Beautiful, Breathtaking Mess: A Writer In-Progress, NaNoWriMo 2020
"When the writing gets hard, or when it all feels like too much, remember why you write, and that there is value in what you’re doing. Stories matter. Your story matters." -NaNoWriMo 2020 Pep Talk, Alexis Daria November is National Novel Writing Month, a month when writers around the world commit to writing a 50,000 word novel in the space of one month. I've participated since 2016, and in that space of time, I've completed 4 novellas (3 of them are now published) and drafted the bones for 5 others. But NaNoWriMo isn't really about word count for me. In fact, in five years of prepping, attending write-ins, soaking in advice from authors and experts - and doing the actual work of writing - I've never reached 50,000 words in any story. Some writers might argue that this means I've never "won" NaNoWriMo. But I disagree. I win by showing up. I win by knowing my story matters, and by feeling the value of what I'm doing. My first N...