Okay, as I mentioned at the end of my last post, I discovered NaNoWriMo (that is, National Novel Writing Month) in November of 2005. I was on a site called fictionpress where people can post chapters of original fiction and then others can review it. One of the writers I particularly enjoyed started posting these nice long chapters every day and it intrigued me. After seeing an author note mentioning NaNoWriMo, I went onto the Web to learn more.
NaNoWriMo is a writing event in which writers all around the world challenge themselves to write 50,000 words on a new novel in the month of November. It sounds completely crazy but it was that chance at pure insanity that drew me in. Since I discovered it mid-month, I knew that trying in 2005 was out, so I made up my mind to participate in 2006.
The rest, I guess you could say, is history. I have participated in NaNoWriMo every year since 2006. I managed to drag at least 8 friends into doing it with me as well over the years and I have learned an incredible amount about writing from the whole experience. In 2006 I participated alone, and in 2007 I got a group of my novel-writing friends together and I became an unofficial Municipal Liaison at my university. In 2008 I officially started the region for my area, and I have been the Municipal Liaison ever since.
A Municipal Liaison (or ML for short) is a volunteer who organizes events for the region. These can be social gatherings or events for people to work on their novels. Social gatherings are fun and it is nice to unwind from the otherwise hectic month of November, but the write-ins are my favorite because it is inspiring to see a group of people either writing long hand or typing away on laptops.
Okay, so I mentioned participating in NaNoWriMo, but what I didn't mention was that I have won every year since I started in 2006. To win you just need to hit 50,000 words before the month of November has ended. Right now I have 6 NaNoWriMo wins under my belt and I'm looking forward to 2012 to make it number 7.
What I am not looking forward to in 2012 is that I will have moved. The region I started will fall solely into the hands of my co-ML from the past couple years. I trust him to keep things going, especially since he is an English professor, but I will always think of the region as MY baby. However, I can console myself with the knowledge that my new home does not have an official region...yet. I will definitely be applying for the position and starting a region. Hopefully I will have as much success in a bigger city as I did in a cute little college city.
Okay, so on Feb 15 I will be posting up details of my Week 2 FebNoWriMo experience. I'm thinking that I will also post up a blog about how I came up with my pen name, the title of my blog, and a few fun little quirks I have.
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