13 October, 2008

I Can't Believe I'm Doing This

A few years ago, my dear friend NP roped me into the insanity known as NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words. One novel. One month.

You have no fucking idea how hard it is to write 50,000 words of fiction in a single month.

I will not regale you with the tales of exhaustion, despair, and near-psychotic-break. Needless to say, when I wrote the final word, I basked in a sense of accomplishment and swore to myself Never. Fucking. Again.

And I'm not. Technically.

Yes, I've decided to write a complete book in the month of November. Yes, it will be at least 50,000 words. But it ain't fiction. Ergo, I'm not breaking my solemn promise to myself.

On November 1st, I'll begin writing How to Talk to an Atheist. You'll no doubt be able to amuse yourselves immensely by watching me swear, scream, weep and howl my way through it. You'll be very much a part of the process as I ask you for reality checks, fact checks, and sanity checks. At the end of this glorious process, we'll hopefully have a book whose chapters we'll be proud to hand to religious sorts when they hand us their bloody silly pamphlets. We'll have another tome to expand that infinitesimal atheism section at the bookstore with. That's the plan, anyway.

Let the record show: I never said it was a good plan.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think "How to get drunk with an Atheist" makes more sense.

We're doing poetry and short stories instead.

Woozle said...

Not that I'm just dripping with spare time with which I have no earthly idea what to do, but... well... if you need any extra snark, proofreading, suggestions for metaphors nobody else gets but which seem really brilliant to me, etc....

Related: I've been making notes for a guide on "rules of engagement", i.e. how to participate in a rational discussion: what types of arguments have weight and what types will lose you points, that sort of thing -- would that be of any use?

Weemaryanne said...

Go Dana! Can't wait to read it.

Blake Stacey said...

I'm going to try writing a math book. We'll see how well that goes. . . .

Nicole said...

I win.

Anonymous said...

Well I can help...........I think, I make a great Tequila slammer if that helps. And it must be the time of the year to get published, My 13 year old son just had a Poem published, a love poem none the less :-0
details to follow as I am currently at work so I don't have it in front of me.