NaNoWriMo 2011

It's almost time again! 30 more days until the glorious opening day of National Novel Writing Month!! I can't explain how excited I am to write again this year, and I've even brought a friend into it as well! So stoked to have another writing buddy (and competitor!).

Now, this year will be especially difficult, but probably not as difficult as it will be next year. As I've mentioned before, Chris and I are expecting twins sometime in February 2012. I've already had a couple of complications, and am technically on house arrest, issued by my doc. It's not bed rest (thank goodness!) but by the time November rolls around, I may very well be on strict bed rest!

I have mixed feelings about attempting NaNo this year, while pregnant. I'm super excited because it gets me back into writing and gives me a chance to focus on something other than last years NaNo project. November last year, while interestingly challenging, was probably one of the most fun times I had all year, and I am thoroughly looking forward to meeting my new characters and roaming through their world as I build it.

On the other hand, I relied heavily on sugary snacks and coffee last year, neither of which I can have this time around. Coffee because it makes my heart have panic attacks (well, palpitations is the proper word for it), and my body is super sensitive to sugar since being pregnant. Seriously. A single piece of candy corn will come back up as quickly as it went down. So no caffeine or sugar, added on top of already exhausted preggo-ness. Hey, twins take a lot of energy to create!

So I have a couple more things stacked up against me this year, but I love being challenged, and I am definitely looking forward to tackling it! I even discovered that apple created (or is supporting, whatever) a widget just for syncing up with your NaNo account and keeping track of your progress on your dashboard. How totally awesome it that?! You can bet your sweet little head I downloaded that! I'm a little disappointed that the new NaNoWriMo site won't be up and revealed until Oct. 10th, but I supposed I can wait. Cue dramatic sigh and hand on forehead.

If the hubs and I calculated our monthly income properly, I will have enough cushion to order some motivation from the NaNo store. Totally excited about getting stuff! They have a bunch of fantastic merchandise, and if you haven't checked it out, you totally should. One of the things I'd love to get, maybe for a week three prize?, is this coffee mug that has their logo and a little quote saying "Keep writing now! (Ask questions later!)". I love it, and it's totally what I need to remember to do. My inner editor likes to try and sneak back in every once in a while. That is of course because I smack him (yes, my editor is a Him. Don't ask me why!) with a bat and stuff him back into his shoebox. (Yes, I keep him in a shoebox during November. Don't worry, it's a very nice shoebox ^^)

I've been spending the better part of the last 6 months (since the end of Script Frenzy) coming up with ideas for this year, and plotting out how those events should play out. I've pointed out before that I am a type-A personality, planted firmly in Perfect and Control country. (If you don't get that reference, go check out The Flag Page Test). I like knowing what I plan on writing, what events I'm planning to put in, all of that, before I even start writing. Granted, a lot of times during the month, things change and I deviate from my initial plan. But oddly enough, I'm ok with that. In fact, I love it. But having a list before starting the month really makes me feel more prepared and comfortable. It let's me know that I have a back-up plan if I get really stuck. Which can, and does, happen!

Now, before I fall asleep, I need to google some 1800's travel systems! And that's about the only hint you're gonna get! Until I feel like giving you another one. -wink wink-