I signed up for NaNoWriMo, finally, after putting it off for years. 1667 words a day sounds daunting.

In fact, I completely empathise with this stanza from a poem on the NaNoWriMo blog:

The Wrimos were pacing, their hearts were sinking

50,000 words? What was I thinking?

They heard the haunting “tick, tick, tick, tock”

And picked up the stapler to throw at the clock.

(From ‘The Office of Letters and Light’ http://blog.lettersandlight.org/)

According to a NaNoWriMo email I received…

November 1: Write your first 1,667 and feel great about embarking on this wild, wordy adventure. Tell your inner editor to take a hike for the next 30 days, or else. Watch him/her/it skedaddle, and heave a sigh of relief.

I wonder if this is how my students feel at the start of their composition exams.