NaNoWriMo

I'm of that prophetically doomed school of writers who are a sad, deluded people who all too often strangle their creations during their birthing because they try to craft them too completely as they issue forth from the font of genesis.

That's why I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. I want to participate in the spirit of the challenge and just write the words as they happen, without slowing myself to rearrange them into what I think is the proper phrase or sequence at the moment. Just let the words fall where they may, and sort it all out when the draft is done.

I don't know why that's so antithetical to me. I'm not a writer typically given to sharing works in progress. When people see much of what I write, it's because it's in a state fit for consumption. Every now and then I break from that tradition, just to solicit a bit of feedback or stress-test a squirrelly idea, but mostly, all my craft happens backstage and appears only when it's ready to receive visitors.

That's why I'm really excited about trying this experiment. Again, I'm wanting to cleave as closely as possible to the spirit of the exercise, so I haven't done any pre-planning outside the rudimentary creation of ideas. I have three, but I want to wait until I actually start writing -- until NaNoWriMo actually kicks off -- to see which idea fights its way onto the page. That's not necessarily the best way to approach writing, but I'm trying to shake off the bad habits and tethers with which I've voluntary yoked myself.

I encourage any aspiring writer to take advantage of the opportunity. If you're in Atlanta, I've set up a NaNoWriMo write-in at the Independent on November 2nd as a sort of kick-off. Feel free to drop by and scribble with us. The event is here if you're a Facebooker.