Life on Hold: The Confessions of a Writing Addict

 
Poised on the cusp of a month long commitment to writing 50,000 words in thirty days, I look askance at the calendar and tally up all the things I should do - my chores, my business: books to review, books to edit, books to publish, submissions to solicit, rejections to mail.  There is simply not enough time.  Is this a mistake?  What have I gotten myself into?

Thousands of writers have signed up in a 12-step fervor for a stream-of-consciousness brain dump with a set number of words in a specified period of time, keeping score in a daily flagellation of remorse or joy.  It is the ultimate joy ride for an author, an adventure, replete with planning and outlines and provisioning, and a challenge.  The rules are simple with a Nike-like admonition: Just Do It.  No one expects 'good', no one expects a fully developed plot, just words-on-a-page and the satisfaction of having joined with a community of like-minded individuals in the quest for expression.

Multitudes wax poetic on the whys and hows in a flurry of cost-benefit analyses designed to stimulate and focus attention on the craft of writing a story.  There is an element of hand-holding here.  Writing is such a solitary endeavor.  Authors live inside their heads for days, weeks, months, years - coming up for air only when necessary, when 'life interferes'.  And most don't notice, nor do they especially care.  NaNoWritMo provides structure, goals, and a fellowship with people who 'get it'.  It fosters networking and bonding.  Here in the Lehigh Valley (PA) there's a surprisingly large contingent of authors, many of whom will band together for the month of November.  There will be a local chapter kick-off party where we can meet face-to-face, perhaps find new friends, but mostly know we aren't quite as alone as we thought.

I've avoided the 'why are you doing it' quite handily.  I don't need the structure or deadline.  I have no issues with motivation and I sit on the prolific side of the equation in terms of output.  And I do like a challenge.  But mostly I'm doing it 'just because'.  What's vexing me is what to do.  I have three 'book two's' awaiting my undivided - a sequel to The Shadow of This World, a historical romance; a sequel to Dragon Academy, a YA fantasy/adventure; and the sequel to Portals: Spar with the Devil, a paranormal thriller with a little romance thrown in.  I am on the last chapter of Spar, my characters will have huge challenges and 'chaos ensues' issues to overcome and it has an immediacy to it that ,I think, will compel me to continue the story.

I really don't know.  I will awaken at some ungodly hour Monday morning, fire up the laptop, click on Word, and see who's made me coffee and wants to chat.  The odds are fairly good it will be a tenant subletting an apartment in my brain, probably someone I've never met who simply wants to have a word.  I really don't mind and I can't wait to see what happens.

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