It’s official – everyone is writing now. Six classes of elementary students in San Jose are officially part of NaNoWriMo, and there are 2000 classrooms across the country participating. Forget about being smarter than a fifth-grader – are you more disciplined than a sixth-grader?
Given that I didn’t actually sign up for NaNoWriMo, I have to say I’m not. I do have a project, which I started before November (so technically I wasn’t eligible to sign up), and I planned to write faithfully every day. That lasted about a week, then life got in the way.
The good news is I’m not dealing with a disaster of Biblical proportions. I’m not dealing with a disaster at all, just competing deadlines for other (non-writing) projects. And the changing of the clocks, which always throws me off. And the beginning of the holidays. And trying my best to avoid left-over Halloween candy, new Christmas candy, and my old favorites that I hear calling, calling . . . .
The other good news is that NaNoWriMo has entered my consciousness. It is another tool to help me stick to good writing habits. I may not make 50,000 words this month, but I am going to get back to my project. I may not write every day this season, but I am determined that next season I’ll do better. For that, thank you, Chris Baty.