Life's Sentences

I’ve spent most of the day puttering around the apartment, cleaning off my desk, pulling out my favorite pens and writing craft texts. Generally, preparing myself for the next 30 days of frenzied writing abandon.

I’m talking, of course, about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). A 30-day writing challenge where writers (both professional and amateur) silence their inner editors and embrace their craziest plot bunnies to complete a 50,000 word novel in one month.

This might sound like an insane task. I’ve been asked “Why would you do that to yourself?”.

The truth is that, while writing roughly 1,700 words a day for 30 straight days is emotionally exhausting, the spirit of community and “anything goes” that circulates every year with NaNoWriMo is invigorating. I’ve attempted NaNoWriMo for the past several years. I’ve only succeeded once (back in 2009), but even on the years where I don’t cross the word count finish line on November 30th, I still come away with material I can continue working on. No one attempts NaNo to write the next great American novel. But many have won NaNo and ended the year with a completed first draft they could revise and tweak in the coming year.

I love the write-in events hosted by the regions. If you can get to one of these events in your area, I highly recommend it! Meeting other Wrimos makes me hold myself more accountable to my writing. Plus, they usually have snacks.

So if you are on the fence about participating in this year’s NaNoWriMo, I encourage you to do it! Sign up on the website, set your daily word count goals, and schedule time to attend your local write-in. Come December 1st, you’ll be glad you did!

If you’d like to join my NaNo buddy list, you can find me at “theschmoe”. Also, follow me on Twitter: @SParkeAuthor