To NaNoWriMo Or Not To NaNoWriMo, That Is The Question

Ok, guys, that time of the year is here again… NaNoWriMo.

You may be thinking, “what the heck is that?”, well, I’ll tell you.

NaNoWriMo is something that happens every year in the month of November for aspiring and established authors. So if you have ever wanted to try your hand at writing a novel, now is your time to shine.

You have one month to reach a goal of writing 50,000 words.

It may seem like a lot, but when you break it down by day, that’s only about 1,667 words a day. Not too bad right?

I have to admit, I have never taken part in NaNoWriMo. Who knows why. I have always loved both reading and writing. I decided long ago that I wanted to be an author… so why never take the leap and participate? Your guess is as good as mine.

Maybe it’s because my anxiety is doing its usual work on me and refusing to let me step even a centimeter out of my comfort zone.

From what I gather about NaNoWriMo, you sign up online and you just start writing. Doesn’t seem like something that would be too terrifying.

This is the part that gets me, other than the unknown which is always a huge hang-up for me, but hey… I’m working on that…. There are forums, meet-ups that they call “Write-ins”, as well as becoming buddies with someone.

All of this is amazing and would really help different people when they get stuck, can’t figure something out, or just need some like-minded people to talk to…

I, however, can’t do that. I chose to be a writer for more than one reason. One of which was because I am so insanely introverted that I completely forget the English language when I have to converse with other humans. It’s a problem. People tend to think that I am a mean person, and I really am not. I promise. I just can’t speak like most other people.

Anyway, back to NaNoWriMo. So, the point of this post is… should I try to push myself past my social anxiety and insecurities and just go for it? Should I participate?

I have something that I have been outlining and drafting for about…… 12 years or so. Now may be the time.

Should I do it? Just suck it up? I need some guidance here. Help.

Until next time,