While writing is something I’ve always enjoyed, it’s only in the last five years that I’ve become serious about pursuing this avocation. The spark that reignited my interest in writing came from a student of mine. She interviewed to join my scholars program and told me about National Novel Writing Month. The student told me she had participated for the previous four years and was preparing for her fifth NaNoWriMo experience in 2015. I’m currently engaged in my fifth NaNoWriMo, writing the second in the Stephanie Hart mystery series. And since I was shown the joy of NaNo, I’ve tried to spread the wealth myself.
Encouraging people to create
For college students attending an honors college, many feel they can’t take time out of their schedules to be creative unless they are enrolled in particularly creative major, such as theater, English or Art. But most of us believe that everyone has a creative side. Perhaps that is expressed in more traditional ways like writing, performing or visual arts, but it can also be expressed through the way we approach our occupations. Can anyone argue that carpenters aren’t creative when they build cabinets? As someone who has tried to build cabinets, I can tell you that a good carpenter is an artist. The same can be said of other occupations.
Still, and even with their other obligations, I’ve encouraged students to participate in NaNo even if it’s just to get their feet wet on an important writing project, or as a respite from their other work. Of course, NaNoWriMo is more than just the 50,000 word November challenge, such as Camp NaNoWriMo and their Young Writers program. I’ve even encouraged students to use November to set their own goals—like Camp NaNoWriMo—so there’s something they can look at at the end of the month, even if it’s not a 50,000 word draft.
But you know what: It doesn’t matter; it really doesn’t. What matters is that the activity, however you’ve chosen to meet it fed your soul, gave you a warm fuzzy feeling, or a sense of accomplishment for starting… just starting. And yes, that is worth spending hours during November with over 300,000 other people around the world doing the same thing.
(For the cynics among you, I now cue the “It’s a Small World,” or “Kumbaya” soundtracks as we fade….)
The Reach of NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is a twenty year old non profit designed to promote creativity through its writing programs. It’s even had loaner programs in the past for people who didn’t have laptops or other devices. In 2017, 306,000 people participated in NaNoWriMo. Of these, about 11% completed the 50,000 word challenge. Maryland has a particularly high number of participants and a high completion rate as I recall from a previous annual report.
What better reason to bring new writers to NaNo this year!
