polka dot suitcase

Even if you’re not a writer, doubtless you’ve heard of NaNoWriMo, right-o? National Novel Writing Month. Every November, people around the world sharpen their pencils and dive in to seek fame and fortune as a novelist. They’ve got 30 days to crank out 50,000 words — the first rough draft of a novel. Edits and revisions? Some other month. Every year, I sign up for NaNo. Every year, I crank out 50,000 words. And every year, I save the file and then never look at it again. Have I failed? I don’t think so. I cranked out truly awful first drafts, just like I was supposed to. I just never did anything more with them. But the way I see it — because writers are exceptional at justification — now that … Read entire article »