MantoWriMo begins....in like, 24 hours.

So, I'm way behind. Katie's had her National Novel Writing Month (from here on in, NaNoWriMo, because it's more fun to say, and not 4 words long) blog up and running for like, forever, and seeing as how our month-long extravaganza of noveling-it-up begins in a little over 24 hours, I feel like I should hop on this brain train. 

If you have no idea what I'm talking about (though, since it's probably just going to be my roommates reading this, there isn't much explanation necessary) here's the deal:

Starting Monday, June 1, I will be attempting to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It will certainly be clichéd, it will probably be terrible, it might even be unreadable. But I'm going to write it. I swear. Even if the universe conspires against all my most valiant efforts (oh WAIT--it's already done that). Even if my laptop explodes (a distinct possibility). Even if my visiting Ohioan family monopolizes my time. Even if I get another job besides my current internship. 

I'm a frustrating writer, to myself and to my roommates, who have to hear me complain about the paper that's taking me 10 times longer to write than it should. And I don't do fiction. I've kept fairly regular journals since high school, but my last forays into the realm of my imagination occurred in 6th grade and resulted in two pieces of pleather-bound literary gems otherwise known as The Manticore on the Mountaintop--a riveting fantasy novella featuring a uniquely assorted cast of princesses, wizards, handsome forest-dwellers, and a dragon with little understanding of the nuances of human social interactions, in addition to a plot that was so original it was....Hamlet; and I Warned You--a haunting cautionary tale about the dangers of genetic engineering (and, not to completely spoil the ending for you, but: time goes backwards!). 

So basically, I'm a total beginner at this. And I'm just a little nervous. But at the same time, I'm also really excited, because I've already seen via Katie how fun this whole thing can be. Although I'll probably be in tears in a week. Maybe more like 3 days. We'll see. 

Anyways, I invite you to join me as I embark on my quest to become a novelist. I'll be keeping you updated on the goings-on in my mind, posts that will most likely be interspersed with fun animal facts, and maybe if you're lucky, some doodles! Who doesn't love doodles??** 

Manta

**Note: Since I am highly dubious about my novelist potential, no one gets the privilege of reading said 50,000 word novel until I say so. Maybe not even then.