It’s that time again.
Fiction writing’s omni-inclusive motivational event. NaNoWriMo is only a few calendar clicks away.
NaNoWriMo is short for “National Novel Writing Month,” but unlike, say, National Poetry Monthly, it isn’t about promoting greater awareness of the novel. It’s about writing them.
At their site, you’ll find a powerful interactive set of resources for fiction writer. You’ll also feel the buzz of NaNoWriMo’s worldwide community of thousands of other writers – beginners, advanced, and in between – all pledged to do one thing…turn out 50,000 words during the month of November.
Playfully, the NaNoWriMo folks frame it as a win-lose challenge, but they’re only kidding: there is one way to “lose” and that’s to quit.
Likewise, there’s one way to “win” and that’s by finishing, i.e. grinding out your 50,000 words.
What kind of words? Any kind. It’s that simple.
So simple, in fact, that it’s hard to describe for “civilians.” I mean, aren’t we used to events governed by a full page of rules, plus fine print? How do tell we tell Mom or Uncle Fred, “Well, see, it has one rule, and beyond that…you sort of bend and stretch it to suit your needs. Whatever they are….”
Huh?
But that’s exactly why I like it. in fact, it’s that pure-fool simplicityt makes it so inclusive…and so useful.
• It’s for those who never wrote a word of fiction – a 30 day maiden voyage, with no-cost web resources and thousands of fellow travelers to support their effort.
• It’s also for established pros like Sarah Gruen – an occasion to focus on a new project.
• For me, it’s a zone of freedom during which I have a 30-day pass to be self-indulgent in the name of writing fictioin.
For 30 days, I don’t have to steal a few minutes for it here and there; it’s officially-sanctioned, even patriotic, for me to WRITE FICTION…maybe even to let up a bit on WRITING ABOUT WRITING FICTION.
So when I hear – as I inevitably do – “Who the hell do you think you are, Mr. Novelist?” I shall simply raise up my little placard reading: “Shh. It’s National Novel Writing Month!” and as far as I’m concerned, that takes care of it.
For one month, anyway….
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Hah! Yes. I usually use NaNo to try a new genre, to try to write something other than erotica, which usually gets me all stuck or panicked or whatever. I write over 50,000 words almost every other month, and yet I have never “won” NaNo. It’s a little crazy.
So this year, I’m using NaNo to write crap, self-indulgent crap. If I can’t come up with something other than erotica in 50,000 words of crap, then it’s a lost cause.