Having concluded the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge at slightly over 52,000 words, and with 3 days to spare, my first response was “Can I have my life back now?”
Generating the daily word count required to hit the goal by the end of the month was a challenge. Any given day, not a big deal. But stringing enough days together to generate bulk? Big deal.
Writing 
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It’s the time of year when gorging on Halloween candy can cause the mind to make odd decisions…such as devoting 30 days in November to bang out a 50,000 word novel of dubious quality. Yet millions flock to the challenge every year (including moi, having participated four times, successfully once).
Blogger buddy Pencil Revolution has some great posts here and here about using (what else) pencils and paper this year to chase the novel challenge. I’m tempted to try this analog approach, but question whether my hand would survive the marathon writing effort. Love pencils, but it’s been a long time since I used one for more than a page. Writing longhand definitely slows down one’s thought process and some would argue produces better prose, or if nothing else, perhaps eliminates one draft in the process.
Writing Comments Off October is all about pumpkins and pretty colors. Come November, our thoughts turn to…30 crazed-filled days scribbling nonsensical sentences in a quest for 50,000 words, a modicum of sanity at the end, and that elusive brag: “I wrote a novel.” Oh, and something involving a bird and cranberry sauce happens that month, but never mind that, focus on the writing!
This year will be my fourth voyage into the world of daily word counts, banning contractions, and breaking all the rules for crisp, succinct writing. For those unbapitized, NaNoWriMo is short-speak for National Novel Writing Month, and annual event held since 1999. My first dipping came in 2004, where I’m proud to report I cleared the bar with 51,700 words that will never-see-the-light-of-a-publishers-pressroom, but hey, a goal met is a goal celebrated. If you’re feeling voyeuristic and want a glimpse of the madness such an endeavor breeds, read my celebration post. And if that didn’t bring you to your senses and you still want to have a go, I wrote about my takeaways a week later after my fried brain cells were replenished.
Writing 2 Comments The mobile working movement is alive and well, teeming with Bedouin-like workers who travel in single caravans (or sometimes ad-hoc nomadic tribes) from cafe to cafe carrying only cell phones and laptops, sated by comfy chairs, strong WiFi signals, and an endless stream of caffeine. 
Cafe writing, or the art of writing outside your home in a place devoid of things you obviously should be doing instead, can lead to good creative outflow. It can also lead to an extra 10 pounds in short order, but that relates to one’s inability to ignore the siren’s call of those nutritionally bankrupt, but incredibly tasty goodies that such places offer. Just remember that double chocolate muffin is harmless until you let it in. While resistance may be futile for an enemy of the Borg, it’s definitely critical for a Bedouinish writer.
I mention this now because NaNoWriMo is appearing like a distant mirage on the horizon, tempting us with shimmering promises of discovery. Last year I planned to start with a solid outline, but didn’t quite complete that effort, thus falling short of the challenge’s 50,000 words. This year I STILL plan to start flush with outline, AND I’m considering crafting (ha…) all 50,000 words the Bedouin Way. Why? Because I love the smell of fresh muffins in the morning? Or I enjoy torturing myself with plain coffee while the tart sitting next to me enjoys a fusion of coffee, fruit, and cream that equals my target calorie input for the ENTIRE DAY? Or is it because I’m basically masochistic when it comes to writing and I enjoy putting obstacles in the way of success? Even though the latter rings truest of all, going Bedouin is simply intriguing because it’s a gimmick, and in the midst of a NaNo writing crisis, a gimmick can mean the difference between a thousand and three thousand words…quality be damned, of course.
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Normally I shy away from acronyms if possible, since using them is tantamount to supporting the “secret club” theory of communication. In the case of this article’s title, though, an acronym seems appropriate instead of “Observations, Insights, and Conclusions for [my] National Novel Writing Month [experience].”
In the various teambuilding events I help facilitate in my day job as well as the classes I teach, a good exercise called Observations, Insights, and Conclusions helps to understand how much (or how well) participants are “getting it.” In setting up this exercise I tell the participants that what they learn from this experience doesn’t only come from my pontifications standing in front of them, but also from interactions with others during breakouts, their private reflections after the session, and so forth. The exercise nearly always yields a few “ah has” out of the group and is also an excellent way to assess learning from most any kind of activity.
Writing 3 Comments Officially I hit the finish line yesterday at 2 p.m., uploading my ReallyBadOh novel with its 51,700 well-chosen words (right…). Doing a project like the National Writing Novel Month (NaNoWriMo) does funny things to one’s brain, as evidenced by the comments below I pulled from the NaNoWriMo forum. These were all posted in threads such as “Things I Learned…”. I’ll be posting a more in-depth look at my own observations, insights, and conclusions from the month-long writing exercise later, but in the meantime, the comments below from other NaNo-ers show just how over the edge we all go near or at the end:
Writing 3 Comments “I feel a little alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. I would fain forget all my morning’s occupation, my obligations to society. But sometimes it happens that I cannot easily shake off the village; the thought of some work, some surveying, will run in my head, and I am not where my body is, I am out of my senses like a bird or beast. What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?” – Thoreau’s Journal: 25-Nov-1850
What business indeed do any of us have juggling multiple activities at once? We drive with the radio on and cellphone firmly attached to ear. Where is our focus? Our concentration? While we’re piloting a 4,000-pound potential killing machine, one would hope it was solely on driving safely. You don’t have to look far to read about cellphone-related traffic accidents to understand that as a society we’re not particularly on task most of the time.
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I can’t believe I’m even considering this…absolutely, positively, certifiably nuts. I’m still recovering from back surgery, and although I’m a quantum leap in health from where I was, there are limitations to what I can do as well as energy levels that are still working their way back up to normal. My job situation is iffy at best, and I’ve a zillion things unattended to do that were orphaned during the last six months of dealing with the back. And if I thought real hard I could probably come up with half-a-dozen other terrific reasons why what I’m contemplating is truly…well, insane.
