NaNoWriMo has now becoming a part of my regularly scheduled November programming. It's as natural to me as watching the Macy's Parade Thanksgiving morning, or pretending not to start paying attention to the Hallmark Channel's holiday lineup starting around the 15th. In fact, if you've been hanging out around these parts, you've probably seen me taking part before!
2014 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020
But this year has been different for me. It's not your normal PrepTober... instead, I have been living in PanicTober.
On one hand, I've been pretty busy, so it's normal that I'd get a little bogged down and distracted. I'm working on a couple different projects that keep me mentally preoccupied, and that's on top of my normal pumpkin-and-apple-and-butternut-squash October cooking marathon. I also turned 28 years old recently, so that took up a good week of time, strictly applied to celebrating and making a custom round of Jeopardy! in the hopes of stumping my family members.
(Favorite question / answer, tucked into the "Literary Before and After" category: "Demi, Wells, and Grocery Store Joe make their way through the early scenes of Genesis, hoping to score roses in the midst of the Angelic War and Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden."
"What is Bachelor in Paradise Lost?" of course.)
Still, I've never really encountered the feelings I've been feeling before: instead of the typical skeptical anticipation, or nervous excitement, or even just general readiness to get started, I've been kind of stuck in an apathy corner. I perused more than just a few past ideas and plot bunnies I've been squirreling away for the past year or so, and yet, nothing was sparking joy.
So for the past week or so, I've given it a lot of private reflection. And when that inevitably failed, I decided to make a half-hour's worth of a PowerPoint discussion to present to both my Dad - also a writer - and my younger brother, the best little rubber ducky I've ever met.
The results were mixed.
Which, of course, didn't help overly much.
It's not so much a Writer's Block, as a Writer's Balk: I have ideas - plenty of them! - it's just that I'm having trouble committing to one in particular. And, you know, the whole concept of a nonstop month of writing thing. Essentially, what I'm facing is not a Crisis of Content, but a Crisis of Confidence... while I have an amplitude of ideas, the thing that's bogging me down, is that I don't have an abundance of faith that any of them in particular are going to be able to carry me through.
So, instead of digging myself deeper into a Panic Hole about it, I decided to tell you a couple of reasons I think you should be a part of NaNoWriMo instead, too.
1. It's a great time to get into a big project.
Chances are, you've thought about writing a book. Let's be real: you're reading a very obscure and random blog, specifically written about books, in your downtime, so chances are, you're a creative type with more than a little free time and interest in the written word. There is literally no better time to take the leap and do something impressive, if only based solely on the fact that you know there are thousands of people the whole world 'round doing the exact same thing.
Also, don't know if you've noticed, but we're still in a pandemic. America could do with more people holing up inside next to their computer.
2. You'll definitely see your writing and ideas develop across the month.
One of my favorite things about this particular developed patch of the Internet, is that because I have been writing for what is now ELEVEN years, that when I go back to early days and start to read, you can seriously chart the shift in my written voice. I've grow a lot over the past decade, and it's reflected in my syntax and diction, as well as the content I consume. NaNoWriMo is kind of like that: reading back your finished challenge, from start to finish, shows exactly how your skills changed over time, even if said time was only a month.
3. You don't have to follow the rules: there are plenty of non-traditional NaNo plans to follow, too.
So far, I've written novels, sure, but also short stories, non-fiction, and an adaptation of previously written work. I know friends who have used it as the basis for self-published material (my Dad), and those who have manuscripts that no one either than themselves have ever read (Me). No one says you have to go into things with the explicit intent of writing a novel that will someday get published. Do your own thing!
4. It helps form a habit. (Be careful what kind of habit that is.)
Does it prompt you to start writing every day? Absolutely. After maybe, say, six completed challenges, does it kind of teach you to write every single day for about a month and do so blindly and follow it like a crazy person until you hit 50K, and then tuck it into a box in your mind and then not write fiction for any other day of the year, so that while you're in the habit for the month of November, the rest of the year is a wash?
Maybe.
5. It's a great fun fact to share at parties.
Who do you know who's written a book, and in a month, no less? (Well, because you're here, reading this blogpost... me. But that's beside the point.) It's a fun, cool thing to brag about. Not a lot of people do this sort of thing. Besides, if you don't, that idea that's been kicking around in your head for years is never gonna get written. If not you, who? And if not now, when?
If you end up taking part, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe your motivation can help spur on some of mine? And just in case you're wondering what my project ends up being - or if I even decide to end up writing at all - guess you're going to have to watch until the first week of November to find out.
In the meantime, I'll be going over my PowerPoint again.
Are you taking part in NaNo this November? Got any ideas for how to motivate myself towards actually committing? Let me know, in the comments below!
