What Are You Doing This November?

I'm not quite sure why November was selected as National Novel Writing Month (maybe it was the whole alliteration factor), but whatever the reason, it's not a bad time to start setting some goals now since November is (gasp!) right around the corner.

I don't know about you, but I don't particularly like setting goals, writing and otherwise, for January 1. There's just so much pressure with it being a new year and all that I tend not to accomplish much. And trust me, I write a good, long list every single year.

But this year, I've decided as far as novel writing is concerned, I'm going with the NaNoWriMo flow, even if I'm not exactly following their directions verbatim. Typically, when you're doing the NaNoWriMo thing, you sign up with the intent of writing 50,000 words in a single month—basically, flipping the "it's a marathon, not a sprint" adage on its head, so you can finally make the progress you've been dreaming about in a rather fast-paced fashion.

With so little time to take that epic idea and make it into something, you simply don't have time to censor yourself the way you would if you were working at a more languid pace. And for people who've always had "write a novel" on their life's perpetual to-do list, it's an insane but do-able way to give it a shot.

Since I already have the first part of my WIP just the way I want it, however, I can't technically do NaNoWriMo the traditional way (i.e. starting from scratch). So I'm opting to make November the time for finishing my first draft, which isn't exactly something to shake the proverbial stick at. To be totally, brutally honest, it's going to be a TON of work, but I'm so incredibly excited about it nonetheless and want to make the most of my time, even if I have to get up a little extra early or stay up extra, extra late (that's what caramel macchiatos were invented for, right?).

So now I pose a challenge to you, fellow Scribble Chicks readers. How do you plan to use National Novel Writing Month to make progress on your writing goals? Whether it's outlining an idea you've had for a while now, hammering out that first draft or going all NaNoWriMo and actually committing to 50,000 words, no matter where they take you, what's sounding good for you?

By the way, I plan on keeping you updated on my progress in my November posts! Should be interesting don't ya think?