For those of you who are underprivileged and deprived not to know, November is National Novel Writing Month! Although the name is 'national,' the event and site and challenge are all international, interplanetary, intergalactic-- wherever you are, you can and should join!

In brief, the point is this: Write a 50,000 word novel, in thirty days. This is, IIRC, the ninth year or so running, and it is great fun. Since we're (generally) all writers here, it's usually something a lot of Boarders do, and there is much commiseration and camaraderie and chocolate and doom and suchlike. This year, though, a new, apocalyptic plan was hatched-- an opening premise for anyone who wishes to join in; a PPC co-write for the month. (Yes, it's still 50,000 words a person. Otherwise we'd be breaking the Sacred Rules of NaNo!)

The premise is fairly simple, and was put together in a brainstorm with a bunch of people on the IRC: Every day, at sunrise (local time), 3% of the world's population disappears. The only rules are thus:

1: Nobody finds out why it's happening.
2: we never see what happens on the other side.
3: No nuclear war or similar apocalypses.
4: People beyond the arctic circles vanish at the same rate, regardless of the position of the sun.

So if you're in, reply, respond, get a-planning! If you're one of the many who've repeatedly stopped ten-thousand or so short, make this the year of opportunity!

Techno-Dann has come up with a plan of action for the long-term: write like mad all November, as expected. For December, we take deep, calming breaths, put the project away, and do other things. Then, come January, we pick up the editing and revising pens and get that bit started; February, we do the peer-swap thing and beta each-other's work.

He has also come up with a shiny, shiny lure, in case you're on the fence about joining. When we're all done, and we've got the whole lot written and collected and tied with twine, his sister may be able to get us lovely hardcover copies! And if the lure of shiny apocalyptic hardcover Boarder-written works doesn't get you excited, quite frankly, I do not know what will-- and I've got some mini-Balrogs here, who will be happy to help you make up your mind...

So! Who's in?