Well, this morning it was a mini-freakout, but tonight it’s a reality. I really have embarked upon writing a novel in thirty days as a result of the NaNoWriMo challenge. It’s crazy. It’s ambitious. It’s ill-advised. It’s genius. Truthfully I’m not really sure how I feel about it yet, but I do know this, I’ve begun.

I recently purchased some software called “Write It Now” and so far I really like it. It helps me organize my writing by characters, ideas, chapters, whatever. I know it isn’t the only software out there for novelists, but for a beginner like me it seems to fit the bill quite nicely. My opinion may change as the month goes on, but so far, so good.

Doing some preliminary work was extremely helpful. I have been thinking about my characters for a while now, and mulling over the events of the story in my head. There are definitely some fuzzy bits (okay, lots of fuzzy bits) and some questions I need to answer before I can write certain parts, but at least I was able to jump right in and begin drafting today.

So far I’ve written about 2,300 words. Yay me. I apologize in advance if I become a bit scarce over the next 30 days, but I’ll be working on that novel. Still, I have no intention of abandoning the blog, and I will certainly check it every day. Please feel free to add me as a writing buddy if you’re playing along (bulgingbuttons is my screen name). I would love to hear from other participants, and I would be thrilled with a word of encouragement here or there along the way.

Thanks! And stay tuned for the next great American novel, you just might happen to see it here first.