It’s November again. How did that happen so quickly? Like last November, I’ve been seeing lots of people get excited about NaNoWriMo. What’s this, you ask (if you aren’t one of the excited people)? National Novel Writing Month!
I wrote a piece about NaNoWriMo last year (you can read it here), and I still stand by it. Although well-intentioned, I don’t think that NaNoWriMo gives the first-time writer the space to hold the writing process with compassion. Is NaNoWriMo motivating? YES – for a short burst of time. Does it allow for our humanness and for the slow craft of the book-writing process? I’m gonna have to say NO on this one.
The thing that we need as writers – more than anything else – is a consistent writing practice that takes into account that there will be days when you feel inspired and days when you feel hum-drum. Days when you feel you are bursting with color, like the yellow, orange, and red maple leaves in my backyard, and then other days when you feel parched, dry, and brown, like the leaves on the oak tree (also in my backyard). Both exist in the writing landscape. You don’t know that this is normal and expected unless you are consistent – unless you show up more frequently than not.
And just so we’re on the same metaphorical page here, I feel I need to explain what I mean when I say “show up.” Showing up in writing doesn’t always look like hands on the keyboard of your laptop. Yes, it does mean that – stringing the words together on the page in sentences and paragraphs that eventually make up a chapter or an essay in your book. But showing up also looks like the following:
researching;
pre-writing and deep work in its many forms (thinking, musing, walking, writing down notes, brainstorming formally or informally);
creating an outline;
writing back-story; and
reading for inspiration, clarity, and targeting specific writing techniques.
These are all ways that you can show up for yourself as a writer, and they are all part of the writing process. And I have undoubtedly missed a few ways that you can show up for the writing process as well – there are so many!
So whether or not you decided to write your book this month (NaNoWriMo enthusiasts and everyone else), let’s agree to give ourselves the gift of showing up for our writer selves – however that appears today. For me, that means writing this short blog.
And just to acknowledge the elephant looming here in the corner, It’s not lost on me that I haven’t been consistent here with my blog. I’ve been consistent in other ways as a writer, an editor, and a publisher, but not in this way. And this way is something that is important to me and something I want to nurture more. So I’m showing up today, without shame or judgment, turning over the leaves I hold in my hand – some bright and some dull.
As a gift to you and as a gentle entry point into a new and consistent writing pattern, I’ve included a link on my homepage at www.cmcollab.com for my 5 Days of Writing Prompts series. This is a 5-Day Writing Journey delivered to your inbox. My hope is that this journey will support your writing practice and compassionately hold your heart as you step into fiercely sharing your voice.