NaNoWriMo, the organization, is on the ropes, or perhaps entirely dead, after a change in focus and an AI-related public relations snafu. None of that affects my plan for participating in the core of the event: writing at least 50,000 words in a month.
I initially wrote this post with the intention of delaying NaNoWriMo until February. This November will be hectic: I’m transitioning roles at work, we have visitors for two long weekends, followed immediately by a trip home for Thanksgiving. The likelihood that I will write 50,000 cohesive words in November is slim.
That’s not the point.
As I sit here on October 31, watching World Series Game 6, and coming across the NaNo 2.0 site, I’m inclined to go against my better judgment. NaNoWriMo is about the joy of creativity, about pushing oneself to find the thrill of a terrible first draft, of freely exploring a new world with a cast of characters that grow with you during a month of hectic composition.
A benefit of revisiting morning pages is that I already have a loose habit of writing in the morning. Sure, it’s a stream of consciousness, but I’ve made that time available.
And here’s the other thing: attempting it in November doesn’t stop me from focusing on writing again in February. Maybe I’ll start another new project—they’re fun and exciting and full of potential!—or maybe I’ll finally sit down and seriously tackle editing and rewriting my promising beginnings. This is a hobby; I do it for fun. None of this matters except insofar as I find it engaging and fulfilling.
So, let’s do NaNoWriMo again. You can find my progress on my NaNoWriMo page, per usual.