What to do about NaNo…

I have done NaNoWriMo for the last fifteen years.  In other words, every November since 2010 I have participated in National Novel Writing Month, joining thousands of writers around the world.  That first year I had no clue what I was doing, but I quickly learned that I must write 50,000 words during the month of November in order to win my NaNo certificate.  

I came up with some idea that I thought I might want to write about.  I decided my first priority would be to make the word count - whether I ended up with anything “good” or not.  Just do that word count. That decision turned out to be important even though it meant that I ended up with some strange lines full of silly admissions like “I don’t know what to write” repeated throughout some of the pages.  And I did it!  I made it to the word count goal that year.  And the next… Soon it was 5 years and then 10.  

As summer turns to fall, I begin wondering “What will I do for NaNo this year?  What shall I write about?"  I find myself putting it on my schedule to start preparing in September - or at least certainly October - brainstorming and experimenting and trying out ideas for that year’s NaNo challenge.  

In those early years, I often kept going into December.  Kept writing as long as I could think of things to write.  Most of those projects are tucked away in some hibernation chamber… er, um… I mean file folders somewhere.  But, on two specific projects, I worked all through the winter - and even ended up publishing them!

Gradually, this annual rhythm of NaNoWriMo helped form my writing focus. 

Gear up in the fall.

Write like crazy in November.

Try to capture whatever else is still in my head in December.

Then figure out what to do with it during the winter.

Sure enough I had built a sort of annual writing rhythm.

… 

However, something happened this year.

The ground has shifted in the NaNo-verse.

The news is out; NaNoWriMo is no more.

No more fun and encouraging exercises from the NaNo staff.

No more NaNo merch.

No more certificates for our 50k words!

No more gearing up in September and October to write in November.

So now what do we do?

Never fear; turns out NaNoWrimers are a tenacious bunch.

Who says we can’t do NaNo this year?

I mean... I can still write anyway?

Even if NaNoWriMo, the official organization, is no more?

I can still brainstorm in September, and start experimenting in October?

That I can still gear up to write 50,000 words during November?

I guess that is all true.

For any of us.

After all, WE are the ones that pounded out those words every year.

We are the ones who set the goals and took the steps.

We show up to reach our daily goals… week after week.

We can still do them.

…

Yes, I am sad that there is no more NaNoWriMo.

It was an amazing thing and made a huge difference in my life.

I wish it was still around.

But I can still write.

I can take advantage of the things I learned from NaNo.

The things I tried.

The things that worked AND the ones that didn’t.

I am grateful for NaNoWriMo, for the idea.

I am grateful that Chris Baty’s vision came to life in 1999.

I’m grateful that my pastor friend, Ron, told me about it in 2010.

I’m grateful for my NaNo buddies in that very first year… 

…and most recently at the Marian E. Wright Writing Center

I’m glad for the brainstorming we are doing and the good ideas people suggest.

Sure enough, it's time!

Time to figure out what I’m writing for NaNo this year.

Let’s do this thing!