Ok, it's the first of November, and in a decision of unprecedented stupidity, I'm going for it. I'm taking part in this year's National Novel Writing Month. Although, judging by my work rota, if I make it through the first week, it'll be a miracle.

My strategy basically involves coming up with a ridiculous title, and then writing a novel to fit it. It's a method employed by virtually no successful writer in the history of literature, but I'm not letting that put me off. In fact I'm positively buoyed by the news (discovered by chance on Facebook) that Annabel Giles is taking part too. She only lives around the corner. Or did, until we moved house.

Admittedly, she's probably living off Midge Ure's money, so can afford to feed the world, and probably has plenty of time to write, but it's nice to know there's a kindred spirit down the road. It'll give me a handy focus for my anger when I fail and she doesn't.

In the meantime, I'll be posting chapters of my novel online. Assuming I get as far as whole chapters. You can read them by clicking here. Although I reserve the right to reverse that decision if it gets too embarrassing...