To NaNo or Not to NaNo, That is the Question
At our Callaway County Writers Group meeting last night, we had a pre-NaNo prep meeting. There were four "old-timers" there (including me) and three new people showed. I tend to take it for granted that everyone will be as excited about NaNo as I am, but such was not the case last night. The central question for all of them was "Why?" I hope I expressed to them just how much NaNo means to me and how useful it is, but I got to thinking about it after I got home last night and decided this is a question that deserves a more thoughtful answer.
Why?
Why is writing 50K words in a single month a worthwhile endeavor? Why do it in November? Why write until my fingers feel like sausages and my eyes are puffy and dry?
Why?
In no particular order:
* Because I like a challenge
* Because without a deadline, I will not finish
* Because the rush of writing with such a tight deadline is exciting
* Because it gives me an excuse to cut out of awkward family Thanksgiving dinners without feeling guilty
* Because I like feeling cosmically connected with the thousands and thousands of other Nano'ers around the world during the month of November
* Because I like the comraderie of doing this with my fellow writing group members (write-ins ROCK!)
* Because it gives me an excuse to not cook, not clean, not grocery shop . . . basically, it's an excuse to say no to anything I don't want to do
* Because wearing my favorite brown NaNo shirt over and over again without washing it would be weird if I wasn't doing NaNo (wait a sec! Maybe that's why it's easy for me to find alone time in November!)
* Because I want that purple winner's bar on my author's page
* Because I'm going to wallpaper my bedroom with winner's certificates
* Because I like focusing on writing for 1/12th of the year
* Because a diet of coffee, Coke and Hot Tamales would be unacceptable at any time other than the madness of NaNo
* Because I love the feeling of WINNING - even if it confuses non-writers (ahhhh . . . there's that pesky "Why?" question again!)
* Because I CAN
Have you ever thought, "Someday, I'd like to write a novel"? If so, the time has come. Go to the NaNo website and sign up. Join the madness and make your dream of being a writer a reality!
Elle Robb
Why?
Why is writing 50K words in a single month a worthwhile endeavor? Why do it in November? Why write until my fingers feel like sausages and my eyes are puffy and dry?
Why?
In no particular order:
* Because I like a challenge
* Because without a deadline, I will not finish
* Because the rush of writing with such a tight deadline is exciting
* Because it gives me an excuse to cut out of awkward family Thanksgiving dinners without feeling guilty
* Because I like feeling cosmically connected with the thousands and thousands of other Nano'ers around the world during the month of November
* Because I like the comraderie of doing this with my fellow writing group members (write-ins ROCK!)
* Because it gives me an excuse to not cook, not clean, not grocery shop . . . basically, it's an excuse to say no to anything I don't want to do
* Because wearing my favorite brown NaNo shirt over and over again without washing it would be weird if I wasn't doing NaNo (wait a sec! Maybe that's why it's easy for me to find alone time in November!)
* Because I want that purple winner's bar on my author's page
* Because I'm going to wallpaper my bedroom with winner's certificates
* Because I like focusing on writing for 1/12th of the year
* Because a diet of coffee, Coke and Hot Tamales would be unacceptable at any time other than the madness of NaNo
* Because I love the feeling of WINNING - even if it confuses non-writers (ahhhh . . . there's that pesky "Why?" question again!)
* Because I CAN
Have you ever thought, "Someday, I'd like to write a novel"? If so, the time has come. Go to the NaNo website and sign up. Join the madness and make your dream of being a writer a reality!
Elle Robb
Posted by Elle Robb at 9/15/2009 5:51 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: national novel writing month NaNoWriMo writer author
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: national novel writing month NaNoWriMo writer author
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