Just Try It

I began Nano as a critic. I had never been a writer, was never going to be a writer, and had never written anything before. "Just try it," a friend of mine encouraged. Within days I was hooked. Within weeks, I was worried that I didn't have enough planned for 50k words. The bug had set in.

 

Sarge would rather be gaming

I worked diligently to finish the novel, worrying over every detail. Would the plot make sense? Would the events I had set up be enough? Would I actually be able to finish this task I had set out to do?

 

Nano began to mean more to me than I had intended it to be. What began as a vague attempt is now a yearly challenge to myself to complete. I've had great years and bad years. My shining achievement was probably finishing my one novel idea within the allotted 30 days and ended up being 100k words in 27 days. I don't think I have another novel in me to rival that accomplishment, but I will try every year. 

 

Nano has taught me to never underestimate myself or the power of one of my thoughts. What started out as a thought turned into a story with great detail and a personal accomplishment. I don't know if it will ever be published, but I can tell anyone I meet that I did it and I tried. Every other year, no matter the result, is a personal accomplishment. I put at least 50k words on the page and it matters.

 

I've grown to love NaNoWriMo and have looked forward to it every year. It's never a task that should be taken lightly, but it's definitely a task worth taking. Even if the goal isn't reached, words, ideas, thoughts, and musings are documented to either flourish into something great, or be cast aside. NaNo has grown to mean a great deal to me in the 5 years I've met the challenge. Regardless of the outcome, it's never a letdown and has always been a great joy in the sunny-turning-to-drab days of autumn. As a skeptic turned fan, I will push anyone to try it just once to see what happens for them.

PierreSzechuan
Dayton Region ML