I think secretly a large number of people have a half-finished novel hidden away somewhere. I know I do. I keep saying I’ll go back and try to finish it. But seeing as a I have a hard enough time managing classes, homework, editing my school paper, writing this blog, seeing my friends and family, and occasionally sleeping, I really don’t see it happening any time soon.

Which is a bummer because I really enjoy writing it. Maybe, someday, years from now when I’m retired, I’ll go back to it.

I’m not the only one either. Maybe it’s just because I hang out with a lot of English/humanities majors, but I know a ton of people who’ve started writing something and then discovered the obvious: Writing a novel is really hard.

I’ve been half-following Dahlia Lithwick’s attempt to write an interactive novel over at slate.com. Lithwick has taken a month-long break from her normal job as Slate’s Supreme Court and judicial reporter to write a “mommy lit” novel.

For those of you who read real literature, “mommy lit” is a subset of “chick lit” that focuses on mothers “trying to have it all”—balancing work and family.

Lithwick is writing a chapter a day for the next month about her heroine, a former lawyer and now stay-at-home mother of two of “Saving Face.” You can read it HERE.

While the actual novel doesn’t deviate too far from normal chick lit,how Lithwick is writing it is. She’s created a Facebook page where she posts questions about everything from characters’ names to major plot points. And people respond within minutes. Lithwick takes their suggestions and works them into her story, giving her virtual co-writers credit all the way.

I think it’s a really interesting idea, and wouldn’t be surprised to see other people jump on the bandwagon, after all, the Royal Opera House just staged the first Twitter Opera. (Click HERE)

Have a novel hidden in the back of your drawer, an oddly labeled file on your computer? What’s it about? Will you leave us the opening paragraphs?