Writing by numbers

I've stated elsewhere that I have never been interested in becoming a fiction writer myself...and that was no lie. Nevertheless, I am interested in the process of creative writing and have flirted with participating in the National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org) contest since I first heard about it three or four years ago, just to see what it's like trying to compose something longer than the little parodies and silly episodic pieces I occasionally spin off.

In case you're not familiar with the contest, the goal is to write a 50,000-word novel (novella, really) within the 30 days of November. (By way of comparison, that's about two-thirds the length of Dune Messiah, and only one-fourth the length of Dune.) See their website for more information, if you're interested.

This year I'm particularly interested in giving it a serious go as a result of all the discussion on how hard writers work and the whole issue of writing with a definite deadline (especially in connection with the idea of setting daily quotas).

I got off to a bit of a slow start (only 107 words) on Wednesday and didn't feel like writing on Thursday, but Friday (the "Culture Day" holiday here) I wrote 970 words and yesterday managed 2,065...253 words over the quota for the day. To stay on schedule I have to write 1,802 words today. It's already past 5:30 and the total so far is...0. Ooh, ooh, the pressure!

I'll keep y'all updated on my progress through the course of the rest of the month.

And don't worry...I won't be forcing any excerpts on you!