NaNoWriMo Eve 2015

Some people celebrate today as Halloween and that’s cool. But the real holiday? NaNoWriMo Eve.

If you’re not familiar with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it is, in a nutshell, a creative challenge wherein participants attempt to write a 50 thousand word (or more) novel in the 30 days of every November since 2000. Now, if you want more information on the history of NaNo, or take umbrage with my description, that’s a post for another day. This post is just about this year’s challenge. And hey, it’s the second post this month, so maybe I’m getting the hang of blogging.

What an awkward segue in to the hiatus announcement (I’m really getting good at this writing thing)! Basically, since I still have the tendency to overthink anything that even possibly becomes an entry (which leads to spending hours editing 500 word posts!), the chances of me being able to blog simultaneously whilst attempting my seventh NaNo win seem slightly slimmer than the chances of me waking up as a mermaid for Christmas.

Let me end by saying this: if you have ever even fleetingly wished or considered writing a novel, or writing at all, or if you want a wild experience, consider signing up for this year’s NaNo. I have been NaNoing for eleven years, and even when I don’t win, I learn something. I have fun. I’ve recruited friends, family, fellow students. Everyone starts out really skeptically. “Why should I write a novel?” “I can’t write.” “50 thousand words is a novella.” To this I say: yes you can, yes you can, and (to quote the NaNo guide No Plot? No Problem!) “Novellas, as decreed by the World Literacy Council… are ‘weak-willed, half-hearted novels’ that ‘lack the gumption to make it 50,000 words.'”

So take a chance! At worst, you’re out some time and virtual ink. At best, you surprise yourself and become the next Robin Masters.