HQ Introductions: Greetings from NaNoLand!

Dearest Wrimos,

About 5½ years ago, I spotted a friend of mine sitting in a corner of our high school classroom, furiously typing away at the computer and occasionally glancing at the clock in trepidation. Considering that our biggest achievement in this class so far had been pretending to study Latin by looking up the roots of Harry Potter spell incantations (senioritis had definitely struck by then), I curiously asked her what she was working on. “I’m writing a novel,” she told me tersely, “and I need to write 500 more words by the end of the day or I won’t make it!”

This was my introduction to NaNoWriMo, and I was both intrigued and terrified by the prospect of writing so much, so quickly. While my inner Perfectionist voice gibbered away at me with “What if?”s and “That’s impossible!”s, I was slowly circling around the NaNoVerse while it pulled me in ever closer, like a sneaky whirlpool of awesomeness. First, I created an account to look around the NaNo website. Then I started uploading blurbs of my unfinished novel. Before I knew it, I had packed up my car to roadtrip across the country; and now, six months later, I find myself sitting in front of a computer in the NaNoWriMo headquarters in Berkeley, delirious with happiness–or maybe it’s caffeine.

So, all right, the possibility of interning here wasn’t the only factor in my moving to California, but I’m glad this is where I’ve ended up. I spent the last four years obtaining a BA degree in English at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, as well as a minor in Medieval and Renaissance history when I realized that most of the English classes I loved involved books written before the invention of modern-day paper.

When not frantically writing to meet a midnight deadline, you may see me around the Bay Area, dancing all the time and in any way possible: ballet, modern, dance fitness, swing dancing, dancing in the rain–oh, wait, that one’s a movie, but I’d still like to try it. I also love creating surrealist paintings and sewing outlandish costumes. Other life interests include large fluffy dogs and making up silly songs by a bonfire.

I’m super excited be so closely involved in this community as we roll on to Camp NaNoWriMo!

– Katharine