As some of you crazy writers might be aware, November is
National Novel Writing Month. The goal? Write 50,000 words or more in just 30 days. At the end of the month, you submit your manuscript for an official word count (no cheating!) and if you hit the 50K mark, you win the satisfaction of a job well done. Oh, and a nifty little "winner" graphic to display proudly on your website. Neat, huh?
Last year I decided to sign up, but never got much past my first 1,000 words due to complications of the real life kind. This year I decided to give it another shot, and I am determined that I will finish. The key to my success? My Pocket PC.
I love writing by hand, but writing 50,000 words that way seemed like quite a daunting task. I also don't think that carrying around my 5 pound laptop is a very viable solution. I might have 50K by the end of the month, but I would also have huge back problems. But that's why we have PDAs, right? My beautiful new Dell Axim (with Calligrapher 7.0) plus my Targus IR keyboard is the perfect portable word processor. They both fit into my small handbag and I never leave home without carrying at least the Axim, if not also the keyboard.
Even just one day into NaNoWriMo my setup has proven its worth. I had lots of errands to run last night, including a trip to the emergency vet with my cat, but I was able to churn out about 500 words on my PPC instead of leafing through 10-month-old magazines. It was much better than reading old magazines!
Are any other writers out their using their PDAs as a mobile writing solution? Any fellow NaNo'ers? I want to hear from you!