NaWriLi

Yes, this is a long and awkward acronym. Pronounce it nah-wry-lie. It is less awkward to say though than NaNoWriMo and perhaps more challenging as well. NaNoWriMo is in November and it stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal of NaNoWriMo is for people who have always wanted to write but never have the time/motivation to make themselves write every day. It's great I guess, but for me, I want to make a deeper commitment. 

You can't write a novel in a month. Maybe if you're incredibly prolific you can write a draft in a month. But developing characters, setting, plot, and making sure that you have a strong voice takes time. It's taken me twenty-one years (yes, my whole life) with the majority of the work being done in the past three. It's unrealistic to expect that you can write a novel in such a short amount of time. That's why I've stated NaWriLi or National Writing Life. It doesn't represent anything specific but it sends the message that writers write, and they learn something new every time they do.

This month I've learned that if I spend more time writing I spend less time writing about writing. It's good for Guardians and not so great for this blog, but honestly I'd rather be closer to finishing a second draft than posting on here every day (not that I don't love posting). There's been progress, which is exciting, and more confusion, which is to be expected. As I add more elements into the plot I need to be able to keep everything straight. I try not to get hung up on the details and just enjoy what I'm doing.