Just yesterday, I was thinking that I need less to do. That I need to stop signing up for things, maybe even un-sign up for a thing or two. That was yesterday.
This morning, I heard about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, on the radio. NaNoWriMo is a challenge to "one-day" novelists (those of us who want to write a novel one day) to take action and put words to paper in November. Anyone who produces 50,000 words by November 30 is a winner.
The idea is not to produce quality pieces of literature. The idea is to get people to create, to tell stories. To get lost in the process, to value quantity over quality. There is no expectation of grandeur, in fact, most writers are well aware that their novels will indeed suck. But I think I would rather write a crappy novel than wish I would have written a crappy novel.
There are a few rules. Basically, writers are allowed to research and outline as much as possible up to Halloween, but only prose written in November can be counted. Once a work is complete, it is submitted electronically for a final word count, which is done with software. It is possible to win the contest even if no other human lays eyes on your work.
This is perfect for me. I am so excited about it- no surprise, I get excited about things fairly easily. I think the best part is that it only lasts a month. NaNoWriMo is hard-core dabbling for the aspiring writer. I'm already signed up!
Wow, that's a hell of a challenge! I wish you luck!
ReplyDeleteOnly 50,000 words? no sweat - I bet you could whip that out in your sleep.
ReplyDelete