This is the last weekend before the annual international mania begins. In 2007 there had been 100,000 participants. Only more than 15,000 survived....what will this year's numbers be?

Okay, so here's an explanation of what may be like just senseless ramblings from me. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. That month is on November. From the 1st to the 30th, writers from all around the world try to cross the 50,000 word finish line. That means, for you to be able to win, you have to have a 50k novel by 11:59 pm of Nov. 30. If not, then you lose. Go sulk in the corner of your room until NaNoWriMo starts again next year.

Of course you might think that's impossible. But make no mistake. NaNoWriMo doesn't care about quality. It cares about quantity. Expect yourself to be writing a lot of crap for one month, but that's okay because your training yourself to write what's on your mind and doing it under pressure without thinking about all the editing nonsense while you're doing your first draft. You're giving yourself permission to make mistakes for a change. It's like doing a Project 365 for photographers. It sharpens your craft in a way that's different than the classic it-has-to-be-good-already-the-first-time approach.

Now don't think that there's some big prize or fancy award waiting for you when you cross that 50k doorstep. There's goodies in store of course but no fancy awards. The biggest award you'll have is the experience and the glory you got from it. Then there's also the story that you wrote. That's one of the greatest prizes a true writer can ask for.

Last year, I entered NaNoWriMo and lost, finishing with only a 5,000 word count on my profile. Now, I'm determined to get to that 50k. And since I already have a story I'm working on, thinking of a plot is no longer a problem.

6 more days!