The Next G.A.N.

As you may know, I have recently accepted the NaNoWriMo challenge: an initaitive that requires each participant to pen a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. How am I doing, you ask? Well, let's just say I'm horribly hopelessly behind in word count, yet nonetheless quite excited about my developing characters and what I hope will wind itself into being a sweet little plot. In all of this, I'm just glad that I'm attempting to do something that scares the pants off of me. I'm no novelist. Heck, I've never even written a short story that I was pleased with. I'm comfortable writing about what I know... but when it comes to imagining, creating somethings out of nothings... well, that's a different story altogether.

All that to say, I'll likely not write a bestselling book this month. It's not probable that I'll forgo my journalistic career and turn to fiction-writing. But, I will revel in this opportunity to do something out of my ordinary, to plug away at something that challenges me. Who knows, maybe something surprising will result.

And now, what will likely be the only excerpt you ever see of this shoddy attempt:

"Today, she hoped, would be a day filled with color and light. Today, she prayed, would be a day accompanied by symphonic overtures. Yes, it would be a soft-hearted, eyes-open day. It was quite often that Leighton thought about what it'd be like to make a collage out of her old journals. She'd paste pages from yesterday next to excerpts from age 10. She'd juxtapose the best of the years that were, with the wisdom of her present. Plucking passages from when her teenage optimism reigned, she'd cover a canvas with the combined words of who she wanted to be. Each day, Leighton dreamed about the installation of her masterpiece -- the moment of proud completion. She swallowed a dry mouth full of air and drove. "