It’s the attack of the acronyms! But more to the point, it seems that November is the month that’s begging you embrace your inner-writer and let her run free. Not only is it National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), but it’s also National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo).
Many people insist that the Great American Novel is living inside them, if they just had the time or the focus or the commitment to write it all down. The folks that created NaNoWriMo insist that this is “a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing.” The goal is to write a 175-page novel (50,000 words) in one month. You can break this up however you wish, though most shoot for daily average. No one grades you. No one guarantees that it will even be something that makes much sense. In fact, all that matters is that you write - it’s all about quantity, not quality.
Since this is a movement, so to speak, you can find plenty of support online (there are even blogging and LJ communities devoted to this). One of the great things about getting involved in NaNoWriMo is that you’re a part of a group working on the same goal. You’ve got support. You’ve got deadlines. You’ve got accountability. What more could you ask for when writing your Great American Novel? If you need even more support, you can join your fellow CCers also taking part in NaNoWriMo.
For those of you that need something a little less stressful, there’s NaBloPoMo. With NaBloPoMo it’s really quite simple, all you need is a blog and the ability to post something, anything every day for the month of November. You don’t have to have a fancy blog (the freebies out there all work just fine). You don’t have to write a book (ha!). Some folks choose a theme - 30 days of meals and recipes, 30 days of photos, 30 days of poems, 30 days of thanks, etc. - but really, you can blog about anything you wish.
The main NaBloPoMo community takes place over at Ning.com, but you don’t have to keep (yet another) blog over there. As long as you register and provide a link to your blog, folks will find you. Through their groups section, you’re sure to find someone with common interests. It’s really a fun and easy way to meet some new bloggers you might never have discovered otherwise.
So come on, November 1st is right around the corner. Get those creative juices flowing. Hope to read you soon!
