Dive Back Into Writing With NaNoWriMo by Tyree Pace

November 01, 2012

I want to be a writer. Not a writer of code (which I do copious amounts of in my day job here), but a fiction writer. More specifically a science fiction/fantasy writer. It was one of the things that drew me to Net Minds initially: the idea that I COULD actually publish my own novel one day; not MIGHT get my novel published someday by some publishing house. All I have to do is write my novel, build a team, and voila – instant book. Except there’s one problem.

Writing is HARD.

Anyone who has ever sat down in front of a blank piece of paper and stared at it for hours without writing (or typing) a single word knows what I mean. Nothing is more daunting or condescending than the innocuous blank page. It is an open canvas ripe for displaying all the treasures of your mind and at the same time robs you of the ability to utter even one phrase. Suddenly, my inner critic is no longer just niggling at the back of my head – it’s beating me across the face with how worthless and nonsensical my prose is.

And, if I do manage to power through and write that short story or that synopsis, inevitably the rejection letters follow, validating that spiteful inner critic. And so, the writing becomes more sporadic, the moments of epiphany less frequent. My stories appear less interesting, even to me. Now I spend more time talking about writing than actually writing. And as cool as Net Minds is, even they can’t publish a book I haven’t written.

That’s where NaNoWriMo comes in. Shorthand for National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo started off as kind of “joke challenge” among friends and evolved into a national event where people are tasked with writing a 50,000 word novel during the entire month of November. There’s no penalty if you don’t make the goal; no one has to even know you’re “competing.” So how is that any different than if I planned to just sit down and write any other day of the week?

Well, NaNoWriMo is also about community and building a network of peers who are striving towards the same goal you are. There are local groups of participants throughout the nation who get together to motivate each other and write. This is a lot like the Net Minds philosophy. You create a team based on a common goal or interest, then work together to motivate and create a product you can all be proud of.

This will be my second year participating in NaNoWriMo. Last year I got a little over 8,000 words. I have a couple of writer friends who will be joining me this year, and together we hope to finish. Because, I can’t very well call myself a writer if I never actually write anything.

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