Oh, the annual conundrum...

So this year I had resolved not to do NaNoWriMo. I have not failed to do NaNo in 8 years, so the thought of not doing it wasn't awesome, but at the same time I had to recognize the practicality of it. I set aside everything I was doing to work on another project that eventually fell through due to my own lack of paranoia.  But that was two weeks of my life, working on nothing but that. I had a novel I was trying to help a friend edit, and am in the middle of a manuscript. I was determined to finish the existing manuscript before starting anything new. I don't like moving on to something new before I finish the old thing, and I have a bad habit of never finishing anything at all.

So I was determined to be responsible and not do NaNoWriMo. Then I made the tactical error of going on to the website. I lurked around the forums, updated my profile, read some NaNoMail, looked through the store... and I was hooked.  Suddenly the idea of not doing NaNoWriMo seemed very very depressing.  Add in that I've had ideas for new stories just churning like mad through my head and the idea of not doing NaNo becomes a little nuts. Add to all that that I have the first four days of November off and will in fact be taking a 3 hour train ride south on the first, and the idea of not doing NaNoWriMo seems downright criminal.  I am in a perfect position to get a great start.  How can I pass that up? Even with the unfinished manuscript I find myself leaning towards participating.

I have yet to fully articulate to anyone what the draw is for me to NaNoWriMo. There's something about autumn that makes me want to write anyway and that's when a lot of ideas come to me. So it's definitely timed correctly. Maybe it's just the desire to be part of something bigger, to be one of millions all over the world driving toward this one goal. Maybe it's that everyone is so nice and friendly and like-minded. Maybe it's the feeling of accomplishment I get at the end.  Maybe (probably) it's all of the above.

Either way, I think I shall be starting a story on that fine train ride I am so looking forward to taking. Now to decide on an idea and start an outline...