Well, this is it — my last night to be free of the madness of NaNoWriMo. But I’m not really free of it because it’s looming over me, less than four hours away. Of course, I won’t roll up my sleeves and face it until tomorrow morning.

Luckily, I’m well prepared with a fantastic “NaNoWriMo Survival Kit” from my good friend Jenna, which includes such writing essentials as a reusable coffee mug, a pen and notepad, a stuffed “plot bunny” (so cute!), cozy socks, a timer, and of course, candy (and more, actually). My favorite items are the mug and the timer, which has a smiley face on it. I work well with a timer, and my whole plan for winning this thing is to keep writing for an hour every day, no questions asked (except maybe, “What happens next?”) My own timer has been on the fritz for a long time, which means I might set it for an hour, not realize it stopped at 20 minutes, and end up three hours late for work (on the upside, think of what it might do for my wordcount!) Not only does this timer WORK (I checked), but it’s a smiley face. So when it rings, I’ll also get a, “Hey, you did it!” smile. 

I’ve decided to write a “retelling” of the first novel I wrote when.... But before you cry, “Cheat!”, let me explain. A few years ago, my writers group talked about how the best way to revise a novel might be to write it over again from scratch. And I’ve thought often about returning to this novel, but I don’t want to be “bogged down” by the fifteen-year-old self that first wrote it. So this seems like the perfect candidate for an absolute, ground-up makeover. So that’s what I’m doing. No access to the original document, no glancing at my printouts from back then, nothing. If I don’t remember how once incident connects with another, I’ll have to make a new connection. I have a general idea about where this story will go, but I hope it might surprise me. I’m as nervous as I would be if I was writing something brand new.

Things I will not allow to suffer due to my fourth NaNo attempt: my work at the library, my wedding plans, the anthology I’m editing.

Things that may suffer: my dirty dishes and laundry, my sleep schedule, my exercise schedule, and my blogging.

You may not see me again soon! But I leave you with … a movie.