I wasn't sure if this should go in the creativity section or not, because it's a discussion about a big writing event, but I put it here since it's not really about any creative works on my part.
National Novel Writing Month started today. Has anyone else entered? I find it's a fun way to force yourself to write. I got my first 5K done today, so I've cranked out about a tenth of the thing.
For those who don't know what NaNoWriMo is, it's an event, found at:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/ where authors attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in a solid month. Depending on your formatting and amount of dialogue, this'll be around 70 pages, assuming you're on single spacing and write longer paragraphs, and upwards of a hundred if you use larger spacing.
The idea is to force yourself to write a lot, even though most of it will be absolute shit since you haven't had time to edit or plan it. It's to give you the satisfaction of finishing a project and working towards a deadline. It equates to a bit under 2K words per day, to finish on the last day, which means it's actually a fairly doable goal for almost anyone. It's just a cool little thing you can do to help you learn to write on the spot and learn how to force your way through writer's block.
Any writers out there, or anyone making a plot heavy game, should definitely consider being a part of this, as it'll definitely help with your writing overall, and it's fun to see what you poop out when given so much over so little time. And hey, if you like the story enough, you can always edit it later and make it really good.