NaNoWriMo: Day 1: Taking the Challenge

So, I totally you know failed to blog for about a month and a half maybe more. For an aspiring writer, I'm terribly lazy, but I'm quite certain I'm not the only lazy writer out there. So this month is the start of National Novel Writing Month! I've never had the time or prepped/realized the start of the event from the beginning. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Yes, it will be terrible, but it's not meant to be publishable (at least not right away, if even). I haven't written fiction in so long, and need something to push me along. I know my story is going to be awful, but I'm okay with that. I'm doing this more for personal satisfaction and achievement; I already know, I'm not going to be the next great American novelist. However, if I can manage a short, shitty novel in 30 days, I know I can write a better novel in like 5 years.

I'm already getting frustrated and running into roadblocks. I had one story with notes, characters developed, snippets written, and then decided to scrap it in favor of a random plot bunny I came up with last night. Granted, I could not stop thinking about the new story all day at work, and forced myself to act on my impulse. The forums on NaNoWriMo's site are hard to access, simply because the site keeps crashing, probably from overload. It's the best place to get support, but so damn hard to get to! Plus, they have an adoption forum for abandoned plots, random snippets, character names, etc! How awesome is that?! I have a few friends also doing NaNoWriMo too, and we're all cheering each other on. I haven't decided if I want to start a separate blog for my story and to talk about my writing process. Keeping one blog and attempting to write a novel is difficult enough. I'm also worried about copyright issues with the net. Maybe I'll just post snippets here and there.

I set myself a small goal tonight of about 500-1000 words; there's no set amount you have to write in a day, but 2-3 K per day is average/good progress. I'm adamant about finishing my first scene. I'm trying really hard to just write and NOT edit while I write. Also, I'm handwriting first, then typing after I finish my daily writing. Computers provide too many distractions, and too easy to edit as I go along. Writing in pen on paper forces me to keep going, scratch out here, but no erasing and all mistakes are there to be fixed later. Wish me luck! I'll be updating as I go.