nanowrimo 08?

Every year for the past three years, around the end of summer, I've smelled this plant along the streets of Okayama as I ride my bike, and it always reminds me of starfruit. I finally found out what that smell was today, when my teacher brought a branch into class--it's called kinmokusei, or sweet olive, and apparently, it smells like apricots to everyone else...

The other thing that happens every October is the sign up for Nanowrimo, which I've done every year since graduating college. Since I moved to Japan, though, I keep having a hard time deciding whether or not I want to do it. The first year I did it, I was just taking night classes twice a week, so I had more time to just write. My first year in Japan, I was working full-time, and I didn't have much free-time during the week, so didn't think I would have enough time to write, because knowing me, I wouldn't want to start unless I thought I could finish. I ended up having the beginnings of an idea for a novel, so I did it anyway and somehow forced myself to write even though I didn't think the story was all that interesting.

Last year, I had just started Japanese school, and I was studying for Level 2 of the JLPT. I didn't think I would pass, so I wanted to devote as much time as I could to studying. Right before November started, I ended up having a really vivid dream that led to the beginnings of a decent story that I couldn't make end properly...

Somehow I passed Level 2 last year, so this year I'm going for Level 1. With even more studying ahead of me, I'd decided that I wouldn't do nano this year to increase my chances of passing. But the more I think about not doing nano, the more I want to do it, so I've registered for Nanowrimo yet again. I'm tempted to try this year in Japanese, but that would take even more time to finish, so I'll just have to stick with my native language.

It's been interesting to see the influence of whatever I'm reading or watching at the time and how it effects my writing. The first year I did it, I'd been reading one genre of novel for a long time, so that's what I wrote. I think I had a hard time my first year in Japan, because I'd just made the transition from western novels and storytelling to the Japanese style, so I didn't have a good grasp of either at the time, which made my writing messy and hard to read. Last year was better because I was able to combine the two a little better, and I had something visual to draw from. This year, I've been reading a lot more in Japanese, so we'll see how that ends up affecting my writing.

I don't write at all during the year, so it's interesting to see how I've changed over the past year every November. I think that's what makes me want to write this year. I'm curious to see how another year of difference influences has changed my writing, and how another year of living in a foreign country has deteriorated my English ^^;