Candy bars, popcorn balls and all the other forms of treats you can handle. Costumes in every shape and size, color and design. Yes today is Halloween. It is and always has been my favorite time of year to celebrate. I love the scary movies, the inventive costumes and of course as a kid at heart I can never get enough candy.
However over the last few years I have also come to think of today in another way as well. October 31st is not just the last day in October but also the last day before November. I know most of you are thinking "Well duh. Obviously it is the last day before November." But the writers out there, many of them anyway know that the last day before November means the last day to run around gathering research, ideas and copious amounts of fuel for our soon to begin noveling adventure. Nanowrimo is upon us once more.
Thirteen years ago one of my best friends and a fellow wordsmith told me about this thing called Nanowrimo. I listened to her talk about it but had no real interest in looking it up or becoming a part of such an absurd sounding challenge. How could anyone write fifty thousand words in a mere thirty days? Even she admitted she wasn't going to try. We both settled back into our personal attempts to create our stories as we had sone before, writing in spurts between work and classes.
However the idea of Nanowrimo never fully left me. At the same time I was ignoring its existence I had begun working on a novel that was inspired by an injury I had suffered. After coming up with a general idea and working diligently on the first chapter, for nearly a year, I gave up. I took the file, printed out what I had created so far, and deleted everything else from my computer. It was a pointless pursuit I was sure. No matter how hard I tried I was hopelessly stuck.
Flash forward to six years ago and I find myself living in Las Vegas with a desperate need to finish a challenge. I need something to focus on and feel accomplished when I get done. I remember Nanowrimo. I thought that if nothing else I would throw myself into some writing and at least make progress on something. But the question of what to write still hung in the air. I only had one idea, the one I had put away years before. I pulled it out to take another look. It was all I had so with a heavy sigh I jumped into Nanowrimo and managed to finally write that book.
I have only missed one year since then and am hoping to not only continue my winning tradition this year but also the series I began to write last year during this challenge. Yes today is Halloween and I will celebrate with candy and costumes but it is also Pre-Nano Day and I will be glue to my computer in celebration as well. Happy HalloNano Day Everyone!
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