NaNoWriMo

Because September is nearly over, I find myself looking forward to the usual things: cooler weather, Halloween, candy, and writing fiction until my eyes cross.

That’s what Fall means to me.

A little while back, my husband (then fiancé) and I went to San Francisco on vacation to visit friends. These friends are very special to me because I “met” them online during NaNoWriMo, and we’ve grown very close since then.

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an annual challenge in November for writers to create at least 50,000 words in thirty days. If you succeed, you win. If not, at least you have some words!

But it’s not only about writing at an insane pace, locked alone in a room. NaNoWriMo is (well, it can be) a very social activity. In fact, two of my buddies met online during NaNo, and later they started a relationship and moved in with each other! Another friend drove into town to play the violin at my wedding.

Writing together can really bond people. We joke about our ridiculous plots, we war over word counts, and most of all, we encourage each other to keep going. When I write at other times of the year, I feel myself missing the flurry of excitement that comes each November and the friends who will commiserate with me over characters gone astray.

So, now that NaNo’s in sight, I’m starting to count down the days. Let’s get ready to write! ☺