NaNoWriMo 2021: Let the preparations begin
Do you all remember when I did NaNoWriMo last year? Well, with October in full bloom and November nearing, the time has come again for the infamous 50,000-word goal to rear its ugly head.
Photo by @yanu from Unsplash.
“If you want to be a writer - stop talking about it and sit down and write!”
Last year during NaNoWriMo, I wrote my forthcoming novel, Just Us. Did I think that my book would actually end up published one day? Not really. Do I hope the same for my next WIP? Yes, definitely.
As a writer, I feel like I’m watching myself from the outside. When I’m writing, it doesn’t feel like me. Or maybe it feels the most like me. Extreme heat and cold feel the same, so maybe the experience of writing is like that for me. This disassociation that sends my brain into a frenzy, a dream-like, pseudo-high where I jump from one topic to the next. It’s no wonder that my psychiatrist is wondering if I have ADHD.
But, this separation from my mind and my body while I’m writing allow me to watch myself grow. And perhaps this is true of every writer, but as time passes, even the year that it’s been since I wrote Just Us, I watch myself move away from who I was in my last piece. Am I a continuously changing person? Is my concept of self so flawed that I no longer understand who I am in writing, in spirit, in the flesh?
Maybe that’s why poetry stagnated so quickly for me. The level of growth it allowed for me in writing was minuscule, and that’s a flaw of me and not in the art. I power through writing like an addict, and writing poetry was no different.
BUT. I love NaNoWriMo. It’s an ambitious goal, to write 50,000 words of a new project, but I’m in full-on planning mode for my next WIP, TGOFT, and I hope you’ll all join me for the ride. Like last year, I’ll be giving weekly updates during the month of November on my progress, including word counts, goals for the next week, and if I actually finish the goal, next steps. If you follow my Patreon, you’ll also receive behind the scene looks into character profiles, snippets from my writing, and more. Interested? Make sure to check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/melissaperrismith.
Now, this is something I don’t usually do, but a friend of mine is also in need of some help. My friend, Malik, is an Afghan citizen currently living in Kabul. He was granted a visa to Pakistan to await a possible refugee visa to the United States. But as you can imagine, it’s pretty expensive to get there and live there for the 12-14 month processing period. If you can, please consider reading his whole story and donating at his GoFundMe here. If you can’t donate, please consider sharing! Malik is an amazing person, and if he remains in Afghanistan, his life will be in danger. Thank you so much!!
Until next week, friends (hopefully.) Chat soon.
