NaNoWriMo 2006

Almost two years ago, now, I took a dare from a friend. I was a professional truck driver--with a broken foot. My job, for some six weeks, was to make sure my foot stayed higher than my heart.

About two days into this task, I knew two things for certain:

1. I had much less patience than I ever imagined; and

2. If I didn't get to doing something, anything, productive, some small yet innocent fur-bearing creature was going to have a rather gruesome, yet unfortunate end to its existence.

Doing nothing at all, AND sitting still all day are two ways to cause a truck driver to lose whatever fading sense of peaceable gentility they may ever have. I'm fairly screaming at my friend about the need to save me from the pending doom which no doubt is setting upon me, and he is not responding as I think he ought. No, not at all.

To offer, in memory of a good friendship, at least a small vestige of explanation on his part, since he can no longer defend his own sorry, miserable self:

1. This friend has known me most of my young, impressionable life.

2. He is, or was (as the case may be) not a driver. He knew me from a previous, and much more glorious time in my young, impressionable life.

3. He is, or was (as the case may be, officer) a television producer. (This should give you an amazing overview of many important qualities of said individual) He is also a professional writer OFF the job, as well. He is VERY famous. Yeah, right!

I'm not taking to this new plan very well at all. I am also, as luck would have it, in what can only be considered extreme pain. I am hungry. I am tired. I am wanting my Mommy at this particular point in my young, impressionable life. Oh, Shut UP! It's my story.

Where was I? Oh, yes, my young, impress....anyway. My friend actually WAS listening to my complaining and whining (his sour words, NOT mine!), and suddenly popped up with:

"You need to do something productive!" (Did I mention he is also a fellow MENSA'n?) As I trembled in anticipation (hardly), out came the most incredible thing he may EVER have said to me:

"Bud, you have lived a magical life. You have done, in only 49 years, things very few humans have done, or ever will do. You've travelled the world, and you have visited every state in the USA within the last year! You should write a novel!"

I was stunned, nay shock-ed. I had long known that work pressures were affecting my friend, but I had no idea how far past the boundary of rational thought he had truly gone--until that moment. Perhaps, without his knowing, he had been struck by a fast-moving missile of some sort. (Lord knows they have been aimed in his general direction often enough!) Had he failed to tell me he fell down a flight of concrete stairs--on his head? Whatever the reason, I was now (more than ever) convinced that my friend was totally out of his everlovin' mind!

Then, he very carefully began telling me about an online activity which happens each November, called NaNoWriMo. This organization, whose Executive Director is a man in San Francisco named Chris Baty, has an online writing contest each November. You can sign up in October. You start "clean" (although some NaNo'rs begin organizing their thoughts between October 1st and November 1st), with zero words written. Beginning at 0001, November 1st, you have 30 days to write a minimum of 50,000 words in a novel!! Style? Fahgeddaboudit!! Punctuation? Nope. Correct form? Not necessarily. Historical or factual accuracy? I don't THINK so! 50,000 words barely covers the requirements for a Novella. (The average Novel is 85.000 - 100,000 words.) The whole point of NaNoWriMo (The National Novel Writing Month ) is writing words. Baty's belief is that writers write--every day! NaNo is all about writing. Style, form, accuracy, and all that "stuff" are not part of it--the writing is. It is not his statement, but rather a legacy clarion call of all writers: Writers write--every day! Writer's Block, Writers Cramp, Style problems, research, and on and on goes the list--are merely distractions from the one thing that we, as writers, MUST do each day: write!

I suggested to my friend that he might consider upping the dosage on his medication. And then, the poor sap did the one thing that no reasonably intelligent human would EVER purposely do to a Hillbilly: he dared me! He said he was doing it (again), and he dared me to do it, as well. (There was a rather hefty financial wager involved, as our negotiations concluded.)

This idea has not merely caught on. It is now an international happening, with nearly 100,000 Nano'rs competing. In my first year, I completed the task of writing 50,000 words (verified) in 17 days. My "friend" finished, as well--with 13 seconds left in the competition! (What a wuss!) The 50,000 became 104,000 and my first (soon to be) published novel. Elementary school kids do NaNo as a part of their school curriculum. Junior and High School Educators use NaNo for AP class assignments. Colleges and Universities offer credit for NaNo. Internationally, those from the newbies to the pros participate in this no-holds-barred, In Your Face ...fun. It's totally ruthless, heartless, and as completely unprofessional as you could ever hope to imagine. From the entirely famous to the nearly infamous, people of every age, race, ethnicity, religion, nationality and economic status participate. It is a merciless free-for-all. And, in this two-year trek, I have learned much about my craft. I have made friends, established bonds, created opportunities, and worked insanely to produce a product that, long after the winning NaNo 2004 entry, has become the first in a projected series of ten mystery novels. Yes, it is irreverent! Yes! It absolutely defies every possible construct of "legitimate" writing...yeah, so?

In seventeen days, over 50,000 words nearly flew of their own accord from my fingers. Characters whom I had never met suddenly took up space in my brain! A plot with devious twists, bad guys, and amazing results were born. And, in the end, so was one heck of a good read! It was an amazing journey, with some truly amazing people. I tried it last year, but being on the road made it truly impossible to fairly participate.

I'm off the road now. The series has taken on a life, a company organization (yes, really!), and a purpose of its own. My friend is still producing television, and is still working to finish his NaNo effort. To be fair, his goal was different than mine (he wanted to be "good" at it!) and his novel is nearing completion. I hope he finds, as I have, success waiting for his labors. Single moms do it. Doctors, Ministers, Truck Drivers, and grade schoolers do it. And, this year, I am going to do it as well--again. I am doing it this year for the same reason I did it last year, and the year before. All my life, I have been known for saying two things:

1. Writing a novel is on my life-list of things to do. (Done!)

2. I believe that every person has, within them, a song to be sung and a story to be told. Sing your song, and tell your story! The World WILL be a better place because of it. (Done!)

I still believe it. And, because you are reading this, you know of my writing. I want to challenge you to take the dare my friend gave me: DO NANO 2006! You have very little to lose (sanity, hope, and like that) and everything to gain! The NaNo site will be up until September 20th at midnite. Check it out. On October 1st, 2006, go to the site and sign up. It is free. Donations are accepted, and fund an international fund that creates libraries in under-developed countries, and provides laptops to dis-advanted schools around the world. Along the way, you will make friends, learn a little about writing, and just have a heck of a good time. If you can write 2,000 words each day (approximately eight double-spaced typed pages), you will get to see what the incredible "Winner" bar looks like! Sound impossible? Yeah, I know. I thought so, too. (The average Blog entry is 1,000 words!)

We had teams, no less. State teams, or different activity teams (All the Bloggers from MySpace who did NaNo joined up together, for instance). I wrote for five different teams during my first NaNo! I got some mighty spiffy little badges to put on my signature line (the "prize") for it. I also learned that there is a talent for writing that I did NOT know I had. No one was more surprised than me to find out that my writing was actually pretty good! I'd written before. Daily Journals, tehnical manuals and books, manuscripts and methodology writing for many different areas. I was, at the time, new to the entire Blogging world, too. I didn't know the first thing about actually "writing" a novel, and I had to learn--a lot! Yeah, so? I love learning! And, as I discovered from NaNo, I love to write!

I'm going to do NaNo again this year. I'm home working on school, and writing anyway. My NaNo project will be a completely new effort. It may be one of the ten volumes expected for my Mystery series, but I'm thinking not. I don't know. I'm not an "organized" writer like so many of the successful authors are. I sit and stare at a blank screen, and just begin typing. I have learned a lot about "how" to write, but I still use my own technique. So far, it's gone well for me. I think it will go well for me again this time, too.

There are tons of related activities surrounding this annual event, as well. From software retailers offering NaNo discounts, to local community "Write-Ins", to friendly challenges and competitions during NaNo between physical communities, NaNo is a real deal. Virtually every writing community on the web has a NaNo involvement at one level or another. There is also a NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) each March, as well as an entire online community dedicated to helping NaNo'rs get their novel published (NaNoPubYe). Just add dot com to any of these and you will find them.

I most highly recommend this activity to you. If you should choose to join the insanity, I hope you will let me know. As likely as it may seem, there is really just no valid excuse not to. We even have a few hundred active duty soldiers in the group this year, from Iraq and Afghanistan! If the ordinary bores you, or if you feel like your non-conformist nature is not being suitably nurished, I hope you will take up the challenge and have a truly NaNo adventure. From November 1st til November 30th, you can abandon the usual, munch on a NaNo cookie, learn to love caffeine again, and write every day!