The harder I work to get my life in order before National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow, the more I wonder if I’m taking my preparations a little too far. I’m afraid I’m going to be exhausted before NaNo even begins. On the plus side, I haven’t done this much cleaning and cooking in a long time. At least the apartment looks better.

I’m planning on hitting the novel hard during the first few days to take advantage of my initial enthusiasm. To get us over that hump and make sure we survive the month of November, I have:

• shopped for groceries,
• stocked up on soup ingredients, including chopping and freezing extra veggies,
• baked muffins and seitan (my favorite recipe),
• finished laundry,
• cleaned the bedroom,
• taken our paper, cardboard, glass, etc. to the recycling center,
• cleaned litter boxes,
• backed up my hard drive, and
• finished my homework for one class for all of November.

Also, I’m having a friend over on Saturday for a writing session, and I’m having almost as much fun planning snacks and lunch as I am planning what I’ll write. That may not be a good sign for my novel. But as with other creative activities, I find that the more I cook, the more I want to cook.

No wonder I’m exhausted. I’m wondering if I’m going to have any energy left to write a novel. Luckily, I have time tonight to spend cozying up to my characters and plotting their lives in a little more detail. An additional distraction, however, is the flood of other fiction ideas I’ve had since I decided to do NaNo. It seems the more I write and think about writing, the more ideas I have.

My enthusiasm for NaNo waxes and wanes. Sometimes I look forward to the writing, remembering the feeling I have when I’m really deep into something. And I look forward to the end and the elation I’ll feel when I finally finish a first draft. And then, with dread, I imagine posting here that I’ve failed, given up. I imagine the questions from all the people I’ve told I’m writing a novel in a month. They ask, “How’s the novel going?” and all I can say is: “Well . . . ”

But for better or for worse, NaNoWriMo begins tomorrow. Wish me luck.

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