Tomorrow is the first of november, days are getting shorter, weather colder. I don’t have that feeling any longer that it is the last warm day (because there it was, last sunday and I’m pretty shure that this time it really was the last one for this year), that I have to get out and enjoy it. I can now stay home without remorse.

After I was getting home from “Zurich reads” last saturday, lying in bed and feeling stimulated, I suddenly noticed that november is coming which means NaNoWriMo (national novel writing day) is coming up again and that I should be part of it. I already participated two years ago in 2012 and wrote more than 60K words which made me one of the winners. What did you win?, you might ask. I won, what everybody wins: My very own novel! Finished or not, but with more than 50K words (which is the winners goal of NaNoWriMo) than before you started.

So, just 6 days to prepare and what to write? The novel I started in 2012? No. I finally want to, no need to finish my diploma novel I started at SAL (school of applied linguistics Zurich). Are there any more 50K words to write until the end? Maybe not. But it doesn’t matter. It’s more important for me to finish the novel than to reach the 50K words goal (of course I would like to do both!).

I am just working so much better with a goal! After this late decision in bed, I started preparation and read my novel again this week and all the planning stuff I had. And I’m really motivated! But I still have no idea where to start writing tomorrow and there is only today left for preparation. If I just have one point to start, I can go on writing. Fortunately the stuff I had written so far is pretty good. First I was afraid it might be all crap and I would have to start over again, because I have written the first pages 3 years ago. But it isn’t, lucky me!

For I have already done lot of the planning stuff, it should be easy to finish? Because I have the whole story in my head? I wish it would be that easy. Of course I know most of the plot and the holes are getting smaller. But that’s excatly what makes it harder. The main character needs to find his goal, the others need to finally couple together, the whole story must get even. I cannot just come up with new ideas and characters, I must focus on the existing ones and in the end all parts must fit perfectly together, every character needs a cause. That’s just the difference from a story to life (or maybe not?): every character has a special cause in the story, a reason why needed for the story.

I am not much of planner, I love to just write and look what happens, let the characters tell me their story. That’s why nove(l)ember is perfect for me. Buy your inner critics a ticket to far-far-away. In 2012 I thought it would be that easy, but they didn’t leave. They all stayed and told me each and every day what rubbish I’m writing and that I can throw the whole novel away after november, that it is all for nothing because it is just not, what I wanted to write, and not good enough and so on. I badly hope this year is better!

Actually this is no good time to start my blog, because from tomorrow on I will need every word for my day goals. Unfortunately words written not for the novel don’t count or do they? I don’t think so. Therefore I already apologize if I won’t make it to write any news here on how it’s going on before december. But keep an eye on my twitter account, there is always time for a tweet in a coffee break or waiting for the bus.

Happy nove(l)ember to all of you, welcome to my blog, write and read on!