It’s all kicking off

November is closing in and it means fireworks, bonfires, Guy Fawkes, dark nights and for some of us National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. It’s called ‘National’ although writers across the globe will enter and try to complete the 50,000 words in 30 days. So, in reality, it’s more global or universal perhaps but I suppose GlNoWriMo or UnNoWriMo might not roll of the tongue as well.

The question I suppose we all should be asking ourselves is why do we do it? Why subject ourselves to the pressure of knowing we MUST achieve 1600 + words day in, day out for the whole of the month? Heaven only knows what that means when we miss a day or so and when real life gets in the way of our target. Work, family, problems and general obstacles all have this nasty habit of lying low until November and the suddenly deciding that they need some of your time too. Suddenly work reduces the comfortable deadlines you thought you had or your family have planned a surprise holiday for you (Even though they knew you were entering this writing marathon again!). That’s without all the complications of plotting, adding characters and keeping the story line going. Not to mention writers block. (I did say not to mention writers block)

Cover of The Shining [Blu-ray]

I do realise that I could spend my days repeating the same sentence over and over, like Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’ and be declared a winner, but what would be the point of that? Personally, as I mentioned in a previous post, I am using this year as a means of getting back into the discipline of daily writing.Will we all be like Jack before the end of the month?

Why are you entering?