The first time I heard of NaNoWriMo I thought, what in the world is that? So I asked a friend who told me it stood for National November Writing Month. My response was, hmmm…a month dedicated to writing. Sounds like a good idea. Yeah. Real good idea.
Guess my kudos to the program should have ended there, because as I continued to converse with this person I discovered NaNoWriMo wasn’t something just placed on the calendar for writers to look at and get all wishy-washy about; it was something they needed to actively participate in. And when I say “actively,” I mean 50,000 words worth of actively. All in one month.
Blobs of sweat converged under my fingernails and hives erupted inside my mouth as my friend asked, “Are you going to participate?”
Participate? Me? Can’t I just circle it on my calendar or something?
Nope. You gotta go all the way, she said. Persevere. Run the race…and all that jazz. It will be fun!
Fun? Since when did writing a 50,000 word novel in one month sound like fun?
Knowing this was beyond my scope, I sighed and walked away feeling defeated.
50,000 words? In one month? Are these people crazy? I kept mulling that last question over and over in my mind until I could only come to one conclusion: yes, they were.
That was two years ago.
Since then I have discovered these crazy people, who sit in front of their computer and hack out a 50,000 word novel in the month of November, actually like doing it. Not only do they like doing it, but they have discovered writing like a madman every day is actually therapeutic. So, being that I could always use some good therapy, this year I’ve decided to take the plunge and sign up for NaNoWriMo.
Thirty days of abandoning my inner editor. Thirty days to come up with 50,000 words. Thirty days to write a novel.
Am I nuts??? Yeah, probably. But at least this time I’m not alone. This time I’m joining a handful of other nuts who are just...like...me.
For more info on NaNoWriMo, or to sign up to be one of the “nuts,” go to http://www.nanowrimo.org.
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5 comments:
(Using my best Bela Lugosi as Dracula accent...) Velcome to the dark side! Dare to go vhere no "normal" person vould go. Think as no "normal" person vould think. Shut your door and avoid the sunlight, for if you venture out of your office, you vill melt! (Okay, shaking off the accent!) Or at the very least, not write those 50K words. I'm doing NaNoWriMo too this year. The timing is right, and I need to get book 3 of my series done quickly. What better way?
Welcome to NaNo. This is my second year and it is a blast. There is so much support from the organization and then if you get involved with your local groups for write-in's it adds to the fun.
Check out everything on their web-site they have a lot going on.
My user name is Shortstuff if you want to check my progress.
Diane
I'm signed up with the other nuts too, Jill. My self-editor will have to go on vacation, because otherwise it is alive and well. What really scares me is what if I actually like it?! My username is Avsfan if you want to see how I'm doing.
Elaine
Thanks, ladies! I'll check you out. My user name is jnhups.
I'm going for it, too, Jill. Have no idea why except peer pressure. LOL Actually, I have that new novel idea that I can't seem to make myself dig into. Maybe this will help.
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