Be Afraid...Be VERY Afraid - It's NaNo Eve.

Happy Halloween everyone, I hope you are all getting in the spirit of All Hallows Eve.  My pumpkin is ready to scare any visitors, my broomstick has been polished and the black cat has been groomed.

After last week's post, I received some wonderful pumpkin carving photographs from my readers.  Here is one of my favourites made by Ann Sherlock, UK.
 


As well as the promise of copious amounts of candy, today is also the day you can get another treat - a copy of Forever Together for FREE.  This is the supernatural romance from Douglas McPherson and you can grab your free copy here.


I have had so much fun during October's challenge.  I've looked at being Grateful, Happy, Confident, Complimentary and even Silly but today I am definitely going for Scared.

October 31st is not only All Hallows Eve, it's also NaNo Eve.

Yes, that's right, from midnight I will be a participant of one of the biggest challenges a writer can face - NaNoWriMo which stands for National Novel Writing Month.

This competition is in it's 14th year and participants from across the globe sign up.  It attracts on average, 350,000 writers' every year, all dedicated to producing 50,000 words in just 30 days.

I wanted to take part in NaNo for the past four years but every year I changed my mind at the last minute and ran for the hills.  Starting my Resolution Challenge back in January meant I had to tell people I was going to take part and therefore couldn't back out. 

Some people take offence to this competition, saying it doesn't produce anything of quality but I don't see it that way.  As an A+ procrastinator I have allowed my novel to whirl around the space between my ears for many years.  I've jotted a few notes, I've even got a Pinterest board dedicated to my characters but that's as far as I ever got.  Enter NaNo and suddenly I have a plot, an outline and the resources to bring this story to life. 

I'm sure my grammar and spelling will be questionable by the 14th but it doesn't matter, I'm writing, I'm crafting that first draft which, fingers crossed, will be 50,000 words better off by 30th November - I can edit in December if my typing fingers still work!

So on this Halloween I am more afraid than ever but I am also excited.  I have my NaNo T-Shirt, my NaNo coffee mug and my novel notes, all I need now is a cheering squad.  Have a look at my NaNo Author Profile and feel free to cheer me on - http://nanowrimo.org/participants/fantasy-writer-shelley

I will be posting the highs and lows of this challenge throughout November.  You will be able to see my word count on the widget down the side of the blog page.  Please feel free to leave me any encouraging messages - I think I may need them.

Why not do your own challenge in November:-

You could write a diary entry every day for 30 days saying what you are grateful for. 
You could try and pay someone a compliment every day in November.
Try and smile at someone new every day, make them feel happy.

Let me know what you decide to do and if you are as 'silly' as me and participate in NaNoWriMo then good luck to you and I will see you at the finish line.