The Shiny NaNo Secret

The Shiny NaNo Secret
By Jessica Rosen

We're in the thick of NaNoWriMo now.

Many have shaken their heads and thrown up their hands. I can't blame a single one of them. It's a big challenge. 50k words in one month! The first few years I peered down that trail toward the goal line, it was so far away. It was nearly invisible in the distance! I failed miserably the first two years and just plain skipped it the third.

Doesn't sound like much of a pep talk, does it?

Here's the pep part: I won last year. I won a week early! I almost put away my keyboard five days into it, though. I was sick and miserable. The last thing I wanted to do was write 1,667 words each day. A good friend refused to let me give up. "Just write something today. I don't care if it's 300 words. Write something." So I did. Then I curled up in bed with colds medicine. The next time I hazily got up, I did it again. A few days later, I was fine. I was behind, but I had written and knew that by writing a little extra each day, I could catch up.

Need more pep? Alright, you get to deal with me on my NaNo Soapbox.

Ladies and Gentlemen, behold the Spirit of NaNo!

It is not the shininess of the fifty thousand words on your document. No indeed, it is within you already. You have only to let it free and let it flow.

What do I mean?

The Power of Writing, my friends. Just feel The Power of Writing, let it flow through you, let it catch up your imagination and run out your hands without the demon of the Inner Editor making you second guess it! That is indeed the Spirit of NaNo. Grab that and you'll JUST WRITE. Here's the secret: write every day, make a habit of it and you've won the real shiny prize.

Stick with it, everyone, and may you all win the real shiny prize.

Guest blogger Jessica Rosen is a writer living in Virginia. Please check out her site at:

http://jessrosen.wordpress.com/
natClick here

Or follow her on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/jessrosenbooks
Click here