(Blade's idea, based on National Novel Writing Month. He'd post it here,
but his Usenet access is wonky at the moment...)

INFANWRI20D

Not, that isn't some wacky spam or ROT13 gibberish. It's:

International Fanfic Writing 20 Days.

I'm sure many of you have heard of NANOWRIMO.
(<http://www.nanowrimo.org/>) If you're doing it... awesome! Good for
you, and good luck.

I had considered doing it the last two years, but was busy each time
writing my own multiple-novel-sized-fanfic.
(<http://www.bladeandepsilon.com/hybridtheory.htm>)

Well, now it's done, but I have a significant personal matter taking up
a third of November. Well, say I, NO EXCUSES.

Since I can't take the whole month and write a novel, I'm going to take
two thirds of it and write a fanfic. A single fanfic in its entirety,
totaling no less than 50,000 words.

From November 1st to November 20th, I will write every single day. I
don't give a damn if it's good, bad or indifferent. I picked the subject
based on the first thing that popped into my head, and intend to do the
rest the same way. I've got four days left to get some sort of "ideas"
to work with, but after that I won't have time to think, just to write.
That's the point - just to write, to prove I can do it.

Because I CAN. 50,000 words is 2500 a day, and I can certainly do that
if I sit down for one or two hours and type or write whatever comes to
mind.

And so can you.

So that's why I'm extending the invitation to join me in this (mad?)
quest. Well, and to publically shame me if I wuss out, that's good
incentive too. If you're scared, lower the requirement a bit. 30,000.
Whatever. But sit down every day for at least an hour and write. Don't
reread it, or send it to people to critique, or stop to think about it
in the middle, just write your brains out until it's done. You'll find
you're surprised, at the end, with how much you CAN do, if you just stop
thinking about writing and write. And you'll find you're surprised at
how much better a writer you are for it when you're done.

And if you don't, well, hell, at least you've got something to hold over
your wussier fanfic-writing friends.

Current projects, you say? Pshaw. If you're writing so much that twenty
days downtime puts a huge dent in your schedule, you're obviously so
awesome you are putting out regular large monthly updates and could do
this anyway!

You're making excuses. You know it. Stop it! C'mon, be a man (or woman).
Nobody cares how good it is. You don't even have to show anybody.

I'll even offer to read the first five people's works (after the end of
the month) who actually want someone to, and offer critique. Nah, I
don't care what it is. This is the only way anyone will ever get me to
read a Naruto fanfic. Or Urusei Yatsura. I have made a commitment! Make
me suffer for it!

Now, c'mon.

Who's with me?

(Re-poster's note: He's got one person taking him up on the offer
already. I might do this too, but not officially; I already have some
pre-readers for the fic I'm working on.)