Nerd Writers Are People Too

Yes, I see that it has been three weeks since my last posting. Before you stab me with a pitchfork, call out the attack dogs, or send out flying monkeys to pick my up and drop me at the feet of the wicked witch, please hear my extremely valid excuse: this is National November Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo.com)

For those of you not in the 'know', this is a fine organization in which crazy, stupid, foolhardy writers with no soul or legitimate thought processes volunteer to write a novel in a month. I know what you are thinking. You already thought writers were a bit eccentric, a tiny glimpse of functioning madness, chaotic, disturbed human beings, and now you have proof. Yes, it is all true what you have always known. We are that kind of weird.

We have committed our selves to writing a fresh, new, from scratch novel--fifty thousand words in thirty days. In order to get this done, we give up house work, friendships, dog walking, and even nightly glasses of Cabernet in the name of the great and holy novel. We are that dedicated.

--Okay, I'll admit that giving up housework was not a rough thing for me. And, if you have ever seen my house before or during NaNoWriMo, you would probably not really notice any great change. But aside from that, the other things that are let go of are a hardship.

Okay, well, admittedly, I still walk the dog. Sydney does need the exercise and I crave fresh air. But the only social activity of which I have been a apart of, is attending Write-ins with my friend Karen. I hope it's cool to mention her name. She might not want to share the fact that she has also signed up to be a member of the collective lunatics.

Write-ins are the extreme in Nerd Sports. You may have glimpsed one at a restaurant or coffee shop. It would be a group of people, quietly hunched over laptops, immersed in their made-up world. It's how we bond. And gives us a place to focus, without ever feeling guilt about dirty dishes or friends we will not communicate with until December first.  We are a pathetic crew. If you are a witness to a Write-in, please pretend you don't see us--don't degrade yourself by being a party to our embarrassing behavior. Save yourself, and just walk away.

The only thing I ask of you non-writers, is that you hold a particle of understanding for your writer friends. Yes, you may be an enabler by not doing an intervention on us, but, we need this month. It may be the only way we can function in society for the other eleven months of the year. And it will take us until next November to re-write, revise, critique, polish, and hopefully publish our novel.

I don't know if the end justifies the means, but I hope that we can slide through this month and remain a part of society. Please hold on to us November novelists like the book mark that you treasure and know that we will return to the world--at least until the holidays when we can share a bottle of Cabernet.

Until then, have a wonderful life. You will hear from me again, I just can't promise when.

Heather Leigh
admitted addict of NaNoWriMo