NANOWRIMO

by Deborah Elliott-Upton

National Novel Writing Month, better known as NANOWRIMO, has begun. The point of the “Writmos” who have accepted the challenge is to write a complete 50,000 word “novel” within the confines of the month of November.That averages out to 1,666.67 words a day.

On Day 4, I have 2,479 words written, which means I am behind already. The last week of October through November 9th is always a bit harrowing for me even without a new deadline to meet. We have three immediate family birthdays, our anniversary and Halloween thrown into the mix to make it a wild and crazy season in our household. None of this is new or a surprise, but I haven’t seemed to learn any lessons about planning ahead for these three weeks of juggling events.

NANO is a bit terrifying even for those of us who have completed books. Any book deadline is nerve-racking, even if you have months to complete one.

Probably the best things about NANO are:

• it gets your seat into the seat of the chair on a regular basis
• there are no excuses not to write something every day
• there’s a place to find “buddies” who got themselves into the same mess you did and will goad you into working harder

As encouragement, one of my NANO buddies from Kansas sent me a message, “We’re buddies. Now, write 50,000 damn words by the end of the month. Have a pleasant evening.” Another day he said, “I’m at nearly ten thousand miserable indecipherable words. Great concept, fantastic title. But pure B.S. (See you at the finish line!)”

I thought I knew what subject matter I would be writing for this project, but when the clock started ticking down to the starting time, I remembered a short story I’d began years ago and never finished. My heart ached often for the characters I’d left languishing in a computer file. It was time to reacquaint myself with the family and see what’s been happening with them. Like real-life people, sometimes characters mature differently than you assumed they would when you first met them.

NANO doesn’t require a perfect manuscript. It only requires dedication to writing. Writing fast and furious forces those of us who tend to edit as we go to stop thinking with the editor side of the brain and rely instead on just being creative. It’s quite liberating. Editing will be handled at a later date. Right now, it’s the writing that’s critical.

Everything worthwhile takes time. Writing a novel in a month (even a short one like this project) requires an investment.

I signed on to accept NANO’s challenge this year to complete 50,000 words by the last Tuesday of the month. I didn’t consider Thanksgiving would also happen again! this year. While many of you are enjoying that drumstick or another slice of pumpkin pie, think of the Writmos who will be feverishly pounding out their quota surrounded by family, friends and aromas that are trying to coax them ever so gently away from the computer. Please forgive us for ignoring you this month. Have a heart and save us a piece of pie, too.

Being involved with NANO is like riding a rollercoaster. It’s thrilling, exciting and more than a bit intimidating. What a ride this will be.