Going Postal and NaNaWriMo

I've suddenly realised that NaNoWriMo starts on Sunday and I've barely given a thought to what I'm actually going to write during the month of November. Yes, I've had other things on my mind like moving people into flats, job interviews, trying to sell a house and other such malarkey, but I really ought to have a couple of ideas with which to hit the keyboard at the midnight hour on 1st Nov. I'm thinking I might start the project at midnight because other NaNo-ites across the world will be doing so and it will be entering into the camaraderie of the writing frenzy. But then I might not be able to stay awake, being a lark, not an owl. We'll see...

I did try a plot starter exercise a week ago with my 'It was a dark and stormy night...' plan. I got to 600 words and an embryonic plot began to form; indeed it bounced along merrily and I thought, hmmm, this may have some legs. But does it have the legs for 50,000+ words in a month? Unlikely. Not without me mentioning Snoopy at some point, anyway.

And then, yesterday, I had A MAGNIFICENT THOUGHT! I could write a novel about the chickens. I mean, they always seem to get a good response here in the blog, and I enjoy writing about them, as their voices and personalities come across very clearly to me.

('Is she STILL thinking our activities are a product of her over-active imagination?' says Mrs Pumphrey, who has just this week started making Christmas puddings, after all, only 8 weeks to go and there's got to be at least one pudding option for people to turn down in favour of a double chocolate Yule log. 'Yes,' says Miggins. 'But we might make it into a novel at last, so ssshhhhh. If she wants to think we don't actually behave and talk like this, let her. Our chance of true fame looms large at last.' 'Madness,' says Betty Slocombe. 'Absolute barking madness.')

And then I thought, I could set up a NaNoWriMo blog! So fans of the chickens could have a 50,000+ words dose of their heroes over November. Or would that be a bit like stuffing your face with unlimited Jaffa Cakes? The thought is tempting, but after the first three packets you start feeling nauseous with the excess. Of course, I am very much of the opinion one can never have too many Jaffa cakes, but then I've never actually tried eating 3 packets on the trot.

So, a chicken novel blog. That will be my plan for today. Will it work? What shall I call it? What about plot? So many things to decide in the next 36 hours.

Now, about this postal strike. I'm not happy about it because it's my birthday on Monday and I demand the right to receive cards through the post. It's not good enough. I mean, if I'm getting fretful about it at the age of almost forty four, then what about all my fellow Scorpios who are under the age of, say, ten, who won't be getting their cards if they have a birthday either today, tomorrow or Monday? Poor little things. Can you imagine their little faces, pressed against the window, waiting the arrival of the postie, only to be told 'There's no post today,' by their parents. It's like having a part of your birthday cancelled.

Nonetheless, I am a very lucky birthday girl. My friend, Jane, is making me a birthday dinner tomorrow night, and Andy is taking me to see 'La Cage aux Folles' on Monday. (It's starring John Barrowman - Heather is v. jealous!) And hopefully, I shall be so wrapped up in the NaNoWriMo project that I shan't miss the non-arrival of the postman.