It comes to that time of year when a couple of my good friends go and ask me “Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?”

For those who don’t know, National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel within the month of November.

I’ve signed up before to do it, had a fairly decent plot but then it’s all fallen apart. I’ve started with a mind map (see above) this time. It’s mostly my worries but it’s helped!

November’s always been a difficult month for me. I’ve always found myself being really busy. It might be constant Saturdays of rugby, it might be being drowned in a sea of university work, or it might be my penchant for procrastination.

This year’s going to be difficult too. Partly because I’m going to be spending half of November in Spain: first in Barcelona and then at my Gran’s near Alicante. I don’t want to be thinking about my novel when watching Barcelona play at the Nou Camp.

But I’m determined to do it. I’ve seen friends go on and succeed with their NaNo pieces, and some have even gone on to write a 75,000 word book in November. I don’t care if it’s rubbish (it will be), I don’t care if anybody doesn’t see it (which they won’t because it’ll be rubbish). I just want that happy and relieved feeling that my friends get when they hit December 1st thinking “Thank god it’s over, I’m so pleased I did that.”

2011 will be the year I win at NaNoWriMo. I can’t guarantee the Booker Prize but I will write 50,000 words in a vague plot behind it.

Who’s with me? And what coping strategies do you have?