Minor Speculum

Kick off Minor Speculum with…Nanowrimo?

By Brad

After Beyonce and Jay-Z sang the national anthem in honor of the new minor speculum website kicking off, I thought I would add to the excitement with (wait for it…building suspense…not really….becoming irritating…) LITERATURE! (Letdown).

This month is the time for nanowrimo, the National Novel Writing Month. Nanowrimo is a free program that encourages all kinds of writers to finally sit down and kick out that novel that has been eating all of their food and plugging up the only toilet inside their head. The free program asks writers to start writing on November 1st and finish 175 pages (50,000 words) by November 30th. The site offers suggestions, helpful tricks, and writing dares that continue to push writers to make their goal. Like a weight lifting spotter without all the yelling and spitting, unless you’re into that kind of thing.

Through this mental marathon the program earns money by donations for other free writing programs. The very fun nanowirmo.org has even recruited this loser of a writer to join in on the effort. I signed up knowing full well that I most likely won’t make the mark, but I’ve done more than you, therefore I am winning one to nothing. In all honesty I have written 675 words of a story that I started slightly before the starters pistol was fired, but as my father says, “if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying hard enough.”

The part that I find fun about nanowrimo is its push to not edit or think about the story you’re attempting to create. It’s like a stew that could taste like crap but has been the best time making. I will eventually post excerpts from my unsuccessful story so that those willing can take part in my failure. If you would like to also join in on the disappointment on your own (you’re never really on your own) log on to www.nanowrimo.org and sign up. Really, do it. You have nothing to lose.

Tags: nanowrimo Writing

Nov 11, 2009 • Literature and Fiction, Minor Speculum