I think things happen for a reason. Take for instance Andrea commenting on my blog and then me going to her blog to learn more about her. Which of course lead to me reading about the novel writing contest. And would you believe I’ve been feeling this whisper from God to be writing a book? Oh dear. That’s a blog post in and of itself.
And so I am scared out of my mind (I’ve failed at this book writing thing before) but thinking it might be easier to commit if I had a friend or a group of friends to commit with me.
So are you going to give it a shot? (I can’t tell you all the excuses popping up in my head of why I should not do this. Ack!)
But I’m up for living out a story that is bigger than myself or my fears. You?
Oh yeah, one last thing…it’s against my will that I am telling you that I am doing this. See, if I tell you, then I start to get sick to my stomach because people know. And if people know then people ask questions. They follow-up. They say things like, “Hey, how’s that book coming?” and that can get incredibly annoying if you know it isn’t “coming” at all.
BUT…and this is a BIG BUT…
I have been told in the prefabricated love letter from National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that there are 3.5 things I need to know to participate and number 3 is…
Tell everyone you know that you’re writing a novel in November. This will pay big dividends in Week Two, when the only thing keeping you from quitting is the fear of looking pathetic in front of all the people who’ve had to hear about your novel for the past month. Seriously. Email them now about your awesome new book. The looming specter of personal humiliation is a very reliable muse.
So now you know. And now I can go throw up. We’re both happy.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I kid you not… i just told Amos last night that you needed to write a book. Looks like you are one step ahead of me.
I always associate you with books so you def should write one.
SO excited for you! I’m not at the book phase yet, but I think I’m going to do NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), which is the cheesy younger brother of NaNoWriMo.
Can’t wait to read what you write!
Thanks for sharing the link – and you’re objective. With so many supportive people in your life, you can do this!! I know you can. I’m going to start a children’s book, so you can bug me about that. I’ll be working on it a lot longer than you’ll probably be working on yours, but I won’t mind a bit if you bug me about it!
I’m writing it for your kids… and maybe all the other fun, creative kids in the world.
Oh, NaNoWriMo is FUN! I did it for a few years in high school (and never finished), and I really enjoyed it! I would love to do it again, but school is going to be hardcore crazy in November, and I am already writing a LOT for my fiction writing class.
Since I’ve never actually finished the 50,000 word count, I know how tough it gets! I would be happy to help keep you motivated. I love reading other people’s stories.
So while I can’t commit to doing NaNoWriMo exactly, I would love to be in your group of writing friends. 
Oh, and the best thing about NaNoWriMo: as long as you actually do it, you can’t mess up! Even if you don’t make the 50k, you will end up having written something, probably more than you thought you could, and that’s the whole point.
Hi Mandy,
Glad to hear you are up for NANOWRIMO. I will join you! I figure at the very least, we would write more in the month of November by officially signing up whether making the 50,000 word goal or not right? Nothing to lose, only gain. I love your idea of living bigger than you fears, oh can I relate. I don’t even really write fiction but I have a few ideas buzzing around and I think it could be fun to explore. So let’s do this (I don’t know anybody else doing this yet either).
Just remember to breathe …. don’t make yourself sick
I have never desired to write a book, but I’d absolutely love to read yours!
Goooo Mandy!
You guys are so awesome. Thank you for the encouragement and for believing in me. Since I’ve written this post I’ve wanted to take it back on several occasions. I don’t feel capable of writing this many words for one particular story. I already want to quit and I haven’t even started.
So thank you Andrea for giving it a go with me. And thank you Katie for giving testimony to how hard it truly is, and being willing to cheer me on. I am taking this one huge day at a time. More than anything I’m looking forward to seeing how God changes me by the end of November.
Amanda, writing consistently on a blog is not easy. I think that’s a fine goal for writing!
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