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I’m not one for fiction.
It’s odd, mostly. I mean, it’s odd that I have no interest in fiction. I have trouble wrapping my mind around fantasy. The grossly improbable. The far-out. It’s just not me.
But, you see, I live in a fiction-lover’s world. It’s all around me. To protect myself, I ensure I am surrounded by a fortress of management, leadership, industry, memoir, parenting, economics, and Buddhism books.
There’s something that drives me to feel guilt unless every moment of my existence is doing something I consider productive. Some may argue that blogging is a waste of time. For me, it’s a learning experience. I have developed Wordpress skills that have allowed me to create two professional websites. I’m new to Blogher and am committed to figuring it all out. I get the posting part but I’m unsure of the community aspect. I’ll learn.
So what in the world would make me interested in writing a novel?
The challenge.
Writing a novel is so far from who I am. I don’t make stuff. I’m not creative. I’m no artist. Hell, I make my living doing technical writing. In other words, I get paid to follow directions.
No better reason to try it. I signed up for NaNoWriMo. I’ve known about NaNoWriMo for about four or five years and it was only this year that I even considered it. I’ve challenged my husband, who is an artist, to join me. I desperately hope he does.
The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. I could list at least a few dozen reasons why it is ridiculous for me to attempt this task.
However, I will instead list one reason as provided by Chris Baty, the founder of National Novel Writing Month:
“Art for art's sake does wonderful things to you. It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It makes you want to take naps and go places wearing funny pants. Doing something just for the hell of it is a wonderful antidote to all the chores and "must-dos" of daily life. Writing a novel in a month is both exhilarating and stupid, and we would all do well to invite a little more spontaneous stupidity into our lives.”
I could definitely use some wonder in my life. Will you join me?
