Might it be time to write that novel?

If you're one of those people "with a novel inside them" you've probably thought about committing your story to paper (or failing that a Word document). Most of us, and I'm guilty of this, never quite get around to it though. I've only properly finished one of many writing projects I've started over the years.

Next month could be the time to change all that though! For National Novel Writing Month is upon us again and the challenge is to set aside all the reasons why you never get started, or don't finish, and commit to 30 days of writing, complete with an online community of fellow writers and a word-counter to keep you motivated.

The idea behind Nanowrimo is that you don't worry about finesse, spelling or even fine-tuned continuity - that comes later. Nanowrimo is about blitzing out that first draft, imperfections and all - because once that hurdle's complete its a relatively easy task to refine and edit.

The target is 50,000 words but you CAN go over and many do! The Nanowrimo website is FREE though voluntary contributions to cover costs and the Young Writer's program are welcomed. You can link up with other local novelists and more remote online writing buddies. It's a tough but very worthwhile challenge and I am gearing myself up for it as we approach the 1st November when writing commences.

So if anyone in the community fancies the challenge, feel free to go to tinyurl.com/4pa56 and sign up. You'll find plenty of help and support materials on the site to deal with issues such as writers block etc.

If anyone else is undertaking the challenge it would be great to hear from you on here and we can track the ever-climbing word count together!