Almost that time again!

If anyone is wondering, my NaNoWriMo username is "offhanded". Yes, you may friend me with friendly abandon, and I'll be more than happy to friend you back. The more the merrier!

Don't ask, it's just a random word I picked out because I wanted to use something beside my usual Nom De Interwebs.

In case any of you are on the fence about doing NaNoWriMo, there's still plenty of time to sign up. I would definitely encourage you to try it out.

All the jokes about insanity and caffeine and insomnia aside, NaNoWriMo has something to offer for writers at all levels of development, even those who have published titles to their names. It's not just about the wordcount, it's about knowing that you can push not only your creativity, but your skills into overdrive.

It's about knowing if your creative engine can go from 0 to 50k in 30 days, and about what kind of performance you get when you're going at that speed.

For me, NaNoWriMo is not only an opportunity to challenge myself with speed, but style. It's a month in which I have permission to throw rules, conventions, restrictions out the window and experiment. More than that, I throw away fear. Maybe what I write won't be remotely publishable, maybe it'll be utter drek, but at least I will have tried my hand at something new.

I think I've benefited as a writer from the month long marathon that is NaNoWriMo, and I think that any writer would also.

Some NaNoWriMo links that might be useful

Since NaNo is soon approaching, I thought I'd share some helpful links that might be of some use to those out there who are about to take on the challenge.

nano_icons is a fun community with LJ icons for NaNoWriMo for you to use. I got mine from there, and they range from pretty to very funny.

Speaking of the LJ-NaNo connection, LiveJournal.com is actually doing it right (for once). This year for NaNoWriMo, they're giving half of the proceeds of "encouragement" V-gifts to NaNoWriMo, as well as $1 for every LJ'er who wins. So go comment with your NaNo username to be counted in. And five random winners get a year's free paid account. Nifty, no?

For wordcounting, I recommend the Zokutou Wordmeter, which is that little colored bar you see everywhere. You can go by chapters or words, and it gives you a percentage of your total.

Also, you can find the tips and tricks for NaNoWriMo success that I posted last year. If any else has their own methods for winning NaNoWriMo, please, share with the class!

Oh, and a spreadsheet that's helpful for keeping track of your progress. I created it, so feel free to take, share, modify, go to warp factor nine, whatever it is you do with spreadsheets. If you have the 2007 version, you'll need to change the days of the week, because this year the 1st is on a Saturday, not a Thursday like last year.