NaNoWriMo: The Challenge and Challenge ReDux

“This week, I’m proud to announce my status as an “Official Participant” in NaNoWriMo 2011. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for “National Novel Writing Month,” which takes place annually in the month of November. My goal will be to write a 50,000-word novel in about 25 days. In short, I’m terrified.

Why subject myself to such rushed literary torture? Three reasons:

1. I eventually want to write full time, which means writing (almost) everyday. I want to see what that’s like, and NaNoWriMo gives me a good excuse.

2. I have a problem with accountability. With NaNoWriMo approaching in November, I now have a hard deadline for finishing my short stories, allowing me to move on to my novel.

3. I’ve been challenged. Fellow writer and blogger Candice  Coghill   Jarryd J. Bailey threw down her his proverbial glove on Facebook earlier this week, and I am now honor-bound to kick her his literary tail.”

Thus begins, with the exception of noted corrections, a recent blog post by fellow Palm City Word Weaver writer and blogger Jarryd J. Bailey.

At this point, if I were using Blogger and not WordPress, I would handily insert a hyperlink to his blog, JJ’s Magical Rag of Written Triviality, but alas and alack, I have yet to conquer the logistics of hyperlink insertion on WordPress.

For the less lazy among you, that should be no problem, for I can at least provide you with JJ’s URL: http://jarrydbailey.blogspot.com.  and suggest that you check out his blog !  You lazier readers who choose not to copy and paste the URL into your browsers will just have to suffer in silence while knowing that you are depriving yourselves of a  very good blog!

May I add, here, that I fully support and agree with the 3 reasons listed by Mr. Bailey for entering the NaNoWriMo torture challenge as being my own reasons.  Given that Mr. Bailey has superb writing skills, it is a privilege to enter the challenge in such fine company!

That having been said, let us return, shall we, to the word: Conquer.  (“Aha!” I hear some of you saying, “the Hermudgeon did, indeed, italicize ‘conquer’ on purpose!”)  Yes, dear Reader, she did.  For conquer we shall.

You see, within the double quests of conquering NaNoWriMo and conquering the challenger lies yet another question of honor unmentioned by the aforementioned Mr. Bailey:  Alma Mater Honor!  Whilst yours truly is a proud graduate of The Florida State University,

Mr. Bailey openly and unabashedly admits to having graduated from The University of Florida.

Now, the KH already has admitted to Mr. Bailey’s considerable skills with a quill; however, she doubts that those skills were attained at UF.  Mr. Bailey did graduate from a fine, local high school.  For the moment, we will accept his feeble attestation and proceed to lay down the gauntlet in the name of Alma Mater Honor and launch the fiery Seminole spear skyward where, as of 11:59:59 PM on November 30, 2011, there shall be visible in the night skies the following message:

To the everlasting glory of the Seminole, the Kindly Hermudgeon hast surmounted the Gator !