Why Did I Sign Up For NaNoWriMo???

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What have I done?

That was my first thought after I signed up for NaNoWriMo. My stomach dropped, terror settled in, and I thought, What have I done?

You might be asking, “What the heck is nana-Ramen?”

NaNoWriMo, AKA National Novel Writing Month, is a challenge that writers from all across the globe can sign up for. The challenge is to write 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30. That’s 1,667 words a day. In case you don’t know, that’s a lot – for me, anyways.

Hence my asking myself, What have I done?

So why did I bother signing up for this insane challenge that has rendered me terrified and can render writers catatonic, panicked, over-caffeinated, and ready to hibernate until spring?

Because I want to be a writer.

Because I want to find a way to make writing a daily habit or, at the very least, a few-times-a-week habit. I want to know what it is to always be thinking about the next part of my story, rather than procrastinating. I want to dive in head first into all the creative projects in my head, rather than let self-doubt stop me from even beginning. I want to be perfecting my craft, rather than starting from square one every time because I refuse to practice.

I want to be the kind of writer who writes. Not the kind who’s all talk and no walk. Yeah, the rhyming makes it more legit.

So while it’s terrifying, and I have come to terms with the fact that I might fail (maybe that’s my problem, maybe I need to say FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION), I’m ready to give it a go with some early mornings and some late nights. This challenge starts TOMORROW, so wish me luck! And if you have any tips, comment!!

I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going and what I’ve learned. You’ll probably get the quickest updates by checking out my stories on Instagram. In the meantime, we’ll chat here soon.

Happy Halloween, my friends!

Heather

P.S. This entire post is 349 words. Just to give you an idea of the madness.