NaNoWriMo

Today marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month. A month where people commit themselves to an attempt at writing 50,000 words in 30 days. 

NaNoWriMo is when people can drink way too much caffeine, eat excessive amounts of sugar and take-out, never do the dishes, and always have an excuse to stay in on Friday night. (Also, you can write without too much concern that your commas are in the right place. Grammar doesn't matter. Words do.)

This year is the first time I will be starting from scratch with everyone else. There is something so great about pouring words onto a page and then knowing that thousands of people are doing the same thing as you at that very same moment. Writing. For one month, you exist in a community of people where you have an unspoken appreciation for everyone willing to make the attempt.

For me, 50,000 words in 30 days is a piece of cake. As I told Roommate Cousin last night in a poor analogy, this is both tooting my own horn and bursting my bubble. She didn't seem to understand what I meant. Thus the following explanation: For some, the word count is the difficult part. For me, it is words that count that gnarl me into a spool of yarn full of knots. It might be beautiful yarn with loads of potential, but before it can become a scarf, I have to untangle the knots. This is the painful part. I can make the scarf, but the knots give me a headache.

Whether you are like me and have no problem with the word count but are all knotted in different spots -- or struggle with the word count but place every word deliberately in a beautiful prose -- GOOD LUCK!

May November be a fruitful month of writing for full-time writers or just people with stories they want to tell. That is what is so great about NaNoWriMo. No matter who you are or how you write, there is but one goal -- to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.

May the words be with you. And if you get behind on your word count, I always find adding a few kissing scenes really adds to my total.

XO XO