WRITE NOW NEWSLETTER – OCTOBER 2016

“The world is a lot more fun when you approach it with an exuberant imperfection.”
– Chris Baty

Hi, Writers:

Here in central Ohio, the weather has cooled and a few trees have begun to turn. To many folks this means pumpkin spice, football, marathons, and ghosts. To me, it means I’d better start planning what I’m going to write in November!

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the annual challenge in which writers from all over the world attempt to write 50,000 words in thirty days. The original challenge was for fiction, but NaNoWriMo welcomes rebels who write nonfiction and poetry as well.

I love both the structure and camaraderie of NaNoWriMo. Broken down, it requires 1,667 words per day. That’s manageable. Depending on how fast a person types, it usually takes about two hours. And I love attending write-ins and hanging out on the on-line forums. It’s bliss knowing other Wrimos (that’s what participants call each other) are also hammering at keyboards.

I’m often asked how to plan for NaNoWriMo. Although participants aren’t allowed to write even so much as a single word of the actual project before 12:01AM on November 1st, preparation is encouraged. I usually prepare by procrastinating and daydreaming.

More pantser than plotter, I write first drafts by the seat of my pants. I’ll start out with an idea (what if a unicorn barista is enlisted by some homeless tree huggers to save a giant sycamore from destruction in the I-270/315/23 construction project?) and an ending (the unicorn wins!) and when November rolls around, I’ll start typing. So far, I’ve been able to “win” every year I’ve entered. Did I wind up with a publishable manuscript? Of course not! But I did complete a ton more writing than if I hadn’t started at all.

In October, I also stock up on supplies. For me that means plenty of decaf coffee and healthy snacks. One year I needed a giant dry erase board. Another year required colored markers and gel pens. And I’m never without my fingerless gloves for when the warm days of early November give way to the frigid final weeks.

Are you ready to take the challenge? I hope you’ll join us. Check out the website and be sure to join the region for whatever area you live. And friend me. I’m willwrite4chocolate. I’ll watch for you!

Nita Sweeney
(c)Nita Sweeney, 2016, all rights reserved

Join the conversation on my Facebook author page

Follow me on Twitter at @NitaSweeney