National Novel Writing Month is Here!

I decided to plunge into something I hadn't done in many years. Writing creatively at length. I'd written a few poems here and there, done some journalistic writing for area newspapers, started blogging (at one time having three going...which can prove exhausting!) but had not written really at length since leaving academia.

While reading someone's blog entry, I learned (for the second time) about Nanowrimo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month, which occurs every November. The rules are fairly simple. You sign up, preferably by November 1, and write about 55,000 words until Midnight November 30...or you can stop at 55,000 before that time and upload your work to Nanowrimo.org, the website. While there are amusing anectdotes about people who have written the same word 55,000 that really isn't "playing fair." But no one is going to come to your house to scold you or send an angry email with a reprimand. It's all about being creative. It's also helping someone like me, who has had ideas floating around but just not "quite ready" to put them down on paper (or into the computer word processor) to finally get that creative "mojo" working again. It's amazing how fast the words add up, especially if you're just listening to that creative voice within and not worrying about punctuation, correct grammar (though your computer program will probably help you with that) or anything else that might seem intimidating if you're you own worst critic. Never mind those past rejection letters you've gotten. Just write...for the fun of it.