NaNoWriMo

This year, I decided to do something different for a change... NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. I knew about it last year, but I was too intimidated to participate. This year I decided to take on the challenge. I've been struggling with it a lot over the last few days, but I'm not going to give up or let that deter me. The goal is to get different writers from all over the world to write 50,000 words in just 30 days. It lasts throughout November, every year.

More information can be found here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano
I love writing, and it's something that I've enjoyed from a very young age. I always found a certain amount of comfort in books when I was growing up. They were my refuge; my one escape from the world that I could always count on. And as I grew older, I realized that I had an interest in writing too.

In most books, the protagonist succeeds, justice eventually does come around to those who deserve it, people don't usually get away with the wrong things. (Though sometimes I have to adit that I end up cheering for the bad guy.) It's nothing like real life. I've always loved the sense of being able to control what happens. It really does give you a thrill like nothing else.

And then there's the fact that writing can be whatever you want it to be. You can shape your own worlds, control the environment, the people, and everything that happens. The possibilities are limitless and endless... There is nothing more beautiful than that.

I've heard people say some bad things about NaNoWriMo before and I would like to offer my perspective on the subject, stemmed from my own personal experience.

It's difficult- It really is. Writing 50,000 words in only one month sounds insane. But that's all the more reason to try! Like many writers, I enjoy a good challenge. I wasn't sure if I could do it, and to be honest, I'm still not certain. The only thing I know is that, for me, it was definitely worth trying. Whether I fail or succeed in meeting the goal is irrelevant to me at this point. The point is, it gave me what I needed: Motivation. Just that one tiny push in the right direction can give birth to a whole plethora of new ideas. It's like an adventure that you go on by yourself, and then when you're done, you will have something to show for your time, that you can share with other people.

For a long time I've been writing down ideas and then failing to have the courage to actually sit down and try to write them into stories. For me, NaNoWriMo helped me to do what I couldn't on my own: Sit down, push everything else to the side for a little while, and just write. The feeling is awesome.

And not only that, but it has allowed me to connect with a lot more people. I found a really awesome group on Twitter, with people who do a weekly WriteChat. I've only been to one so far but it was really insightful and the other writers there are very helpful for someone like me.

I have trouble deciding lots of things on my own, and unlike some people, I have no one to bounce ideas off of. I'm usually shy when talking about new ideas with online friends, real life friends, or especially my family. Sometimes it helps to actually get another writer's perspective on it.

I always thought no other writer would be that willing to help another, because logically it means more competition in the long run. But everyone has their own ideas and many of us write entirely different genres. So it really works out for everyone's best interest, and gives people a place to turn to for help. It's nice to get more than one perspective on something.

NaNoWriMo has opened my eyes to a whole new set of possibilities. This would never have happened otherwise. My novel is still in the works, but hopefully when I'm done, after taking a few more months to work on it and edit the hell out of it, it just might turn into something publishable.

I hope this was at least helpful to someone. Or something. I mainly just wanted to get this off my chest. Have a nice day.