I just heard of this this summer, and how could I not sign-up?

Short for National Novel Writing Month, it is in its 7th year. Hey, who couldn’t love the power of deadline, right? My screen name there is Iliamna (a deep Alaskan body of water and an Alaskan volcano– don’t try to read too much into that, I just like the sound of the name).  I don’t know if that link is usable or not, but it was worth a try.  Takes me there, anyway.
The two main rules (from my perspective/that I’m supposed to follow) are:

1. Don’t work on something you’ve already started– you’ll care to much to work fast and make word-count (50,000 to “win”).
2. You can’t start until November 1st.

The first I readily identify with and can understand. It’s the second that’s harder for me (though, currently I am still resisting– it’s been good for my in-progress novel, recieving as it does the focus of my noveling interest).

I love starts. I love diving into the middle of some action or tension or dialogue or meeting and swimming to the surface from there. My Shadow Swan effort (currently at 13,427 words) I have “started” at least four times. This has resulted in 23 pages that still will connect with the right interim, since I enter the story from a different place each time. I can pretend they’re all chapter-starts, I guess.

So far they work for me.

I also opened a new blog, to sort of track my “progress” and have something to look at next year (if I find I want to do it again).  I also chose to make it sort-of invisible (no links there) so that the only people that read it will be folks I’m asking specific advice, and similarly-enough engaged in this insanity to overlook things like spelling and plausibility.

Anyway, wish me luck. In less than a month my free-time will be wholly taken-up (I believe) with actually writing on a project.