words and images by mk swanson
 
NaNoWri-What?

NaNoWri-What?

I am planning to participate in NaNoWriMo this month. That’s National Novel Writing Month, for those pitiful creatures like myself who had no effing idea what it was until I saw it advertised in an email from somebody… maybe STC?
50,000 words in 30 days. One novel, never previously written. Mine will be called “Ephemeral,” and I’ve been thinking about the concept since January of this year. I am really excited about it, and I’ve told everyone I know (ok, everyone I know on Facebook and my Woodstream family) that I am doing it.
That said, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have something to complain about/fear. I’ll just list them:

  • Other writers have been doing nanowrimo successfully for years. I am not a real writer because I didn’t know about it, and I haven’t done it. I suck.
  • The whole concept of Mary Sue seems flawed to me. I can’t write a story in which I like my character, my character is special in some way, and my character has a tragic past? Good grief, I think that cuts out 95% of all fiction. 100% of fiction I like. Does suspecting I might have a couple of Mary Sues mean that I suck? Especially if I think they should be able to live on, despite their extraordinary-ness?
  • These people seem to have a lot of time to write–and to blather on on forums. Are they all unemployed? Or do I just suck because I can’t write 50,000 words, work a full time job, do a couple of side jobs, AND blog about it continuously?
  • I have a deep suspicion that most of my co-writers are under the age of 20.
  • I have a correspondingly deep suspicion that I suck AND I’m old.

I’ll be back to report my success or failure at the end of November. Possibly January.

One comment

  1. Excuses I've used today not to start writing:
    Laundry
    Renew my tags
    Pay overdue bills
    Plants need water
    Plants need trimming back
    Must write to nephew about nanowrimo
    Stopped short of doing dishes

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