NaNoWriMo Halfway Point

I haven't been posting as much on my blog this month because so much of my writing energy has been going into NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. I reached the halfpoint point of my novel of 50,000 words two days ago and so I feel glad to have made it that far, but bad that I haven't been giving much word love to my blog.

This month, I am pushing a variation of NaNoWriMo called ChaNoWriMo, or Chamorro Novel Writing Month, I'll be writing more about it later, although I did mention it in my Marianas Variety column a few weeks back. For those who want to know more about NaNoWriMo or want to participate check out www.nanowrimo.org and sign up. Come and join the rest of us writers in Elsewhere: Micronesia if you are looking for a small but dedicated community to write with.

As part of NaNoWriMo, each region gets a municipal liaison. It is her job to give people info, keep them motivated and organize write-ins. Below is a message about reaching the halfway point from Micronesia's regional ML, Chelsea.

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Greetings and salutations, fellow Wrimos!

Today is November 7th (unless you happen to be reading this on the other side of the dateline, in which case you have a few more hours to go), which means that you are now, officially, one week into NaNoWriMo 2013!!!  Congratulations!

Whatever this first week has brought--be it a massive word count, a more conservative one, an outline, or even the internal mulling over of writing-related ideas--be proud!  You have embarked upon a creative literary adventure, and that alone marks you for glory.  Stand tall, Oceania writer!
Stand tall.

If your word count isn't what you hoped it be by this point, do not despair!  There is still plenty of time to put those words that are bubbling around in your head to screen/paper/papyrus/etc.  If there's one true key to NaNo success, it's this: DON'T GIVE UP.  This challenge is for *you* and your creative dream, and it's worth the time and effort.

If my excitingly punctuated regional newsletter cheerleading isn't enough, and you're still feeling a bit stuck, take a look at the RanGen Writing Related Generators.  RanGen (from Random Generator, get it?) offers generators for plot, character, and even setting!  Play around in there for a bit if you want help sparking an idea.

I'd like to take a moment to give a shout out to our region's own Sahuma for a truly excellent opinion piece about NaNoWriMo and the call for cultural exploration and preservation through writing that was posted on the Marianas Variety Guam edition website.  Read it here and learn more about Sahuma's ChaNoWriMo (Chamorro Novel Writing Month) challenge!  Way to go, Sahuma!

In other news, Saturday (Nov 9) is the official NaNoWriMo.org Writing Marathon!  There will be an in-person write-in on Guam from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. (which, like all of the regional write-ins, you can join remotely via Google Hangout), and NaNoWriMo headquarters will be hosting their own live streaming writing event.  Due to the fairly massive time difference we have with NaNo HQ, I expect that much of this will fall on our Sunday (Nov 10), but it's still an excellent opportunity to buckle down and add to your word count in Wrimo solidarity.  Learn more at http://nanowrimo.org/writing-marathon.

Aside from the write-in on Saturday, I will also be hosting write-ins on Monday (11/11) from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and Wednesday (11/13) from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. local Guam time.  Location is still to be determined, so local Guam writers let me know if you have a preference!  Updates on location will be posted to the Google calendar on the Micronesia forum.  As an additional plug, if you haven't cruised the threads on the regional forum, check it out!  It's a great opportunity to connect with other island writers and share ideas.

Finally, next Friday (11/15) marks the 2013 NaNo halfway point, which means it's time for the Midway Bash!  The Midway Bash is a special write-in where we celebrate being halfway through the month, congratulate each other on making it this far, and catch up on on word counts.  I'll have some small NaNo giveaways for anyone who attends in person.  More details will be available in next week's regional news.

Keep your heads up, Wrimos!  You're literary heroes already for simply committing to the NaNo challenge, and there is still a little over 3 weeks left to astound yourself by what you are able to accomplish.  Stay strong, and be bold!  You can do it.

Cheers,

Chelsea, your regional ML