The writer's month

Monday, November 7, 2011

ONE way of pacifying a restless imagination is writing.

When the moment strikes that ideas flood through your mind, ideas that you’re sure are made of pure gold, and consequently are the makings of the next New York Times bestseller—you know you have to pen them down.

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It could be simply because of something you see or feel that puts your mind on overdrive, generating prose dabbed with witty adjectives.

But here’s the thing: You never get around to writing any of those brilliant words you thought up. For whatever reasons you have, you continuously put off writing it. That’s quite a waste of creative energy, don’t you think?

As the world celebrates “National Novel Writing Month” (NaNoWriMo) this November, you are given the chance to quit being the “frustrated novelist” and work on being, well, a novelist. The premise of this activity is simple and it is to finish a 50,000-word novel within 30 days. Always wanted to write that sci-fi piece about aliens taking over Colon? Or a stirring memoir that could put Elizabeth Gilbert to shame? This is your time to shine.

All you have to do is sign up at their website and prepare yourself for a month of being a wordsmith. Should you reach 50,000 words by 11:59:59 of the 30th of November, you will be included in the list of winners and will receive a winner’s certificate.

Those aren’t much, but the greatest reward this activity can offer is the sense of satisfaction knowing that your imaginative visions were put in writing, under time pressure at that. If you were able to do it, who knows what other literary greatness awaits you?

The first NaNoWriMo was held in July of 1999 in San Francisco, USA, with a little over 20 participants. Ten years later, the event is already held in November and the number of participants has greatly multiplied. In last year’s NaNoWriMo, there were 200,000 registrants with 30,000 of them reaching the 50k goal.

The great thing about NaNoWriMo is that it’s more of a community rather than a competition. There are forums where writers can gather, share plot ideas, and basically bask in their relationships with individuals who bear similar aspirations.

In the Philippines group, there are 2,106 registered members. According one of the liaison officers of NaNoWriMo Philippines, Tina Matanguhian, there are over 100 PinoyWrimos (Filipino NaNoWriMo participants) who have won the competition.

Tina first joined NaNoWrimo in 2004. “I didn’t get to 50,000 words that year but I vowed to get to it the following year. This is my seventh year, and hopefully, my sixth win,” she shared inspiringly.

“Since I didn’t win in 2004, winning in 2005 was so fun,” she said, “I think I won two days ahead of schedule, so I was pretty much elated. My novel was far from finished, though. It took me another year to get to The End. That was another celebration. I have yet to go through a November and end my 50k with The End.”

Tina, together with her co-liaison Cebuana Liana Bautista, are the “mother hens” of the group. “I guess you’d consider us the advisors or coordinators,” said Liana. “We plan the events, gatherings, and we also provide encouragement and useful materials to the writers in our regions.”

Liana likens writing to exercise. “Either you do it and you work those creative muscles, or you don’t do it, and eventually you start noticing the flab,” she explained, “The writers who can produce masterpieces without a whole bunch of flops beforehand are few and far in between.”

Through NaNoWriMo, Tina shared that she nows “find more ideas everywhere.” She continued, “It also helped me be more disciplined as a writer; writing even a little bit everyday really helps you get through that story.”

Since the goal here is reaching a 50k word count, does it matter then if your works sucks? To a certain extent, maybe, but that can be fixed through practice. Then what better way to practice than through joining this worldwide annual activity? The National Novel Writing Month is an opportunity to free yourself from the hesitations, the fears, and just letting the creativity rush through.