THE place to find a plot if you are experiencing writer's block. Let's check it out.

Some of these are just silly and would be hard to extend for 50,000 words like #13 "ancient oak on family homestead is dying" or sound very familiar like #1892 "boys form detective agency and reveal neighborhood secrets" (Encyclopedia Brown anybody?). On the other hand, there were several I noticed that could be very helpful as they could lead to timely and relevant issues like homelessness in # 52 "It looks like he lives out of his car" and high school shootings with #2236 "pawn shop is selling weapons to high-school kids".

The more I think about it the more I realize good topics to write about are as close at hand as the TV with heroes and hate crimes, women and whiners. If I take a look around my neighborhood I see a single mom struggling to survive in a two-income society, a "crazy cat" lady who has a heart of gold, and a house in the middle of renovation by some rich big-city folks who don't have a clue how things are done in small-town America. Any of these would certainly provide enough food for thought to brain storm a constant stream of words for the next month.

Who knows? Perhaps the next Great American Novel is just waiting to be written in your home town. What drama and struggle and characters and subplots are you walking past each day without opening your eyes enough to notice? When I think about getting ready to complete this challenge I realize the most significant part of getting ready won't involve clearing my schedule, or getting a blank computer disk to save my work, but rather having the wisdom to see when a fantastic idea walks past me in the grocery store.

I am about to head out with my family for the rest of the evening. And I think I'm ready to look around me with new eyes. Are you?