Guest Post: Robert C Roman
Disclaimer – Anything in parentheses was forced on me by Agatha and Penelope. I take no responsibility for persons reading it while imbibing milk or less wholesome beverages.
When PJ asked me to write a guest post about NaNo, I was thrilled. After all, I've been doing NaNo for the past six years, I completed it the past five, and I've even sponsored a number of young writers for NaNo YWP. This year I've got nearly twenty writers at my high school writing with me, including two other teachers. I'm just a NaNo fool, really.
So writing a blog post about NaNo ought to be easy, right?
OK, right now PJ is probably fuming, because the deadline for this is rapidly receding in the rear view, and it's still not done. Kind of like I do NaNo, really…
Actually, that thought is a big part of what I'm writing about today; a big part of what NaNo does for me. You see, like I implied in my recent post on why I teach, I'm generally overloaded. I don't know whether it's a reputation for getting things done (nah), the quality of my work (maybe) or the fact that I'm a schmuck and won't say no (we have a winnah!), but folks tend to ask me to help them with stuff. I'm not talking about guest posting / panel attending / I want to do it anyhow stuff, either. I'm talking about stuff I normally wouldn't even consider doing, like going around collecting for retirement presents for people I don't know.
I mean, seriously, how am I going to convince someone to donate for that? "Oh, yeah, she's really nice! Do I know her? Um, no, not really." But for some reason, I was the guy. It happens a lot. It's the schmuck thing.
But I digress (I do that a lot)…
NaNo forces me to focus on my writing. Whether I have ten other things on my plate or not, I have to sit down and write. I may write in solid segments after the kids are asleep, or I may write in little snippets stolen from between classes at school, I write.
And I love it.
In October, I have to force myself to sit down and write. By November, I'll wind up sneaking writing time whenever I can. That's what NaNo does for me. To paraphrase Edna Mode, it reminds me who I am and what I love to do (other than the Ur-Goth).
In fact, some of my best writing is done in the hectic month of November. If you want to see what I wrote last November, head on over to Amazon or Decadent and check out my latest, What Not to Fear. If you want to see what I'm writing this November…
You'll just have to wait for December. ^_^
