Welcome November!
And also, happy Nano!
If you don't know about NanoWrimo, also known as National Novel Writing Month, let me tell you - it's a non profit organization that seeks to motivate writers to craft an entire novel in only the month of November.
Let me say that again.
A whole novel.
One. Month.
It's the most hardcore of hardcore writing challenges out there. Not for the faint of heart and definitely not one I have ever conquered. Oh yes, I've tried. I signed up on the website and everything (one time). And I failed miserably. But I'm not sorry I tried. It was invigorating, being a part of this challenge that so many other writers were embarking on at the same time. Being part of a community of creatives all talking about their creative projects. In the Instagram art world, challenges are constant - someone is hosting a new one every week, and you can pick and choose what inspires you most and what you have time for. Not so with writing. It's a much more solitary existence and Nano is one of the few initiatives that sees us all crawl out of our layers and look around at the lovely and brilliant faces all trying to do the same thing we’re doing - write!
BUT! Writing is also, I find, a long haul and a deeply personal experience. One month, for this writer, just isn't enough time to finish the first draft. But it IS a good excuse to write a lot of it. A good reason to put away the distractions and excuses and buckle down and get to work - whatever the end result.
So I am going to Nano - informally, without much intention of completing the full manuscript. But I AM going to write a lot. I am going to embrace the nano spirit and see what I can accomplish in the month of November - before December hits and I'm buried in Christmas planning and the needs of a new baby!
So since it's going to be a big month of crafting stories, I thought it would be a good time to share a bit about how I start a story.
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