goals

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Plan Reveal

A few years ago, I completed writing my fifty-thousand-word memoir during Nano. The unfinished manuscript haunts me. I want to finish it, get feedback, and maybe self-publish.

I also want to put some poetry book pages together, but that may have to wait until later in 2022. Maybe I’ll discuss poetry as I contemplate National Poetry Writing Month (April).

I’ve acquired a training course, and I have other books on writing memoirs. Writers Write suggests doing a few other things, such as completing their 127 free memoir prompts. Flash memoirs. Why not?

For Nano 2021, I intend to write about 400 words for each of the 127 prompts before November 30th. That would be five prompts per day, each about the length of this post, yielding almost 2,000 words daily. I’ll commit to 50,000 words for the month. I shall neither edit nor revise. That’s a Nano no-no.

It’s not as creative and crafty as a novel, but I am not in the novel or novella mood. I want to commit to my memoir by January of 2022. But I also want to do Nano.

Additionally, I’ll post two poems, one essay, and a flash fiction story each week.

My weekends may be busy. Sammi’s prompt requires fewer than 100 words. That is one poem. But I must wait for the prompt which pops up about 3:00 AM (US central time) each Saturday morning. My writer’s group, RRWG, zoom meeting is 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturdays. Maybe I’ll write more words on other days to reduce required weekend writing.

I post a 1000-ish-word essay for my Dispassionate Doubt blog each Friday. I’ll get a head start on those before Nano begins. I moved my midweek poem to Thursdays, and I want to continue that. Maybe I can get them drafted, if not written.

Moving my midweek poem is because I plan to continue with Friday Fictioneers (FF) prompts. At 100 words and technically three days to finish posting, writing FF is doable. The reading and commenting on others will take longer. But I can do it.

Many Nano participants work eight or more hours a day, have kids to deal with, and lives with less time available to them than I have. If they can find the time, so can I. We’ll find out.

Look both ways.
The reason to accept a challenge is to meet it.
Mind the gaps for wasted time (Facebook and rabbit holes).
Plan.

Monthly Report: June Poems

I write at least one new poem each day. On most days I spend time working on draft poems, ideas, essays, or whatever the wind blows up meh kilt.

The halfway point of 2019 is July second. Therefore, I have written at lest one poem each day for half the year. Crossing this halfway point is like crossing the 13.1-mile mark for a marathon (done 15 times). It’s not the same, but a milestone, nonetheless.

I may start using some online prompts and writing challenges that look interesting. While I won’t run out of ideas, rubbing some change into my work may serve to stimulate me in the coming months.

Here are the titles of June’s poems, some of which I posted.

Date        Title

  1. Manifestations
  2. Awakenings
  3. Library Lady
  4. Sound
  5. Glad I Could Help
  6. Old Lions
  7. Right Here, Right Now
  8. Faults and Gaps
  9. Henry’s Harpoon
  10. Infernal Inferences
  11. Feeding Fawn
  12. Tolerance of People
  13. Simple Question
  14. No More Emily Days
  15. Patent Flattened
  16. Ain’t No Nevermind
  17. What Does He Want?
  18. Born Blood
  19. To Be Chosen
  20. Kitchen Visits
  21. A Little Off
  22. Last Call
  23. I Like to Save
  24. The Deluge
  25. Mooned
  26. Strike Two
  27. Good News
  28. It Snowed in Binghamton
  29. Carefree (Sammi’s challenge prompt)
  30. Jeremiah’s Mighty Fine Wine

As we prepare for our Independence Day celebrations this week,
perhaps it is appropriate to look both ways at 2019.
What is passed and what’s up next.
1776 was 243 years ago. Here’s to 243 more.
Mind the gaps.