Watch this space

All right, the silence on the blog for the past week needs explanation.

Oh, it's hard to actually type the words. But I'll just blurt it out on paper.

I'm writing a novel.

I have taken up what could be described as an online dare, i.e. National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo for short. It's a program originating in the States somewhere, challenging participants to write a novella of 50,000 words during the month of November.

Check out the number of words on the icon above. The figure will be updated as I go along.

My book is something akin to a really poor great niece to the second cousin of Bryce Courtenay's Jessica, or perhaps if you envisage an extended version of McLeod's daughters in 2D (in the literal sense, as in "on paper"), then that's the sort of ... thing ... I've been producing. (My theory is that writing this novel over a period of 30 days may kill more brain cells than a month of big nights out! Aheh.)

But one thing is certain. While I have confirmed any suspicions that I have no serious novel writing gift, I do know deep down inside that I can write 50,000 words. Fifty thousand words of marvellously purple prose, melodramatic story lines starring outrageous, predictable and stereotypical characters whose names and backstories I haven't noted down and can't remember!

But don't get excited. No one, not even Edwin, is going to read the novel. He may be allowed to read the next one ... yes, I am going to do this thing again!

Despite the sleepless nights concocting a plot and trying to manufacture dialogue that isn't forced / unnatural / cringeworthy / pointless / unbelievable, day-dreaming over whether I could make it all end with my main character waking up from a dream/the whole novel was the last 10 seconds of her life, or staring into space thinking about what my characters might say right now, or choose to wear, even though, wait a minute, have I described this character yet? Is this character me/my mum/Edwin/the lady at the post office in disguise?

I'm going bananas! Only 10 days to go!!!!!