It is November again, when the trees lose their leaves, the jackets come on, and the writing bug bites. I think by now I’ve conditioned myself Pavlovian-style to put my fingers to the keyboard when the weather starts cooling off. And once again, I am sprinting the marathon of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), cranking out a draft of a book in 30 days. This time, I am going the whole ten yards, shooting for the standardized goal of 50,000 words, with no less than 1,667 per day. I wrote 1,935 yesterday, so I’m going strong.
Last year, my goal was only 1,000 words per day, and I had a really rough time. But I have improved since then, practicing both on this blog and with The Well of Images, and I have a game plan.
First, the book I have chosen is sure to keep me going at it day after day. I have mentioned Moebius a few times on this blog, the story I have been building for over ten years, and with which I hope to make a name for myself when I finally publish it. But I started writing a version of Moebius a long time ago, back when I was about 13. Since then, it has grown into something completely different, the only similarities being a few names and that it takes place in space. This NaNoWriMo, I am going back to the original idea, and writing a full draft of MoebiusQuest, where the two protagonists, Zoink and Oliver, go on a quest to find the seven elemental medallions and stop the evil Disassembler. It will be fun, whimsical, and positively drenched in nostalgia.
The second thing I am doing is joining a chat group of other NaNo writers. I went onto the NaNo forums early this year and hit it off with someone who invited me to their Discord server, which now has ten or fifteen members, all hyped to write and ready to keep each other going.
Thirdly, I have gotten into the writing habit, having cranked really hard on The Well of Images part 4, so that it would be beta ready before November. NaNo is still a step up from that, but it is half a step less than it would have been. Part 4 is in beta stage right now, and will be released online next week, so get hyped for that.
Finally, I have a caffeine plan. Caffeine’s potency depends on how much caffeine is normal for your system. Have two cups of coffee each day, and you need three to get a buzz. But if you’ve been off it for a month, a single cup of tea is all you need. For the past few years, I have been largely caffeine-free, making those rare occasions when I indulge at a restaurant or coffee shop quite powerful. I still drink decaf in the mornings out of habit, and that is the target of my plan. Starting yesterday, I changed one of my two tablespoons of grounds from decaf to half-caf. A week from now, I’ll change the other to half-caf as well. In two week, I’ll change one to full-caf, and for the final week, I will use two scoops of regular caffeine-loaded coffee grounds. Hopefully this gradual ramping up of caffeine intake will keep me burning brightly through the whole month.
I’m ready. It’s time. My first real NaNoWriMo challenge has begun. It’s time to prove to my future self that I have what it takes, that I am the real deal now. Wish me diligence, wisdom, and luck.
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