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Tag: #NaNoWriMo

Happy New Year!!!

Published by mhelbert on November 1, 2019

Ok, I know! It’s November 1st, not January 1st.
But, today is an anniversary of sorts for me that marks a rather significant milestone.
Before I get to that, though, there is another milestone I want to share.

THIS IS MY 400TH BLOG POST!
(And, the crowd goes wild!)

I went back and checked. My first post was written using Blogspot on
December 12, 2009. Considering that it’s been a decade in the making, maybe 400 posts doesn’t seem like a lot. But, it is. Trust me.

The other reason that this is a significant date for me is that one year ago today I started my first NaNoWriMo.
And, that ushered in a year of pretty substantial creativity from me.

I finished NaNo at the end of November with a novel of just over 50,000 words.
During that month I learned a lot about the process of writing. I learned that to create anything takes hard work and showing up Every. Single. Day. I had to average almost 2,000 words per day in order to achieve the goal.

And, I did it!

One of the results of that experience was an increase in content output for me. Yeah, I didn’t show up a lot on this here blog thingy. Not nearly as much as I would have liked. But, I began what has now been a nearly year long process of introspection. I primarily use Journaling for that work. Right now I’m on my third journal since Jan. 1 and will be going out to buy a fourth this weekend.
And, yes, Journaling is creative writing.
It enables me to tap into the Creative River that courses through the Cosmos. Writing this way opens my Heart to the internal Pulse of Life that animates me as I walk through the fields of this life. I also continue to develop the discipline of showing up every day to think, create, and write.

So, yeah!
It’s New Years for me!

Tonight I will begin the task that is NaNoWriMo 2019.
In 30 days I hope to have another 50,000+ words completed.
As near as I can tell, this is the Best Way to ring in a New Year!

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NaNoWriMo

Published by mhelbert on October 18, 2019
Official logo of this year’s NaNoWriMo.

National Novel Writing Month starts in a couple of weeks.
I participated last November and completed my first ever 50,000+ word manuscript.
Yay!
Of course, it’s still in a first draft that’s been sitting on my desk for 10 months. But, that’s not the point. The point is, I created something.
I originally used the working title of “God, Who Are You Really?”
I had hoped to create a fiction that reflected the personal journey that I had embarked on at the time. Little did I know then that novels tend to take on a life of their own. This one decided to become rather independent at an early stage. At times it felt as though I was simply the stenographer recording the story.
By the end of November I had completed the task and was sure that I had the next best seller, albeit in embryonic form, in my hands.
But, like all writers that I’ve read who share their own process, I knew that at best I had a rough idea of what might be a poorly written story.
So, there it sits. Waiting for me to perform some kind of literary CPR on it so that it can Rise Up From The Ashes like the might Phoenix that it is!
Or, something like that.

Anyway, all that to say that this year’s NaNo is fast approaching and I really have no idea where this story will go.
Hell, I don’t even know where it’s going to start!
Hopefully, by November 1 I’ll at least find that starting line.

During this NaNo I hope to share bits and pieces of the story as it is birthed. Perhaps, I’ll share snippets of the process as well. While many writers say that the writing process can be a lonely one that is fraught with difficulty. A saying that is attributed to Ernest Hemingway states,
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
But, I found last year that I was not alone, bleeding at my computer.
I had the good company of my characters. I was with them as they found themselves thrown into a quest that they never asked to be a part of. I shared their fears, and ultimately the death of one of them. (Although, when I do rewrite, I’m thinking of being like God to him and resurrecting him. We’ll see if I ever do get there.)

So, while I read that so many folks taking part in this years NaNo are panicking and feeling all sorts of pressure and angst, I think that I’ll have an opportunity to meet some new friends. Maybe we’ll sit and have coffee. And, who knows to what wonderful worlds we may travel together and what amazing experiences we’ll share!

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