The first time I heard the term NaNoWriMo was a little over a year ago. I was sitting in a writer’s workshop and the woman next to me asked if I’d ever done it before. The workshop was filled with mostly novice writers and while I had spent years writing, I had no idea what she was talking about.
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place during the month of November where writers compete to write a manuscript for a novel. It’s more about competing against one’s self than other writers. Often the hardest part about writing a novel is setting aside the time to do the work. NaNoWriMo is designed so that writers from all over the world can feel empowered by other writers to get that first draft finished in 30 days. Aspiring novelists can sign up at the NaNoWriMo website where they can track their daily progress and get inspiration to help them forward. The ultimate goal is to have 50,000 words by the end of the month. The website has progress badges writers can earn as they work because honestly, anything helps when it comes to writing a novel length manuscript!
I have been kicking around a particular story concept for several years now and even went so far as to create a rudimentary outline of the basic plot points. In October I joined a writers group to help me keep focus on my writing and I shared a little about my story. The leader of the group suggested NaNoWriMo as the perfect opportunity to crank out the first draft. She was absolutely right. I have spent the time since then working on a much more detailed outline of my story as well as developing the characters and the world in which the story takes place. With those tools, I can now do the hard work of cranking out about 1,700 words a day through the month of November.
In two days I will begin my first NaNoWriMo challenge. If you don’t see me much in the real world during November, assume I’m writing! If you do see me, ask me how it’s going. I know the more encouragement (or nagging) I get, the more I am likely to stay on task and reach 50,000 words by the end of the month!
End Transmission
No matter how big or how small the struggles I’ve faced in my life, my father’s words have echoed in my mind, “This too shall pass.”
Today I see athletes kneeling because the symbol of our nation no longer matches our vision. I see women marching, demanding they not only be heard, but believed. I see injustice everywhere as those with plenty get more and those with little get less. And I watch as my government plays party politics at the expense of our nation. We are not great, we are not great again, and if this is what winning looks like, I’d rather lose. If we were losing when we were defending freedom and justice for all, and if winning means ripping children from mother’s arms, praising Nazis for marching in our streets, and shaking hands with the world’s worst dictators, then we’ve lost our identity, we’ve lost what it means to stand up and defend the oppressed. We have become the enemy.