NaNoWriMo 2011, Week 1

I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year, though I think, officially, I’m cheating. Because I’m working on an already-started book, which is, according to the NaNo rules, “punishable by death.”

Seriously, that’s what it says.

However, in chatting about this with Carrie the other day, we came to the conclusion that published authors can cheat at NaNoWriMo, firstly because we’ve already achieved the stated goals of NaNo, which is to get off your butt and write already, and secondly because the chances we’re able to start a new book from scratch precisely on November 1st is… not so much.

Who am I kidding? I think anyone can cheat at NaNo. The point is to write, right? Get to 50k. Everything else is details.

In the end, I decided it was better for both me and the universe (and my buddies in WRW, for whom I am this year’s NaNoWriMo coordinator) that I do it this way than not do it at all. No harm, no foul.

So what I did decide to do was count everything I’ve already written in the novel as zero. And since I have, I’m estimating, about 50k left to write on the novel, it’s perfect. So, starting from zero on November 1st, I now have, this lovely Friday morning, 7,773 words. I need to write another 2400 today to stay on track, since I suspect I won’t get much of a chance to write on the weekends.

Anyone else doing NaNoWriMo? I’m “dianablue” on the site. Friend me and we’ll cheer each other on!