I forgot it’s IWSG day!

I roll up to my computer this morning, take my time reading my email, and see a post notification from a blog I follow. And in that notification are four letters:

IWSG.

Crap.

It’s IWSG Day–and I totally forgot.

I swig Diet Pepsi and, as the caffeine jumpstarts my brain, I decide: I can do this. I can pull an IWSG post out of my [redacted]. Yes, I can.

As you probably guessed, this post is part of the IWSG (Insecure Writers Support Group) blog hop. IWSG Day happens on the first Wednesday of the month, whether I remember it or not. This week’s awesome co-hosts are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton. Stop by and leave them some comment love.

Each month our fearless (yet insecure) leaders provide an optional question we can answer in our posts. This month’s question is: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

Yes, I’ve participated.

Whew, there’s this post done.

Just kidding.

I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo with varying degrees of seriousness since 2014, when I first started writing fiction. In fact, when I attended my first-ever NaNo write-in, I met the person who would become my first writing teacher and co-found my first-ever critique group. She helped me build the confidence to let other people read my work and even submit it to a contest–which I ended up winning. Thanks, Cherrie! I owe you more than I can say.

For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is a worldwide… movement? effort?… to write 50,000 words in November. Most cities of any size have NaNo groups that host events, and participating is a great way to find support (in-person and virtual). I’ve “won” NaNo (i.e., written 50,000 words) twice, in 2014 and 2019. Last year I participated as a NaNo Rebel, revising rather than writing (see November: a month of stress and delight for more detail on that experience).

This year I’ve decided not to participate, because:

• I just finished editing a book (work-related, not fiction) with a co-worker, and I’m exhausted.
• I want to finish the short story I started last month.
• I want to finish revising my 2019 NaNo project, a/k/a the Revision from Hell.

Hopefully I’ll be ready to start something new for NaNo 2023.

Writing Memes

I need to get this post done quickly, but I can’t disappoint my tens of adoring fans who count on me for meme-y hilarity, so here we go:

I aim for the Oxford comma but too often lapse into Shatner.

As long as we’re talking about commas:

Wanna know how long I’ve been a nerd? I literally thought this very thing… back in 8th grade when that song came out.

Here’s a little something to cheer up my fellow scribblers:

Me writing my current short story:

His name is Josh, and you should pity him.

*Laughs maniacally while torturing poor Josh*

And finally, this one has absolutely nothing to do with writing, and I don’t care:

Happy IWSG Day! Writers, are you doing NaNo this year?

p.s. I’m now hosting a weekly virtual write-in, not just for NaNo but all the time. Find info on how to join here.