NaNoWriMo Approaches

In less than one month, people in various parts of the world will participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  Just what is NaNoWriMo?  It's one month of writing insanity, in which one attempts to meld 50,000 words into a single document that emerges as a potential novel.  Yes, write an entire 175 page novel during the single month of November.  Can't be done you say?  I beg to differ.  Now I'm not vouching for the quality of said novel, but it is doable.  Just ask the many NaNo "winners" who reach their 50,000 word goal by November 30, yours truly included.

The primary goal of NaNoWriMo isn't to create a quality novel that can immediately be sent off to be picked up as the next best seller and hailed as Oprah's next book club fave.  The goal is to get creatives to put aside their internal editors for a month and just let the words flow.  For me, this is a necessary exercise.  You see, eleven months out of the year I have this compulsive need to edit as I go, which significantly slows my writing progress and often impedes my creativity.  But for one glorious month I actually manage to simply write.  Often this carefree attitude carries on for several more months, resulting in work that is imaginative and simply fun to create.

There's also the added benefit of joining write-ins.  These are weekly gatherings of writers at set locations to bang out as many words as possible for a set period of time.  During our evenings or afternoons together, challenges will be issued and encouragement will be given to keep everyone moving toward their 50,000 word goal.  It's a chance to step out of the everyday and simply focus on what we love, creating worlds with words that will hopefully one day be honed to perfection, then read and enjoyed by others.

If you like to write and have never participated in NaNoWriMo, I encourage you to check it out and give it a try.  Even if you don't actually achieve the 50,000 word goal, you will not regret bonding with some new writing friends as you let go of that blasted internal editor that threatens to doom a perfectly fabulous story.  Care to join me?  Go to the National Novel Writing Month website and check it out.  I'll be there, adding daily to my word count, chiming in on the forums, and moving forward with freedom through a story limited only by my imagination.