TWENTY, TWENTY, TWENTY THREE HOURS TO GO...
The title says it all. As I sit here typing, it is 12:57 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31 and I've got 23 hours before I can officially start writing my 2003 NaNoWriMo novel.
NaNoWriMo being National Novel Writing Month, a yearly challenge for all those who think they'll write a novel "someday": stop yammering and start writin'. Participants are given the entire month of November... in which to write an entire novel. 50,000 words minimum, which translates to the infamous 1667 words a day.
I pulled it off last year with about nine hours to spare. Most of the fruit of this labor can be seen at the blog I published last year,
The Coffee Hour In Saratoga.
This year I'm attempting no such formal innovations as trying to tell a complete story through morning coffee gossip conversations and nothing else.
What I am going to do, well, I'm still thinking about that. Definitely something less fantastic and more publishable, that's my goal.
And while I do, it, I'll keep track of certain amusing stats right here at NaNoKateMo.com.
I've got stat-collectors scribbled on my walls (chalkboard paint!) to aid in this process, including:
POCC (pots of coffee consumed)
CIGS (cigarettes or cigars smoked, hopefully none)
BI (=Bangs Index, or the number of times I consult the writings of the late rock critic Lester Bangs for solace, comfort, inspiration, or energy)
A tip of the hat to the wonderful, the marvelous, the amazing
Gyrating Bhtch, Chicago's most FlavoRiffic band, for the idea of tracking my progress this way. Many years ago, when the boys were recording their seminal rock opera
Captain Flywheel and the Produce Section under the influence of nothing stronger than Blue FlavoIce (and these were college men, not 12-year-olds; they could have turned to tougher stuff), kept every FlavoTube, nailed it to the rafters of Meister Mueller's Mansion's basement, and chalked up the number of FlavoIces consumed, number of trips to the bathroom, and other Fun and Popular Facts about each of the band members during the session.
