It’s November. That means it’s National Novel Writing Month and writers (and wannabe writers) all over the world are banding together and stockpiling the snacks and sneaking off at every possible moment to pound out words on their book.

It’s one of the best community feelings I’ve ever experienced – doing NaNoWriMo. People update their word count, have word wars, celebrate together, and cheer each other on. Writing can be lonely, but NaNoWriMo brings everyone together and plops them into the same category and makes writing seem so much more possible than any other time of year.

This year me and NaNoWriMo…well, we just weren’t meant for each other. I need to edit, not write, and I’m going to be gone a third of the month anyway. Yet there’s still a stirring inside me whispering “It’s not too late to join the fun!” and I know technically that’s true. I’ve written 50,000 (awful) words in three days once, so I know I don’t actually need a whole 30 days to receive the winner’s badge.

Last night I got home late from Florida (and a non-planned stop at my sister’s house), got to bed even later, and woke up this morning excited about life. (Yo folks, it’s goood to be back home and back in autumn.) After spending a few minutes waking up and making coffee I set my timer for 29 minutes and then went to work. I unpacked, started a load of laundry, got ready for the day, and straightened and swept my room. My writing area is set up, my candle is burning, and The Greatest Showman soundtrack is playing.

And I’m going to edit and pretend for a few minutes like I’m actually part of the ranks marching toward my goal as a NaNoWriMo. Anyway else want to join me in pretending that they’re doing NaNoWriMo? 😉