Monday Motivation: Cop a NaNoTude

Saturday was MNYA Day - the one day a month that I meet with the MNYA Writers Group.  We are a group of young adult writers in the Twin Cities area (and beyond) at various stages in our careers.  There are eight of us so each month we critique two 30-page (or so) selections.

We usually spend the first half hour giving updates on WIPs, queries, requests, rejections, subs to editors, agent relationships, etc.  This month the question of NaNo came up.  Three of us are participating with shiny new work.  Another is doing her own version: NaNoFiMo (novel finishing month).

We are all of us adopting a NaNoTude -- an attitude of discipline to set daily, specific goals toward a larger goal for the month of November.  It might be to complete a WIP or revisions or to complete that craptastic 50,000 word novel in those 30 days.

There are a lot of people out there who look down at NaNo, say it's just a bunch of unskilled hacks writing garbage.  To those people I say -- get over yourselves. It takes a lot of courage and discipline and NaNoTude to write a novel in 30 days, even if it completely sucks and has gigantic plotholes and may never again see the light of day.

And for those writers who are uneasy or intimidated by the idea, who have been unsuccessful at NaNo in the past -- this just might be the year that you write something that you completely fall in love with.  This might be the year that you write the first draft of the novel that will eventually lead to A Big Break.  What have you got to lose?  

There's so much promise in the 30 days of November.  So cop yourself a NaNoTude.  Get out there and write the best book that you can, even if it's not very good. 

And to my fellow WriMos -- my NaNo username is JRMinnt.  I'll be there for you when you need a NaNoTude check.

Have you signed up for the Sip Swap yet?  What a great idea - you can never have too many mugs!  Click on the image below for more details.

Just a couple more days for creepy photos:

Holy Name Lake

Are you ready for November, NaNo or not?