Speaking of writing, I’m going to participate in the next NaNoWriMo this month. I’ve even got a story in mind. If you’ve never heard of NaNoWriMo, it is the National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to get 50,000 words of a novel written by November 30. It doesn’t have to be good literary writing, you just have to get a first draft. So, it can be 50,000 words of crap.

Many people ask “Well, if it is just 50,000 words of crap, why bother?”

Because 50,000 words of crap is easier to edit than a blank page. And, oddly enough, what I’ve learned from doing this exercise is that it seems like crap when you write it, but when you look at what you’ve written later, it really isn’t that bad. I’ve come up with some very editable content, and some of it is pure gold. I was amazed when I looked at what I wrote just to get something on the page.

There is also a fury to getting what is in your head on the page. Sometimes you’re struggling with an idea, but when you just sit and write *something* the idea starts to form. I never thought that just writing just to write could actually get the creative process started, but it really does. I find myself needing to write at the most in opportune times — on the toilet, in the shower, driving — because my mind keeps working on an idea when I’m not writing. I end up not doing things I need to do: laundry, dishes, exercise. But at the end of it all, even if I don’t have 50,000 words — the last time I only got to 32,000 words — I feel like I’ve really accomplished something. I feel great.

So, I have somewhat of an outline ready, at least in my mind. I’ve stocked up on coffee and cigars. I’ve done all my laundry.

NaNoWriMo…here I come.

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