And so it is upon us. NaNoWriMo (and November) officially begin tomorrow. I have an idea for a novel. I have completed my prep work. I have writing buddies. I have write-ins on my calendar. I. Am. Ready!

I’ve been having some fun with my characters, getting to know them through various little flashy pieces and whatnot. I also wrote short bios for my three most prevalents. Here they are for your reading pleasure:

[The Main]
Reece loves making things beautiful and that’s what makes him a great landscape designer. He’s quiet and simple, a non-risk taker, much to Owen’s dismay. When mysterious creatures appear in his bedroom, it might be the most interesting thing that’s happened to him since the one time he actually beat Owen at Halo. He figures he can deal with the sprytes, even if the fact that Owen can’t see them concerns him. It takes running into Nora–literally–to realize there might be a way to get rid of them and get his life back, but will the cost be too high in the end?

[The Lady]
Nora is quirky and fun, though a bit paranoid. Carries a shot glass with her at all times, not because she drinks (she doesn’t and for good reason), but because she must carefully check every drop she swallows. She refuses to drink anything opaque. She is in her 20s, works at a conservatory, and has a strange obsession with bugs. Or maybe it’s not so much obsession as it is a secret… She’s intrigued by Reece, the man who almost ran her over in Best Buy, but he’ll have to prove himself before she’ll tell him anything.

[The Roomate Best Friend]
Owen lives to skate. His parents thought it was just a teen obsession, but his love for boards of all styles has grown into his career. The skate shop he co-owns is not just employment, it’s passion. When he’s not skating, he’s thinking about it—or he’s whipping Reece at Halo. He might be the perfect best friend. Loyal, fun, laid-back and always up for something new–the more dangerous and reckless, the better.

So, that’s my cast! I am not afraid of this challenge. I tend to write fast and I have convinced myself this will be easy. (No laughing–I could be right!)

My plan of attack for my first NaNoWriMo:
1. Wake up a half hour early every weekday to write.
2. Write during lunch break (half hour) whenever possible.
3. Write in the evenings enough to hit daily word count, then try to get ahead by a few hundred words (or catch up if behind).
4. Identify make-up days if needed (weekends, around Thanksgiving).

Overall goal: Not only meet 50,000 word count, but complete novel, which I estimate to be around 70,000-80,000. (Though I will be perfectly happy with 50,000.)

I have a title. Sort of. Rather, I needed one for NaNo-sake, so I made one up real quick. It’s a good working title, but I’m not sold on it as my final.

Without further ado, here is my synopsis for Pesticide:

Reece’s apartment is overrun with sprytes. Tiny and annoying, they will do anything they can to ruin his day. Reece doesn’t know where they came from, why only he can see them, or why nothing he does will get rid of them. Until he meets Nora. She knows plenty about the sprytes. Perhaps more than she’s even telling Reece. With a secret of her own, will she be able to help Reece, or will she be his final downfall?

This was one of those crazy ideas that came to me as a joke, until I chewed on it. That tends to be how things go in my mind. In this case, a co-worker was late because her clock in her bedroom was somehow off by several hours. I asked her, without even thinking about it, “Oh, were those sprytes in your house messing with your clock again?” We laughed about it, but then I thought, hmm.

And so, at the start of October, with NaNoWriMo looming ahead, I began tossing around the idea, fleshing out my characters, and creating an outline. I wrote the synopsis and character bios. I signed up for NaNo and entered my novel to make it all shiny and official.

But the real excitement for the whole thing came when I joined the NaNo community. The energy around this month-long endeavor is contagious. I have been counting down the days, anxious to get inside my characters’ heads.

Now the time is finally here. I will be posting weekly in a series I’m calling the NaNo Journals. I will include a daily word count and talk about my struggles and triumphs throughout the process. (And hopefully not about how incredibly naive I was to think this would be easy.)

If you’ve decided to join the other 190,475 (as of 10/31) writers embarking on this journey, add me as a writing buddy!