I’m NaNoWriMoing
I don’t know if you can actually make NaNoWriMo into a verb, but you know I like a linguistic challenge. Whatever you might call the process, as you can probably tell by the icon to the left, I’m throwing myself headlong into NaNoWriMo this year.
For those of you unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo (and I wager there are a few of you), it stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place every year during the entire month of November. Essentially, the idea is that you spend as much of your free time during November as you can possibly afford towards the effort of crafting a 50,000 word “novel” (50,000 words is “technically” a novella, but “National Novella Writing Month” just doesn’t have the same ring of satisfaction to it).
I’m going to take the opportunity to actually put some words to my perpetual concept Nycoboleas novel; only from now on, I’m simply referring to it by the subtitle: Seventeen Lies to Tell Your Children. I’ve got a good share of the story outlined, I now just have to wait until November 1st to begin writing. For an entire month. At roughly 1,600 to 1,700 words a day.
Any of you joining me this year? It’s my first NaNoWriMo, and I don’t want to have to suffer alone.







My awesome family at Mahoney State Park this past summer. From L to R: me; my oldest son, Caleb; baby Harlyn peeking out from behind mommy's shoulder; my wife, Amanda; my son Alex.
There will be not only many this year, but many more.
I don’t think I have what it takes to NaNoWriMo. No, seriously. I can’t do serious fiction at all, and the only successful fiction I’ve written have been scripts. I guess I’m all talk and no exposition.
I’m not so sure that *I* have what it takes, either. But I’m willing to fail. In fact, I’m fairly eager and looking forward to my eventual downfall.
Trust me, even the anguish is fun. And I am a senior cit.