In the beginning...

Being a writer is a little like being a god. Or, at the very least, having a god complex. Unfortunately in my case, I seem to have sold my powers to some hell beast for the lesser, though still desirable, comforts of every day life. Namely food, a roof, and the ability to continue my effort in avoiding public nudity.

I was 15 when this project began. Roughly nine years ago. And to this day it haunts me: hovering over my head like a veritable nagging dead relative. I've vowed on numerous occasions to: 1) finish it 2) put it out to pasture, and C) allow it to remain unfound until my death. Thus far, option C has been winning, as it requires no effort on my part. But even then, I know that in its current state it won't be regarded as the literary discovery of the century.

If you're not familiar with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), or NaNo for short, allow me to lay it out to you:

From 12:01AM November the first to 12:00PM November the 31st, you are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel. That's the basic premise. 50K in 30 days. Approximately 1,666.67 words per day (though, how the hell do you write 2/3 of a word?). The focus is quantity, not quality. (Side note: this is an actual thing, it's not mine. Credit where credit's due and all that. You can find it at NaNoWriMo.org).

Why not just join the NaNo website like all the other good boys and girls struggling through yet another writing frenzy this fateful November you ask? To be bold: the "red tape" trips up someone in my situation. In other words, a majority of the creators and participants, I have found, are zealots AKA pompous assholes. They have their own rules, rightfully so, about what counts for the competition. I can't enter, I can't join the site. And what's more, I cannot expect a prayer of a hope of receiving any support from my fellow writers.

So here I am, on my own, setting out on this quest. I'm breaking the rules of NaNo in their truest form. This novel is nine years in the making. I'm gritting my teeth, digging my feet in and saying once and for all that it will meet its maker. The original word count was just around 98K. I have countless details, entire chapters, to add to create a complete and linear piece of literary mastery. And as of now, I have 30 days to do it. Or, at the least, the next 50,000 words of it.

We all have something to accomplish in this world. Mine is long overdue.

So this is me, giving a big proverbial middle finger to the guild of psuedo-literature. This is me standing on my little slice of Internet rooftop, raising my arms, and shouting to the heavens: Damn the man! Save the empire!