I have a special place in my heart for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It’s how I kept up my writing during high school and college and into “adulthood.” But, it’s also a ridiculously difficult goal to keep when you don’t have as much free time as before. Not only the free time, but I don’t have the same “write whatever comes” mentality that I used to.
So, I’m not doing Nanowrimo this year, or at least not in the traditional sense. In my writing group hosted by Caroline Donahue, we are doing something called “Nano Possible.” In this challenge, she gives us a new prompt every day, and they don’t stack for a constant “catching up” feeling. So, you focus on the day and nothing behind or in front of it. There’s no greater word count you need to reach, it’s simply to get you writing a bit more than usual.
For me, I’ll be focusing on whatever writing comes for the month. I’m hoping to do some shorter pieces and stretch my short story muscles a bit. Maybe that will look like prose poems, or flash fiction, or short stories. Maybe it will spark some new bigger project that I can work on with the same fervor I had over the past few years for others.
Other thoughts I’ve had for Nanowrimo month is to use it as a catalyst to start The Artist’s Way. I am worried though that I would be stepping into another big “to-do” that my brain can use as burnout fuel. So I’m going to keep taking it easy and letting my creativity heal bit by bit. Maybe in January I’ll attempt The Artist’s Way.
Are you doing NaNoWriMo in November? What are your plans of attack for the month?
Happy Writing!
Rachel
Subtle Stories 