Invoking The Spirit Of NaNoWriMo
Taking part in the (inter)National Novel Writing Month is an experience, to say the least 
- You can do so by signing up and participating officially – or run along wearing an old pair of slippers or an invisibility cloak.
- You may have worked up to 1st November plotting and planning or researching for your novel – or spent not more than a few days brainstorming ideas and sketching a rough outline.
- Perhaps you are excited by the idea of doing a literary bungee jump on a 50,000 words long rope, with no preparation at all – or you just stumbled upon this page, have never heard of NaNoWriMo, and are curious what made 200,000 people sign up in 2010 (as I’m writing this, 2 hours before “GO!”, there are about 65,000 users online on the NaNoWriMo site).
Or maybe you’re not interested in writing at all? You can still benefit from this creative spirit which will hover during November all over the globe like a sparkling cloud 
:
The Spirit: Writing – or Living – in the Flow
Living in the Flow is a balancing act, and a challenge to boot. Living in the Flow means to let go of perfectionism, to expand your horizon, to weave your own safety net, to cross the void on a tight-rope without knowing what you will find on the other side.
Scary? Yes.
But so are a life full of pressure, fear and worries caused by our urge to control, the illusions of safety we so easily get used to, the meaninglessness and resignation resulting from holding on to what we believe we know and from blocking off whatever might threaten our comfort zone.
“Don’t get it right, just get it written.” James G. Thurber
November has 30 days – it takes 21 consecutive days to establish a new habit
This November,
- dare to be imperfect – and to learn from the mistakes you make
- embrace obstacles and other problems as opportunities to move on despite…whatever excuses you are used to
- question your habitual thoughts and behaviours
- as often as you remember to, think and act like the person you want to be – repetition brings confidence
- overwrite the obsolete habits of your previous self with new ones: thoughts, actions and reactions adequate for who you are now
- get used to living in the Flow
Enjoy the Flow – and may you find what you are looking for
Maria
Btw: You can still join the Writing Buddies
Related Articles:
- What I learned through NaNoWriMo (enermazing.wordpress.com)
- Flow (nilaewhite.wordpress.com)
- Novel Planning for Pantsers (strugglingwriter.wordpress.com)
James Thurber knew what he was saying! It’s true about everything – not just writing. We can spend so much time trying not to make mistakes that we don’t ‘make’ anything!
I can’t say I enjoy every mistake I make – but they sure speed up the learning process
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Enjoy the flow… Are we connected there yet… What is your handle on NanoWrimo? I don’t check in daily unless I have to add a count on my written stuff.
I sent you a buddy request – as dendrina. You might recognize the avatar – E.D., my favourite sock puppet
Although I update when I’ve written something, I check my messages about twice a week only, as this regularly leads to happy procrastination…
Dendrina? Will go connect now. TY!
…connection established…
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