OH MY GOD I’M SO EXCITED I COULD BUUUUUUUUUURST!

I won’t… I can’t… I won’t be able to write if I do.

I was going to let Raven do today’s post (as that has been the trend for the last fortnight), but since NaNo is my project, I thought I should be the one to chat to you. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll be back… probably sooner than you think. *wink*

Anyway! This year, NaNoWriMo is going to be completely different. In the past I have given myself a brief; a start and a finish. Maybe a line or two of where I wanted to be in the middle, but, ultimately, I put my fingers to the keys and let my characters draw me along for a crazy ride.

Not this year. I’ve talked about this in my post over at the Phoenix Writers, but, in brief, Silk Over Razor Blades has consumed my life for too long. I need to finish it or let it go. So this year I have a detailed outline of exactly where I want things to go, meaning that plot holes, inconsistencies and weakness crippling previous versions are gone. My subplots are clear. They have a purpose. The main plot is strong and exciting (even to me!) and has (from what I can see) suitable peaks and troughs to carry it from start to finish. I’m well armed this year.

That’s why… this year the goal isn’t to reach 50k words. I can do that easily. I always have, with NaNo except for last year when the boys were still so small. I suppose I can be forgiven for choosing to sleep rather than write. Nope… the goal this year is to actually finish the story. I want to get to type the last word, enter three carriage returns and then type ‘THE END’ underneath it. That’s my goal.

I don’t want to finish it in December – I have too much other stuff to do – it must be November.

Phew!

Yes, I know it’s crazy. I know that. Believe me, I know. But I have to try. You achieve nothing without pushing yourself.

So… I’ll keep you up to date on how things are going with regular updates linked into my goal list. I’ll give you a sample every now and then and let you know how I’m feeling about it all. This is so exciting because it’s a completely different approach to novel writing; one I’ve never tried before. I want to share it with you.

If you’re taking part this year, feel free to look me up (I’m still under Ileandra Young – and that’s i- l- not double l, as I’ve seen in the past) and join me.

I would LOVE to know how you’re all doing. Please, please share with me. Writing is so solitary… for this one month, let’s make it a group activity, eh? 🙂