November is a busy month for writers. Not only is it National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it’s also National Life Writing Month. Sometimes called Memoir Writing Month, the purpose of National Life Writing Month is to encourage people to write about their own lives. Who better to tell your life story than you? I have written small bits about my life for a couple years. I even put some of those writings together in my book “Mushaburui: A Mental Health Journey.” For those of you who read this blog often, you’ve read a few personal things about me from posts and from my poetry.
This month however, I’m taking a step back from myself in an attempt to focus on NaNoWriMo. Last November, I started writing what will become my first novel. I have only written short stories and one novella up till now. I did not meet the goal of 50k words last November. Then last April, with everyone in lockdown/quarantine, I wrote a bit more of my novel. I have about 55k words and only about 2/3 of the story written so far. My goal for this year’s NaNoWriMo is to finish my novel which might only be about 30k words.
I’m still not meeting the official goal of 50k during the month of November, but blog writing counts too, right? What kind of writing goals have you set for yourself for November? Are you writing fiction or nonfiction? Tell me in the comments. Or share a personal story of yours in the comments. And everyone out there pushing themselves a little more to meet their writing goals, good luck. I believe in you.
James Pack 