path of the storyteller / blog

Whew! Sometimes life just feels RELENTLESS, am I right?

It’s what so many are experiencing in 2020, a year that keeps trying to top itself in terms of plot twists. We’re all the heroes of our own life stories, and this year has been a long, long, LONG second act.

Each day, we choose how to respond. We face challenges we may never have imagined. We soul-search and find the bedrock our true values. We take action, care for and console one another, grieve, fight, lead, make sacrifices, and (perhaps hardest of all), extend a hand of peace. 

We make tough choices daily, under escalating pressure. And guess what? It’s exhausting. 

It’s not easy being a hero, even a fictional one. The hero of your story is going through tough stuff, page after page. Your reader is along for the ride, and frankly they’re both going to want a break now and then. 

Within your fictional hero’s journey, there must be...

Sure, there’s STUFF going on this month. Big stuff. Election stuff, holiday stuff, pumpkin spice latte stuff.

But to those of us in the writer tribe, what November really means is NaNoWriMo.

I have several thoughts to share about NaNoWriMo.

• It is fun to say. Good writing trips off the tongue, and the folks who came up with National Novel Writing Month did a fine job with this adorable nickname. 
• Commitment is where it's at. Creating space for writers to just GO FOR IT, make a mad sprint, urge each other on, find some consistency in the old writing practice and basically throw caution to the winds is all fantastic. We can't take ourselves too seriously when hurtling forward at breakneck pace. The goal is keep going as fast as you can without tumbling face-first in the Zoomsgiving pie.
• Your first draft will be a hot, super-hot, gorgeous hot mess. Laugh! Celebrate! Kiss those sticky cheeks and put it in a drawer. December...