NaNoWriMo…

I’m back. I haven’t written on this blog for over 8 weeks.

It’s obviously easier for me to write about the craft of writing, than of my own exploits in writing.

Why is that?

Perhaps it’s because I’m so focused on grasping the craft of writing, that of composing fiction and then the short essays that are my blogs.

Focused.

Pointed directed.

Driven.

I think you have to be all of these be a writer of any kind. Moreso as a fiction writer.

…..

Okay. So I’m doing NaNoWriMo.

That’s short for National Novel Writing Month.

It starts November 1st.

Neither is it too late for anyone reading this to join in.

Click on the name and sign up.

All you need is an idea, a goal (one also for your character would help), and the willingness and perseverance (persistence too helps) to write 1600 words every day for at least a month.

I’ve been sketching and planning, for five months, the novel I’ll be writing on during NaNoWriMo.

It’s been my routine to write a novel every fall since earning my MFA in Creative Writing after which my collection of short stories, Keeper of Secrets…Translations of an Incident, was published .

I would take an online writing class that lasted 15 weeks. Five of those weeks fell in the middle of NaNoWriMo.

This year, I took a 28-week writing class offered by another online organization. The structure of this class focuses on planning your novel in September and October, writing it in November and December, and then revising it during January, February and March.

The classes I participated in each of the last two years with the previous organization served me well.

Yet I am already seeing the added benefits of the class with this new organization. So much so that I began writing my novel last Wednesday night.

We meet on line every Wednesday afternoon by dialing a number and speaking to each other through the phone. This goes  for 1 hr. and 15 minutes. The teacher is great and the act of gathering together without having to leave my home provides a way for me to feel connected, but no tied in.

It also assists with keeping me accountable to myself while allowing enough room for me to be who I am. With these two factors taken care of my imagination blossoms in a way that energizes and fuels my creativity without the overwhelm I experience when tackling a writing project alone.

It’s good to hear other writers, published and unpublished share their ideas, struggles of facing obstacles and  joys of overcoming them. It provides  a container for both my writing and for me as a fellow writer. And I don’t feel stifled.

It’s lonely, this job of writing, crafting stories and essays, poetry and plays.

So much of the challenge in being a writer is finding not only your creative voice, but also a niche within a group of individuals traveling the same path on which you trod.

One on which you can remain a journeyman committed to your unique cause–that of telling your stories–and doing so in a way that energizes and enriches not only the desire and process towards finishing your projects, but wherein you can also assist fellow travelers in achieving their goals.

Imagination is the key to freedom.
The artist’s job is to cultivate and nurture her or his imagination, and that of others.

It’s still not too late to participate in NaNoWriMo.

May the force be with you.