NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo V8

The search for more words

I’ve done National Novel Writing Month for the last 8 years. You’d think I’d have 8 novels but instead I’ve got four. Invariably I write something new every other year and then a year later I rewrite that thing.

God forbid I have a novel at less then 80K words when I’m done with a manuscript. My biggest is currently sitting at 117K. Its also the one I’m most proud of and spend the most time on. And it still will get re-written for a third time if my will power holds after the holidays.

It seems like its always around this time that I remember I have this blog and the excellent domain, which my brother got for me (a .com even!). I have lots of ambition for this space. Podcasts I want to start. Youtube videos I should produce. Scripts and short stories I always want to make. And then the amount of time I have for such pursuits sinks in and I remember that the most helpful thing I can do for my mental health is write novels.

I’ve only succeeded at NaNoWriMo a couple of times. When you are writing all the time it’s hard to take the 50K goal seriously, and it’s easy to take a day off.. When you end up with novels at twice that size it’s double difficult. I’ve never gotten the full sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a draft at the end of November. But I like writing, and with November comes write-ins and sprints and sitting in chats with WXR alumni who are all doing the same thing. That’s what was and is so energizing about November, and it gets me thinking that maybe I’ve got more time then I thought for extra creative efforts.

I love it. And I love all of you guys that do it with me. Keep writing!