The once annoying number of forum posts to which I subscribe (three) kept growing beginning October 1st (there were a few before - but very few). Now that the boards were wiped clean on October 1st and the new threads begun, I have many arriving everyday. Mostly I get them from the Portland region - my choice; I get a smattering of posts from Vancouver and Newport (I only have limited permission granted for those regions).
But now - the posts are helping spurn me on towards the start of the actual event. Instead of annoying, they are inspiring! Part of me says this is a stupid endeavor; I'm already stretched beyond the max - what do I think I'm doing. For example, today I had to make a decision between lunch and a nap. Really, it wasn't a choice. I had less than minimal sleep last night, then an out of town job this morning which necessitated leaving pretty early, a short 2 hour break after getting back to town before the writing group during which I had to get the snacks for today's group and could either (a) sleep or (b) eat because after the group, I would meet with my organizational liason, and then off to work until 1 am ... So it was a no brainer even though I considered it. So a nap (and I actually DID sleep - miracle - and it helped)! Then an apple and a protein bar on the drive to the group.
So, why am I taking on NaNoWriMo again?
Because.
It's a challenge, fun, exciting, and I want to. I'm a writer and this stretches me and I have some really good stuff to work with when I'm done. And a bunch of stuff to just toss - but it's fun. And when I'm done - what an accomplishment!
So, in the nanoworld news: Today from the OLL (Office of Letters and Light) - here is the number of NaNo-ers signed up to go across that start line at 12:01 AM on 11/01/09:
After four days of sign-ups, we have 15,363 brave and crazy souls dedicating their Novembers to the high-velocity noveling arts.
If you're ever curious about the current population of NaNoLand, you can just sign in to the site, and head to the Authors Search page. Leave all those fields blank, and click on the "Search" button. Presto! You'll see a list of everyone who has signed up.
Hanging out on the Author Search page is sadly one of my greatest hobbies in October and November. I just searched again, and we're now up to 15,421 participants.Thanks to some search magic implemented by Dan this year, you can also get a list of people writing in your genre who also live in your home region, find all the Wrimos in your age group writing this year, and discover exactly how many people joined JediDiplomat in listing James and the Giant Peach as one of their favorite novels. (Answer: 334.)
The Author Search will get even cooler on November 1, when we add word count!
Now at 15,709 participants ....
