NaNoWriMo

This is a blog about writers. It is November. I'm pretty sure you knew what was coming.
November is synonymous with NaNoWriMo, and guess what month it is! The month of stress! The month of writing furiously, eyes only kept open with toothpicks and living on either too little food (because you don't want to get up from your notebook), or too much food (because you want to be anywhere but your notebook). Ah, NaNoWriMo.
I found out about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, in case you didn't know) about two years ago, and I fell in love with the idea...but didn't participate because it sounded super scary and stressful. So stressful that I am alliterating here! I wasn't planning on participating this year, but I found myself yesterday- yes! Yesterday! The day before NaNo!- clicking the 'sign up' button.

But here's the thing.

I'm not your average participant. Most participants sign up and start their story on the first day. I started my novel in March of 2010 and I've been working on it, little by little, since then. But what's the harm of joining? I've got a graph to tell me my word count stats, I get to 'meet' a bunch of other writers on the boards, and I get to be apart of a secret internet club. Plus, hey, it's free and I like free stuff.
I have no doubt that this will be super stressful. There is nothing else I'd like to do but drop everything and finish my very first book, but I have to also figure out how to fit a term of school into four weeks, and get ready for a big trip soon. (OK, complaint finished.) Wish me luck!

Word count: 27,261
goal: 50,000
Days left: 29


Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? What was the biggest goal you've ever set for yourself? (In life, not just NaNo)