Road Trip to NaNo: Why Your Unique Experiences Matter for Creativity

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 writers all around the world. Today, Travis Kelley, our Municipal Liaison in the Boston region shares why the diversity of NaNoWriMo participants is a source of creative inspiration:

Boston is a city of learning. With more than 50 accredited colleges and universities in our metropolitan region, you only need to spend a few minutes here to realize what a vital role education plays here. This also makes National Novel Writing Month a tremendously diverse experience.

Write-ins in Boston have an incredible cross-section of people. A college professor may be sitting next to an émigré from France and across from a high school student. Yet the thing they have in common—noveling!—brings them together. In Boston, we take shameless advantage of the breadth and depth of the experiences of our participants… 

We have each person contribute a writing prompt on an index card at our Meet & Greet/Kickoff Party. This stack of prompts then comes with us to all of our regional events, ready and waiting for the writer who is stuck.  Many folks contribute more than one prompt.

My propensity for telling outrageous stories, making stupid jokes, and tossing out groan-inducing puns at NaNoWriMo events is, depending on the person, either legendary or infamous. Every year, someone always includes in their prompt “Write Travis into your story. Then try to write him out again.”  

I’m proud to have, in my own twisted way, been killed off several times, inspired thousands of words to be written, and once, even won the heart of the handsome hero. It’s heady stuff, being a meme.

I’ve benefited so much from the wide range of people and experiences in one room during a write-in. My writing method is character driven; my characters exist in my head before I know how I want the story to turn out. Being able to dive into a stack of writing prompts can be invaluable to me when I get stuck, as badly thought-out characters will do from time to time, and lets me avail myself of a little of the creativity present.

At a write-in, you may find an expert in the most unlikely area sitting across from you. When you have an early childhood education expert, attorney, concierge, crafter, call-center worker, social worker, sailor, a couple of librarians, and a published author in one room, all ready and willing to offer help and suggestions, there is no way you can’t benefit just a little.

There is a humorous axiom that states “you are unique—just like everybody else.” As a participant in this worldwide phenomenon, you bring to the table a unique history, experiences, and mindset. Don’t be afraid to share your uniqueness to help others improve their craft, and don’t be afraid to ask others to help you improve yours. Your writing prompt, thought or suggestion, or even just the fact that you listened to somebody discuss their problem, may help another writer.  

There are no losers in National Novel Writing Month, but you could be the reason that there is another winner.

Travis Kelley is a journalist by education, a military public affairs specialist by training, photographer by choice, and a concierge by necessity. He defies convention, exceeds expectations, and foments frustration, occasionally all at the same time. He compulsively makes lists.

Top photo by Flickr user Jeff Gunn.