That’s right, ladies and folks and collective bros, it is once again November, as in NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, during which ladies and folks and collective bros across the map of our United States will be participating in a challenge to write a total of 50,000 words by the end of the month.

Here is where we start: good old zero. As writers, CDubs are intimately familiar with the blank page, the emotionally abusive affair we all hold with the cursor icon, blinking in morse code why haven’t you written yet write you worthless numbskull write. But we always come back in the end, do we not? Writing– for me, at least– always seems to be the only option left, the last thing I have hope of doing well. So, better stick with it.

The turtle got out again…

And that’s where NaNoWriMo comes in. As Heather loves to say, the hardest part about writing is the physical act of writing, and participating in NaNoWriMo suspends you in this absurd, magical space where quantity trumps quality (though your ego probably would strive for both). As a participant from last year, I can honestly say that it is something to experience. Some hate the pressure of the deadline, and some, like myself, thrive under that pressure, eagerly updating our word counts every evening and hungrily watching the orange bar climb.

So my advice? Give it a shot. There are different goals you can set for yourself depending on real life, and there is no penalty for quitting or not quite reaching where you wanted. It’s a great way to see your personality as a writer, and, well, since I’m going to be juggling this alongside all my classes, misery loves company.