The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

I'm happy to say that I successfully completed NaNo last year...but this year, well, I'm floundering. Still, we have a great local community of writers. The write-ins, the message board and the process itself can be fabulous fun.

I register for NaNo every year, get started in some, but haven't ever finished.

It's the idea of "just do it!" that I like, plus I've met a few interesting people on-line through their forums.

Cool, good job Sharyn. I tried last year, but fell behind one week and couldn't catch up. Way too busy this November to even think about it.

It seemed the perfect time for me to do it... Until real life decided to up the ante on the rat race. Experienced NaNo writers will recognize the excuse and cop-out.

I finished my first nano last year in Los Angeles and I must say the Twin Cities community is much more fun and supportive. I'm a little behind in my wordcount, but I'll finish!

Yes, this is my first year doing Nano, and I am already at 94, 500. I would have to say that only one person in Maryland cheated and that the cheaters word count has been changed. Nano Wrimo is fun! It is not about racing to the get the highest word count. The race is only what some of us do to motivate us to keep on plugging away. For others, they do not race, because it does not motivate them. The rules are simple, whatever it takes for you to attempt to write a novel is fine. No pressure, it does not matter if you finish. It only matters that you tried. Most people do not even write a publishable novel. That does not matter either, because after finishing Nano, one usually has a very good start on a novel that with some tweaking can be publishable with out too much ado. But even more importantly, it is the satisfaction of knowing that you did it and the raise in self-esteem that comes with finally finishing something you started. This is what Nano is really about. Thank you!