So the allergies are still kicking my butt and I think they may have morphed into a sinus infection. Lucky me. But enough about my mucus laden woes, I took some medicine that seems to have temporary worked. So I am going to write as much as I can until it wears off.
I wanted to post something useful today, so I am going to talk about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. 
NaNoWriMo takes place in November and is probably the single most helpful thing I’ve ever done to improve my writing. It is an insane attempt to write a novel in 30 days. I’ve done it twice and plan on making another attempt this year. 50,000 words may seem daunting, and I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy. (Or at least it isn’t for me.) However the things you end up teaching yourself as you make that mad dash are worth it.
You learn it’s okay to be sloppy as long as you get the words down. You don’t have time to wonder if the first few chapters give your readers an accurate view of the characters. You just write. And you keep writing. And when you don’t know what to write? Well, you write anyway because you only have 30 days to get those 50,000 words. NaNoWriMo allowed me the chance to get me out of the way of my writing.
I didn’t have time for writer’s block or for prettying up phrases. I couldn’t spend days obsessing about the first few chapters because I had an entire book to write. Of course when I was done, it wasn’t the best book in the world. In fact it was kind of a mess, but things always are right after they are born. That is where the clean up comes in. That is when you edit and rewrite. (After a rest, of course.)
There are nay-Sayers out there who smack down NaNoWriMo. I tend not to listen to them. If they don’t like it then they don’t have to do it. I also don’t think they truly understand it either. Maybe they are afraid. Maybe they don’t think they are capable of writing those 50,000 words. Maybe they think that they are above writing dross to find gold. Maybe they simply just don’t like the idea. Whatever their reasoning is, it is fine. That’s their reasoning. It works for them. NaNo works for me.
If anyone decides to join me in writing a book this November, look me up and add me as a writing friend on your NaNo page. I am under thecoffeefox over there. 🙂
fallingdownthecreativewell 