The last Monday in October has me planning for a hectic November.
In addition to Book Club, Card Club and Prompt Club, there are holidays on the horizon… 13 days until BB’s baptism, 22 days until Zach’s birthday, 30 days until Thanksgiving, 35 days until Nicole’s birthday, (wasn’t that convenient of me to have both my kids in the same month!)…
but most importantly,
ONLY 5 DAYS TIL NANO!

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, it’s 30 days of intense writing.
The goal? A 50,000 word novel. In 30 days.
That breaks down to 1667 words per day, not an unattainable number by any means, right? That’s only about seven pages, you can do that.
Now, multiply that by 30 and you’ve got yourself a pretty impressive first (rough, very rough) draft. (NO EDITING ALLOWED.)

The past two years have been less than accommodating to my writing. When I think about it, I do realize I’ve gotten things done, words down, blogs blogged, shorts published, but that ready-for-publication novel still eludes me.
The TIME and FOCUS have been in short supply.

But now, I’m ready. NaNow, I’m ready.

There’s just something about NaNo that makes it okay to write.
Cheerleaders ask, “Have you got your words for today?”
Taskmasters inquire, “Have you got your words for today?”
Supporters say, “No, no, I’ll get those dishes, you go write.”

It’s AWESOME.

The local Rockford Region of NaNo had a kick-off meeting yesterday.
It’s always exciting to talk to other writers, but the buzz and excitement about a month focused on ONLY WRITING is a high like few others. If you’re interested in joining us, register here and then go to regions-usa-illinois-rockford. We’re a fun bunch.

That’s part of what makes the month of November so focused– you have people who are facing the same challenges, cheering you on, sharing their woes and successes. It’s almost like a team effort, the usual solidarity of writing only in a social setting. And everybody gets their own novel in the end!

In order to “win” NaNo, you need to upload your manuscript for an official word count. Hitting the 50k mark makes you a “winner”. Yes, there are prizes and literary opportunities made available through the website, but truly, the PRIZE is the work you have you done. The words you have done. Lots of people attempt NaNo and don’t hit the fifty thousand word mark, but ANY and ALL words on the page are words that you didn’t have before. NaNo shows you that you CAN do this writing thing. It’s pretty cool.

I think it’s better to go into the month with a plan of action… a story outline, character ideas, plot points… in the past I have had those things. Not so much yet. My goal this week is to get prepared for NaNo. I’m sure I have a(nother) book in me.

It’s National Novel Writing Month, Mary, write on!