If you know me at all, you know that every year I participate in National Novel Writing Month.  This year, instead of just writing a novel, I’m going to increase the insanity by acting as one of the two Municipal Liaisons for the Sacramento area, which means helping to herd all the crazy participants in the area and helping to make the experience fun and exciting and memorable for them as well.

But on top of that, I’m also going to participate in this year’s Write-a-Thon — the Night of Writing Dangerously.  This is a charity event, and donations will go to the Office of Letters and Light, which sponsors NaNoWriMo and similar programs.  I really like that the OoL&L puts an emphasis on young writers: kids in high school and younger.  Kids who are sitting at their computers writing novels may be kids who are not getting their homework done, but they’re also kids who are exercising their creativity, their imaginations, and not playing MegaBloodDeathFist2007 on the XBoxes (not that that isn’t a fun game).  It’s a cause I believe in.

So how do you participate in this charity you ask?  Glad you did.  No, seriously.  I am.  Simply go to my donation page (at http://www.firstgiving.org/richardscrawford), where you can find out how to donate, and do so securely.  And since the Office of Letters and Light is a 503(c) non-profit, you donation is (I’m about 90% sure of this) tax deductible.

And what does donating get you?  Well, nothing tangible, I suppose.  A good feeling about yourself: that warm, fuzzy glow you get whenever you know you’ve done something that gives you Instant Good Karma.  Oh, and what the heck: if you donate any amount whatsoever (as small as one cent, as much as the full $200 I’m looking for), I’ll put your name in the novel somewhere, thus guaranteeing you immortality and fame and fortune should I ever manage to finish the novel and sell it.  Usually, I simply name a character after you and kill them off in a manner of your choosing, and I am happy to do this (it’s turned out to be pretty popular in the past; for some reason, people enjoy dying vicariously this way).  I understand, though, if this is a gift not particularly to your taste, so I’ll figure out something else if you like.

Seriously, though, I’m hoping to make it to $200, and I’m hoping for more than one cent donations.  I’m not sure I’d like coming up with 20,000 unique and interesting ways to kill off minor characters.

To keep me honest, you can follow my progress on the NaNoWriMo site here.  There’s also a link off the front page of my site (http://www.mossroot.com, if you’re reading this through some sort of feed aggregator or through LiveJournal, MySpace, or FaceBook).  And I will be certain to keep you all updated on my progress through this blog.

Okay, I think that’s it for now.  So long, and thank you for your continued support.