DANG, I'm a WRIMO!

For the past few weeks the urge to finally write that book that's been gnawing at the back of my brain has been too strong to resist. I had shelved the idea a while ago when life got to be just too much. I actually have a few books I would like to write--most of them non-fiction and one fiction. AND being the typical procrastinator and poorly self-disciplined person that I am, I know that unless I have a major deadline and some accountability hanging over my head, I just won't get it done. With all of that being said, I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo again this year and hopefully actually FINISH!

So WHAT exactly is NaNoWriMo you say? Well, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and it takes place every November. Writers all over the country commit themselves to cranking out a full novel in one month's time. It's a pretty daunting task with a daily word count quota of 1166. They even schedule "write-in's" where writers from your particular city meet up and bang away on their keyboards for the evening. Those are good because it's not only good to be able to bounce ideas off of other authors, but it's nice to have the moral support of other people pushing through the same battle.

This year being my first year in the Dayton area, I'm just getting to know my new group. Their nickname is "DANG" (for Dayton Area Nano Group) which is kind of cute and I can't wait to get a tshirt to make it official.

I've tried doing this a few times before in previous years, but I could neve discipline myself enough to really do much with it. This year I want it to be different. Even if it never goes anywhere beyond Microsoft Word on my computer, at least I will know that I did it. I won't have to wonder how it would have turned out if I actually had written it. As insanely unhappy as I've been with my work-life lately, I have to believe it's because I'm just not doing what it is that I'm supposed to be doing. I'm supposed to be writing, speaking and teaching--and I know it. The sad thing is that I haven't done it and slowly the fire is going out. I could also be a lot better off financially if I had been on that path all along. The truth is though that I'm afraid to fail. That's the naked, bare-bones truth about it. I'm afraid that I will flop right on my face and being the capricorn that I am, that terrifies me.
So, pray for me friends as I embark on this one-month journey. I'll keep you all posted on my progress and you can root me on as I go!