This year I will again be taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo 2006). For those not in the know, this is a phenomenon in which many tens of thousands of writers worldwide get together virtually (and in some cases, in reality) to write a 50,000 word "novel". NaNoWriMo is about the selfish pleasure of committing oneself to "a room of one's own" as Virginia Woolf put it and writing without censure, without editing, and sometimes without plot, but always with the delight and discovery of writing at its most fundamental level.

I have been in terrible physical and mental pain for more time than I would like to calculate, and have been increasingly floundering and unable to find my direction. However artificial some writers - those who profess to be "real" writers - may claim NaNoWriMo to be, I consider it a chance to return to what I love. I have been lost for so long, weighed down by the responsibilities of running a household and a family. For one month, I am going to refind myself and engage in pure, playful creation. For the first time in ages, I feel excitement at the thought of what I may create and what I may find.

I hope to share some of the NaNoWriMo 2006 experience here in my journal, although I will likely save most of my words for my burgeoning novel! To anyone who would like to cheerlead me on this journey with donations of encouraging words, chocolate, hot cups of tea and perhaps money (haha - just kidding about the money), please feel free to follow my progress on my author page on the NaNoWriMo site, or leave a comment here in my journal. Your love and support will make all the difference in helping me achieve this goal, despite considerable challenges: 50,000 words in one month!