At the end of Inktober, the artists let out a collective sigh of relief. As NaNoWriMo begins, the writers scream.
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place all throughout the month of November. The goal is to finish the first draft of a novel before the end of the month, just like how artists had to draw something with ink every day during the month of October.
Being a writer, I was shocked that I never heard of NaNoWriMo until this year through my best friend. Lily and I decided to write a novella together, taking turns on chapters until the project is finished - or at least, the rough draft is.
Now, obviously, you don't have to finish it in November, just like how some artists skipped some days of Inktober, but for people like me that live by deadlines, it's stressful. And yet, it seems I can't get enough of it.
Why is that?
Why is it that we as writers practically yearn for the stress of deadlines and relish in every moment of our own torture? You'd think we'd shy away from all the extra workloads, but it's quite the contrary. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Well, coming from a writer, I can simply tell you that I don't even know the answer.
I don't know why, I just know that I love writing. I just know there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your finished piece when it is all said and done. I just know it's all worth it in the long wrong. Maybe that's why deadlines are so important to me, to pave the way for the long run, to take the baby steps possible to reach your finished product.
Any artist can tell you that the outcomes are worth every tedious moment of the journey, and every moment leading up to the end involves at least some moment of learning. It's impossible to be an artist without having to constantly change and evolve your style because of a number of different factors. Art is an organism, always evolving and always changing with the times and with the consumer. Because of it, the artist changes.
Writers are artists. We paint our pictures with adjectives and every little immersive detail that is read on the page. A picture is worth only a thousand words. A writer can create millions.
That is the purpose of NaNoWriMo. This is the very idea that drives this event for writers like you or me. The concept is simple, attainable, meaningful. However, the end result - the knowledge and skills and the finished product, it's irreplaceable. Nothing could ever teach a writer better than writing itself.
It's fun, sure, but it's to learn. It's to create. It's to evolve.
I'm evolving.
Are you?
