Halloween and NaNoWriMo

Today is a special day. It's not only Halloween, it's also NaNoWriMo Eve. In the spirit of The O.C. - a show I no longer watch and sadly don't seem to miss, but will continue to make reference to long after it's hip or appropriate (like now) - I've decided to combine the two non-holidays into one super non-holiday. Therefore, I officially proclaim today HalloWriMo!

Wait... maybe it would be better if I try the other combination. Ahem. Therefore, I officially proclaim today NaNoWeen! Uh, no... let's stick with HalloWriMo.

Anyway, since the local kids will be taking care of the Halloween half of today - wearing costumes, wandering through the neighborhood and asking for free goodies from complete strangers, I'm gladly shouldering responsibility for the NaNoWriMo half of things.

Instead of passing out fun size candy this year, I'll be passing out fun size thesauri to the trick-or-treaters who come knocking. I'll also be covering the house with disposable tarps in anticipation of the egging that is sure to follow, result, ensue and come after.

On the front doorstep are two pumpkins I specifically carved for the combined celebration. One depicts a flaming typewriter. The other depicts Stephen King, the most prolific, scary-looking author I could think of after an intense three seconds of brainstorming.

Thanks to the magic of GarageBand, instead of playing the same old tape of spooky sound effects, I've created an mp3 that is certain to send the children (and parents) screaming. Imagine the staccato of hunt and peck typing set against the audio backdrop of a torrential rainstorm periodically punctuated by a clap of thunder or the howl of a werewolf. Layered on top of this is a voice, not unlike Vincent Price's, reading an exceptionally awful 50,000-word excerpt from the NaNo novel I wrote last November. That reminds me, I need to buy earplugs on the way home.

Of course, after the parade of candy-seeking-thesaurus-receiving youngsters dies down and I've disposed of the yolk-drenched tarps, it will be time to get down to the business of preparing myself for this year's novel-writing challenge. Preparation primarily involves extracting every memory related to the past three NaNoWriMos and placing them in the Pensieve I keep tucked away in the hall closet.

I understand Apple already has a sleek, portable version of the handy contraption. J.K. Rowling filed a lawsuit preventing them from calling it an iPensieve, so the company chose to call it an iPod instead. That may explain why the people you see wearing the popular devices in public stare so vacantly into space. Music isn't going in, memories are coming out.

Anyway, good luck to all those participating in this year's NaNoWriMo! May your words and creativity flow freely. And lest I forget, Happy HalloWriMo!