Road Trip to NaNo: Writing Is an Adventure Into the Unknown

NaNoWriMo is an international event, and the stories being written every year reflect our hundreds of participating regions. We’re taking a Road Trip to NaNo to hear from our amazing volunteers and writers all around the world. Today, Andy, our Municipal Liaison in the Mexico :: South region challenges you to venture into the unknown:

Welcome to Mexico City! As one of the Big Cities of the world, we share many similarities with other, perhaps more fashionable destinations, like New York, London or Tokyo. But what we lack in popularity, we make up for with this: there is always something in Mexico City to pique your interest.

Music? I’ve heard orchestras and rappers in opera halls. Plastic arts? We have more museums than any other city in the world. There are dancing halls dedicated exclusively to Charleston and swing, themed bars (like the one based around the Cthulhu mythos), book signings, board game tournaments, farmers’ markets and pretty much everything in between.

How can I manage to know so much about this city? I don’t. Mexico City is, if anything, a place to get rid of the fear of the unknown.

There are unknowns in the places you’ve never visited out of boredom, distance, or even fear. The dark alley can certainly be dangerous, but if you’re cautious and in good company, you might just find a delicious café in the shadows.

There are also unknowns in disguise. There’s a newspaper office close to my house, on a block I’d never bothered visiting at night. It turns out there’s this really cheap, really good taco place right next door, open only from 2 AM to 8 AM to service the late-night journalists.

There are unknowns hidden by time. Some places get better with age and others… are not so lucky. These unknowns are like Schrödinger’s cat: the only way to know whether they’ve become better or worse is to go and have a look.

Trying something new in your writing is always scary, but it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing experience. Think of it the way you might explore the City: the first time, you may only go one block toward that new restaurant, then call it a day. It’s fine as long as you come back the next day. Then you actually cross the street, go through the door. Then you order something. Then the magic happens.

Living in a Big City and not experiencing it seems like a waste of time to me. Maybe you won’t like everything, maybe you’ll step out of your comfort zone only to find that yes, you are really uncomfortable. Even so, you will grow in the process. The adventure of the unknown might take you to your new favorite place, a new niche made just for you. And if you don’t find a new place, the experience itself will teach you to appreciate the places you already know.

Try a new genre, hang around in a different NaNo group, emulate your best friend’s favorite author. The new experience is there, yours for the taking. You have to be brave enough to take it. Go ahead, take a walk, explore. You’ll come back a better writer.

Andy is an Environmental Engineer by day, and a Wikipedian/writer by night. He’s starting his Masters in Philosophy of Sciences this December because sleep is overrated. He is weak to cookies.

Top photo by Flickr user Game of light.