NaNoWriMo Update

This is a simple insertion to say that I have been undertaking National Novel Writing Month in a different way this year. Last year I wrote my dissertation instead of writing fiction. This year, I am attacking multiple projects at the same time.

First, I am writing a separate personal narrative with my four classes who are not participating in NaNoWriMo. I brainstormed in front of them and with them. I drafted when they drafted. After Thanksgiving we will move into revisions. Only then will I share each of those episodes, one of which is part of the math stories. I have a few more of those to write as well. They will appear soon.

Also, I am writing a novel-ish piece of fiction based completely on the Dare Machine on the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program site, a great place for students to receive communal support for their monumental undertaking. The Dare Machine is an idea generator for if/when you get stuck. On a whim, I decided to abandon all of my preplanned ideas (I'll save them for later) and surrendered myself to the mercy of the Dare Machine gods. Every scene I write comes straight from the next dare. The challenge comes in typing the scenes together coherently and cohesively.

Currently I am behind my word count goal, but honestly, for me, any bit of writing I do (that is more than responding to email or social media) is going toward my word count. So, as of the end of this post, I am siting at 21,261 words.