Anyone here in on NaNoWriMo this year? I'm really psyched. Last year was my first successful attempt with it, and it ended up being a huge success for me, so I'm greatly looking forward to it this year and hoping I have even a fraction of the luck I had last year with this year's novel.

For those who don’t know NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, this is a challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. It encourages you to throw standards out the window and just write, something that I think all us writers, and those who don’t normally write, need. Nothing is at stake here other than the ability to say you wrote a novel, which makes it both relaxed and hectic at once. The results can be a jumbled mess, which can only be expected when you force-write so much in so little time - or it can be the best thing you’ve ever written. I heartily recommend it to anyone who's ever thought of writing, or has.

EDIT: NaNoWriMo occurs during the month of November, and the website is right here. If you're planning to join, feel free to add me to your writing buddies list!

I just reawakened my profile, and, yes, you're still listed an one of my NaNoWriMo Buddies, Jinx.

Victory! I have persevered and conquered the challenge for this year! I reached a grand total of 50,180 words! And over 10,000 of those words were written in the last two days! Have another exclamation point!

How did you do?

Congratulations! I was surprised by the number of my writing buddies - most of whom I'd met through Wordpress comments in the past month - who had won. It took me until the last day of the month, which is surprising given that I wrote 10,000 words in the first weekend, but I did make 50,000 words yesterday, and today I concluded the story. Would you be interested in trading novels? I'd enjoy reading another in the tales of Baksrit and company.

I could read yours, though I'm not sure you'd want to read Isen's Bane yet. It's been three years, and I don't think I'm quite halfway through. On the good side, I do have a better grasp of Deidrei's character as well as just what exactly a skoit is (they're no longer bipedal, most obviously).

Well, it took awhile before I got around to reading the last few chapters of Winterfur, I don't think I'd mind too much waiting on the rest of Isen's Bane, but it is, of course, ultimately your call. Anyway, I'll e-mail you my novel shortly.